Celebrating Jesse James Days with a nod to the ‘defeat’ part

Outlaw Run Every Girl Loves an Outlaw James-Younger 1876 Rye Ale
I love it how the Northfield Historical Society and the DJJD committee are sneaky smart. Yes, they make sure we celebrate the ‘defeat’ part of the Defeat of Jesse James Days, especially with tributes to Joseph Lee Heywood.

But we all know—wink-wink—that the outlaws are the real draw. Heh.

A special preview of the beer will be made available during the Northfield Historical Society’s Outlaw Run motorcycle rally on August 27.

Hopefully, Outlaw Run participants will drink responsibly (for me on a motorcycle, that means non-alcoholic beer) and no one will bungle their ride.

But let’s give props to both the Northfield Historical Society and the DJJD committee for increasingly finding more ways for people celebrate the true fun part of DJJD: mayhem!  And no, I’m not being sarcastic.

Update 8/26:

More progress: The new line of shirts on sale at the Northfield Historical Society Rare Pair don’t use the word ‘defeat’ at all, just the phrase “Jesse James Days.”

Jesse James Days t-shirt 3 Jesse James Days t-shirt 1 Jesse James Days t-shirt 2

22 Comments

  1. Griff,
    Yes, our main mission is always to honor the citizens of Northfield and especially Joseph Lee Heywood for paying the ultimate sacrifice.

    With that said, the outlaw image does sell. Whenever we take on a new outlaw themed project we always make sure that their is some aspect of the project that honors the citizens of Northfield. You will notice on the beer label it states “Brewed in honor of their defeat in Northfield Minnesota.”

    Also, just a note that the new James-Younger beer will be available at the Reub N Stein after the Outlaw Run is completed. We encourage people on the Run to drive responsibly.

    August 17, 2011
  2. norman butler said:

    This spin on ‘DEFEAT’ is emphatically of our time. Yet our time is passing and – in time – will give way to Robin Hood, Ned Kelly, William Tell, Captain Morgan et al (list them please) and there are many – rogues reformed to rebels, villains to heroes (some more than others).
    Lets make it happen, sooner rather than later.

    “Give ’em the keys, Joseph! Fer crying out loud, its open anyway!”

    Its not about celebrating Jesse James and his ilk or their actions…but that time, that world, that life. Let’s remember it without shame or finger-pointing, let’s celebrate that TIME…and not feel guilty about it. Burn the Wicker Man and Dance. Incinerate Guy Fawkes and set off the fireworks. Let it go.

    August 17, 2011
  3. Griff Wigley said:

    What he said. For other rogues/villains we sort of celebrate, see Time magazine’s list of Top Ten Bandits.

    Jesse James is #2 and they don’t even mention his ‘defeat’ here in Northfield.

    Fun fact about Jesse and Frank that I didn’t know:

    Their exploits included looting a train in 1864, killing 22 of the 23 unarmed Union soldiers on board and scalping several.

    August 18, 2011
  4. Griff Wigley said:

    I got this from Hayes today:

    I just got off the phone with a producer from TPT’s Almanac and they want to feature the new Northfield Historical Society fundraiser on tomorrow’s show at 7:00.

    For those of you that do not know about the new fundraiser NHS is producing a new beer called, James-Younger 1876 Rye Ale. It is being brewed by the Bank Beer Co., the same company that produces Walleye Chop. So watch the program and learn more about this awesome new fundraiser and partnership involving the Northfield Historical Society. Almanac starts at 7:00.

    August 18, 2011
  5. Griff Wigley said:

    Northfield.org: TPT’s ‘Almanac’ show censors new James-Younger brew

    Northfield Historical Society Executive Director Hayes Scriven and Jason Markkula from the Bank Beer Company appeared on TPT’s Almanac show Friday to introduce the new James-Younger 1876 Rye Ale that will debut at the Outlaw Run August 27 (before wider distribution during this year’s Defeat of Jesse James Days). But the PBS censors stepped in when Almanac’s David Gillette decided to sample the brew.

    Sort of!

    August 24, 2011
  6. Griff Wigley said:

    More progress: The new line of shirts on sale at the Northfield Historical Society Rare Pair don’t use the word ‘defeat’ at all, just the phrase “Jesse James Days.” I’ve added three photos to the blog post above.

    I gotsta get my sweetie one of those!

    August 26, 2011
  7. oh Griff, you are so WRONG! Those shirts at at the Rair Pair not NHS. I would like a formal apology from Locally Grown, in the form that you are my butler for a day! 🙂

    August 26, 2011
  8. Griff Wigley said:

    Shit. I hate it when I have to apologize. Here goes:

    Hayes, yes, mistakes were made. They’ve been corrected.

