Category: Pinball and Games

The plan is:

5/2 and 5/3, Antwerp.

https://www.dekoninck.be/
https://specialebelgetaproom.be/
https://seef.be/

5/4 and 5/5, Ghent:

https://www.brouwerijhuyghe.be/nl – Delirium Tremens!! Eat your heart out, Gilliss!
https://cafecomicsans.be/
https://www.dokbrewingcompany.be/home-2/

5/6 and 5/7, Bruge:

https://www.historium.be/en/duvelorium – 210m from the hotel
https://www.mybeerexperience.com/en – 140m from the hotel
https://www.bourgognedesflandres.be/en – 350m from the hotel. Might have to get a taxi for that one. 🙂

5/8 – 5/11 Amsterdam:

I think by then I may have to dry out.  If nothing else, I’ll avoid the Heineken and Amstel.  😊

Well, for me, at least. I’ve been on my feet for three days, and I’m tired. Great time; I was at the beer tent this afternoon and noticed that the guy with the stocking cap and grey beard in front of me looked kind of familiar. James Pozzuoli told me that nothing in the mine has changed. Good to see you, man!

140 pinball machines. One that kept breaking all week was the Brooks and Dunn, and I figured out why. Like a good IT person, when it broke on me I turned if off and back on again. And it booted up to this:

Let’s look closer at that tiny monitor in the upper right:

Yup. It’s running XP. The wonder isn’t that it broke; the wonder is that it ran at all.

Anyway – fun times and folks from all over the country. I guess I’m spoiled. One guy from New Hampshire said that there were six breweries in his small town – and no pinball. Here I’ve got three breweries and one bar with pinball within 40 minutes. Life is good.

Keith Campanelli, the guy behind the pinball tables at Birdfish Brewing (and my office) had his first Pinbrew in Girard in April 2020. And… it did not go well. Because April 2020. He skipped 2021, but now – it’s back! https://www.pinbrewfest.com/

I told him I can’t wait to go. He said ‘Dude, go? You’re a bartender. Show up on time’.

Somebody tell Gastonguay, since I’m reasonably certain he is not reading this.

Steel Valley Brew Works at the Southern Park Mall has finally opened, and is the location of the February 1 Birdfish Pinball League.

The mall has been around a long time but has recently gone through a $30 million renovation that’s supposed to be pretty impressive. There’s one of those theaters with a lounger right next to it, so I may make an afternoon of this, see Spider-Man, and explore the mall.

I can think of nothing more old mannish than ‘Hey, let’s go scope out the renovations at the mall!’. I am embracing it.

Came in third in pinball at Birdfish last night, but it was ‘everybody gets a prize!’ night, so this is now up on my beer refrigerator.

Well, I guess it never went away, really. But the pinball league did, for a couple of weeks. Too much going on at Birdfish around the holidays. But it’s back! https://business.facebook.com/birdfishpinball/

And I came in second, on my first night after retirement. I suppose it’s because I didn’t have to worry about getting home for work the next day. Like Dana or Doug would ever beat me in anyway. But still, it’s the principle.

Moral victory. Got a prize. The person who won was Alek. Aleksander Kaczmarczyk. One of the nicest young guys I’ve ever met. A regular; he’s been coming here for the last three years – originally, his dad drove him because he was too young to drive.

And, um. He’s the #6 ranked player in the world. https://www.ifpapinball.com/rankings/power100.php

So anyway, the prize!

A good night of pinball, with good friends. If you’ve never been to Birdfish – go to Birdfish. Here’s a shot of their back room.

And now I am going to go read something because… I don’t have to go to work tomorrow!

I may get used to this.