Earlier this week I introduced you to Hoppy Papi, my new homebrew named after Boston’s favorite slugger. I showed off some of my beer label designs and encouraged you to send in your designs.

Loyal reader Wes went a step farther. He sent in a design for a Hoppy Papi pint glass. Behold:

Note that Papi is actually hopping in the photo.

A few months ago, inspired by some friends, my girlfriend and I started brewing our own beer. And we’ve never looked back.

There’s a homebrew store in town, called Brew Your Own Brew. They sell kits that make the brewing process pretty painless. All of the grains come pre-ground and dolled out in exactly the right amounts.

After a few batches we decided to take the next step. We decided to make a batch from scratch. This isn’t a huge deal. But it requires you find a recipe that you like. You also have to measure the grains and grind them yourself. And you need some additional equipment, like a large water cooler with a false bottom.

We decided to use a recipe that our friend James suggested, for a beer similar to Magic Hat #9. Here it is:

Grains
10 lbs 2-Row Pale Malt
0.5 lbs Crystal 60L
1 lb Wheat Malt
Hops
1.3 oz Tettnager (60 min)
0.5 oz Cascade (15min)
0.5 oz Williamette (15 min)
Misc
2 oz Apricot extract (secondary)
Yeast
White Labs California Ale (WLP001)

Instead of apricot, we used a combination of fresh mango and mango nectar from a jar. The result? The beer is slightly sweet, though not overwhelming. You can smell the mango more than you can taste it, which is ideal. Frankly, it’s probably the best beer I’ve ever had. Though, I may be a little biased.

We decided to call the beer Hoppy Papi, since there is a generous amount of hops, and since Big Papi says he gets his power from mango (salsa).

We’ve also created some beer bottle labels:

As you can see, our photoshop skills are a little rough. Are you a graphic wizard? If so, send us your Hoppy Papi label design. We’ll post the top entries on this site.

And bottoms up!

This season, the L.A. marketing folks have turned the right field bleachers at Dodger Stadium into an all-you-can-eat section. It’s a novel idea, but as Umpbump contributor Nick pointed out before the start of spring training, the deal doesn’t include beer and, therefore, kind of sucks. After all, who’s going to buy $25 worth of hot dogs (the equivalent of 6 1/4 dogs)?

Maybe the Dodgers don’t read this blog (unthinkable, I know), but they still haven’t caught on to the major flaw in their promotion.

Fortunately, I don’t live in L.A. I live in Atlanta. And the Braves know what fans want (other than a power hitting first baseman). This weekend, the Braves started selling their own all-you-can-eat tickets. For $60, you can sit in the Lexus pavilion level in right field and get your fill of barbecue pork sandwiches, chicken wings, hot dogs, slaw, potato salad, corn bread, peanuts, popcorn, soft drinks — and beer.

For teatotalers, about 1,000 seats in the upper reserved section in right field ($25 in advance, $30 at the gate) include unlimited hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, peanuts and soft drinks.

What did fans think of the all-you-can-eat seats? Judge for yourself:

The scoreboard, in ballpark figures, from opening weekend in the all-you-can-eat seats: Some 2,200 customers consumed 7,400 sodas, 5,500 hot dogs, 4,600 servings of popcorn, 2,400 bags of peanuts and 1,500 piles of nachos.

Some folks have pointed out that the all-you-can-eat tickets won’t do much to rectify our nation’s obesity epidemic. But if those people are looking for political correctness from the Braves — the organization that brought you the tomahawk chop and the girls in short shorts skipping on the dugout — they shouldn’t hold their breath.

Are the $60 all-you-can-eat seats a good deal? The seats ordinarily cost $32. So you’re paying an extra $28 for the unlimited grub and grog. Currently, 16 ounce beers at The Ted retail for $6.75. So that means you’d have to drink five beers to get your money’s worth, or drink four beers and eat a pork barbeque sandwich, or three beers, a pork sandwich and an order of wings. Either way you go, that’s totally doable.

It seems that the only thing that could doom this promotion is if it proves too popular:

At Turner Field, the promotion stalled temporarily Friday when an oven at the concession stand serving the upper-level seats malfunctioned just before game time.

“We came here to watch a game, not stand in line,” a fan complained to Braves executives nearby.

Sure you did, buddy. Sure you did.