    I’m sorry that you and the NHS felt maligned.

    I can understand why you want me to be your bitch butler for a day, but I’m sorry that it’s not possible.

    August 26, 2011
  9. How about just for 2 hours?

    August 26, 2011
  10. Griff Wigley said:

    Okay, 2 hours, as long as you team me up with Gloria.

    August 26, 2011
  11. Can we leave the Butler name out of this, please?

    Sincerely, a Butler without a butler.

    August 26, 2011
  12. Randy Clay said:

    first off, i just watched the tpt segment with Hayes and Jason. as a local home brewer and confessed beer geek, i think this idea is great.

    to be completely fair, however, i think you should recognize the Brau Brothers as the actual brewers of this beer. it is misleading, perhaps intentionally so, to tell people that this beer is brewed by the Bank Beer Company. nothing against Jason. I think his mission is valid. but this beer is clearly contract brewed by Brau.

    working for the NHS, i’m sure you have a deep appreciation for honesty and integrity. please give credit where credit is due.

    sincerely, rbclay

    ps the beer is above average. well done.

    August 30, 2011
  13. Griff Wigley said:

    Thanks for that info, Randy. Your info was confirmed by Northfielder Clark Webster, who has relatives in Lucan, MN where Brau Brothers Brewing Company is located.

    Hayes got it right in his NHS blog post: Introducing James-Younger 1876 Rye Ale

    Specifically designed for the 2011 Defeat of Jesse James Celebration, the recipe for the James-Younger microbrew was created by Markkula and is brewed by Bank Beer Company near Hendricks, Minn.

    See also Northfield Patch: Want to Drink Beer to Support the Northfield Historical Society?

    He [Hayes Scriven] worked contacts with Dundas-based College City Beverage and connected with Jason Markkula, who runs Bank Beer Company, which sells Walleye Chop Lager and Rooster Chop Lager. “We made the decision to go with something unique,” said Markkula, who used Brau Brothers Brewing Go, LLC, to brew the beer. “I can’t even think of a rye ale on the market right now.”

    August 31, 2011
  14. Dear Randy,
    Thank you once again for your comments. I don’t know if you saw my response to you on djjd.org but it will be the same here.

    Yes, Brau Brothers did the actual brewing, Jason and Bank Beer Co. came up with the recipe and NHS came up with the idea and the label. As you can see by Griff’s comments we did originally send the press release out as the way you suggested giving credit to Brau Brothers for the actually brewing. However, as I stated to you in the DJJD comment, based on conversations with Brau Brothers and Bank Beer Co., they wanted it changed to say brewed by Bank Beer Co. This was mainly because Jason came up with the recipe and he is the one that is paying for the beer. That is why you saw a different press release on the DJJD website. Here is the story that KARE 11 ran on their website where they gave all the credit to Brau.

    Yes, working for NHS I do have an appreciation for honesty and integrity. I hold myself to a very high standard on those two points and I do not appreciate your implication that I do not.

    I am very happy that you like the beer and I hope that you will keep enjoying the beer.

    August 31, 2011
  15. Randy Clay said:

    Hayes, I apologize if it seemed I was questioning your integrity. Re-reading the label now I believe it is correctly stated on there that the beer is “Brewed and bottled for the Bank Beer Company by Brau Brothers…”
    My unfounded contention, as a brewer, was that this may have been a marketing ploy to simply involve the Bank Beer Company name without their actual involvement in producing the beer. Obviously that is not the case.
    Keep up the good work,
    RBClay

    August 31, 2011
  16. Just so everyone is aware, Randy called me today and we all are on the same page now. He is a cool guy and we are going to work on finding a way to highlight some micro brewers in town.

    Randy thanks for the phone call! I really appreciated it!

    August 31, 2011
  17. Griff Wigley said:

    Randy, you need to get yourself to Northfield for DJJD next week so I can get a photo of you and Hayes hoisting a James-Younger 1876 Rye Ale together. How about it?

    August 31, 2011
  18. Randy Clay said:

    Griff and Hayes-
    I’m game for sure! I plan to be downtown Saturday night. Well, maybe Friday night too!

    September 9, 2011
  19. norman butler said:

    The Cow sold 4 kegs of the Rye Ale from Thursday to Sunday and a good time was had by all.

    September 12, 2011
  20. That is great Norm! I am glad you went through a bunch!

    September 13, 2011

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