Screw City

There is a town called Rockford in Illinois and this Saturday, September 7, 2013, they are hosting this:

Do you wonder why they named it SCREW CITY when it is actually in Rockford? 

They are paying tribute to Rockford's industrial manufacturing history. Apparently they were the "Screw Capital" of the country at one time.

So what better way to pay tribute than with a beer festival.

Look at all the cool things I read at GoRockford.com that the city is responsible for,  

"The city's industrial background has produced many important and interesting inventions, among them the Nelson knitting machine, airbrush, electric brake, electric garage door opener, dollar bill changer, and electronic dartboard."

 Some fun stuff came out of Rockford.

In the 1800's Rockford was known as SCREW CITY because of  the billions of screws, bolts and fasteners its factories produced for the manufacturers of the world but do you wonder which modern city would be named SCREW CITY today?

I thought today it might be in India, Taiwan or China but not necessarily.

Despite the fact that many foreign countries have been doing a lot of the manufacturing of fasteners these days, the American fastener industry is alive and thriving.

I found an awesome article from Assembly Magazine called The Comeback of the American Fastener that wrote,

"Despite the recent economy, U.S. fastener manufacturing is quite healthy. According to the most recent IFI market data, manufacturers consumed $13.2 billion worth of industrial fasteners last year. More than two-thirds (67 percent) of those screws, nuts and bolts were produced in North America, while the remaining 33 percent were imported."

 That's great news!

I'm not sure that Rockford will ever get back in on the action but at least now they will be famous for the best named beer festival!

For more info visit:  www.ScrewCityBeerFest.com

So which city today would be named SCREW CITY...I don't know.

I tried looking up statistics but it was too hard to determine.

So I will conclude this post with some other cool Screw Cities - arrivederci people!

'Screw York City'  by Stephen Knowles - found it here.

'Screw This City' by Cloudeme - found it here.

Downloadable wallpaper by Gregor Kerle - found it here.

Summertime Drinks for Fastener Freaks

Summertime means hot days, and those mean cool refreshing drinks.

So here's some fun drinks for grownups to enjoy!

Starting with FOUR SCREW!

The Harvest Moon Cidery makes FOUR SCREW and it won a Silver medal in the Indy International Wine Competition at Purdue University in 2012 - nice!

This beer sounds good - it is described as "A light straw-coloured bitter with a hoppy aftertaste." 

This one may be my #1 choice for my leisure time.

And here's one called Bolt Beer - I like the ad. And I think it may be low in carbs.

Made by Sail & Anchor.

Now some wines...

Nuts And Bolts

100% Syrah

From Herman Story Wines - click over and read the tasting notes - it sounds really good!

I like to mix red wine with sparkling lemonade and drink it over ice (it's so refreshing) but this wine may be too good for me.  At $42 a bottle, it's gotta be good wine.

Then the Bent Metal Winery also has one named Nuts & Bolts...but sadly I couldn't find a photo. But you're welcome to click over and learn more about it.

And lastly an Australian one named Ring Bolt - whose logo is great! But if this wine were made here in the US of A it probably would have been called Eye Bolt! They say so many things differently than us, like nappies are diapers - jumpers are sweaters - a bonnet is the hood on your car - and apparently an eye bolt is a called a ring bolt!

Of course, don't forget SCREWDRIVERS - a shot of vodka & then a bunch of orange juice.

But don't sit in the sun too long while drinking these - that will lead to dehydration and a major hangover.

And always drink responsibly.