Tailgatin’ Alabama Style

 A tale rumored through the hill country of northeast Alabama – not that far from Huntsville, is of a little known family tradition which is said to be repeated each year on the weekend after Thanksgiving.  A set of brothers, the Odell’s – Seth and Sefth, are said to be quite famous in that remote neck of the woods.  Perhaps not as famous as their alleged  distant cousins – noted sports radio personalities, Brent and Brett Beaird; but still well known in their parts for their annual, though unusual,  Iron Bowl tailgating ritual.


The brothers own the Odell Septic Cleaning Service.  The company has four employees and a fleet of three pumping tank trucks.  Those three trucks keep the slush tide rollin’ and flowin’ for most of the year. But the last week of November, the brothers put the tailgatin’ gears in motion by pulling one of the pumping trucks off the service line.   The truck is driven down to the outdoor carwash and given a good soaping/rinsing (inside and out) with the high pressure wane.  The process is repeated several times.  Then when a stream of clear, lump-free water flows from the release valve hose of the tank; the brothers are ready for the most important aspect of their annual Iron Bowl ritual.

 The boys dump four hundred gallons of hot water, five pounds of malt extract, one hundred-fifty pounds of generic frosted corn flakes, fifteen gallons of blackstrap sorghum molasses, and twenty-five packets of brewer’s yeast into the five thousand gallon tank.

After pouring in all of the ingredients, the brothers drive their portable microbrewer around town for twenty to thirty minutes, givin’ it a good mixin’.  Then with the contents well agitated, the truck is driven back to the shop where ten electric blankets are draped over the tank.  The heat from the blankets cooks the special draft to perfection.  After thirty-six hours, the septic brew is ready – residual bacteria in the tank helps speed the brewing process considerably.

So with a hot tank of brew, ten live chickens, a goat, and a mixed case of Golden Flake Thin & Crispy Potato Chips and Jalapeno Cheddar Puffs; the Odell brothers are set to hit the road and party.  So no matter if the tailgating’ activity’s in Tuscaloosa or Opelika, their microbrew wagon is ready to meet the challenge.

As a side note, the boys said that the truck isn’t usually ready to return to the fleet until well after Christmas.

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