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pursday • November 10, 1994
The Battalion • Page 3
Bryan micro-brewery hopes good
beer, Sow prices will draw crowds
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By Haley Stavinoha
The Battalion
he first micro-brewery in the
Brazos Valley begins brewing
beer today.
Molly McWaters, public relations
director and waitress, said the Bryan
Brewing Co. is different from other
breweries because it is a small busi
ness and beer will receive first-hand
attention.
The idea all started when Thanh
Nguyen and his roommate were driving
to Austin to watch a foreign film and
picked up a paper.
Thanh saw an advertisement for a
micro-brewery and started brewing beer
in his home.
Thanh decided it would be a great
idea to bring it to Bryan.
The Bryan Brewing Co. currently of
fers 20 different kinds of imported beer,
and will brew German, European and
American beers.
McWaters said they hope to have a
variety of beers available.
“With it being a small brewery, the
menu will be able to change more often,”
she said.
The company has brand new ma
chines, designed by DME Brewing
services based out of Milwaukee,
Wise.
Gary Bauer, vice president of
DME, explained the beer making
process starts with wort, which is 10
percent malted barley.
The next steps are to add yeast,
sugar and flavored carbon dioxide.
It then goes to a tank for boiling
and fermentation.
Bauer said more micro-breweries
are popping up to avoid the cost of im
porting other beers.
“Micro-breweries are now taking
over 4 to 5 percent of all beer sales,”
Bauer said.
Besides brewing beer, the company
opens every day at 11 a.m. to serve
lunch and they also serve dinner.
“It’s a great place to take a date be
cause there is not an entree over $7,”
Sears said.
“It has a pricey atmosphere but is
inexpensive,” McWaters said.
Starting today, along with the first
batch of beer, the Brewing Co. will
have an acoustic folk music concert by
the Car Box Poets.
Stacy Cameron/ Thk Baitaijon
The window of the Bryan Brewing Co. with
a beer brewing machine behind it.
93-0681
:nt discouni
ENTS...
IRTAINMEW
'JT
THE PELICAN E
s it a man or a woman? Or is it a man in a wom
an’s clothes?
The term “drag queen” for many people usual
ly sparks images of effeminate men donning expen-
uve evening gowns, gobs of makeup, large wigs and
itiletto heels in prder to live out their fantasy of be-
g a woman.
But performing in drag has nothing to do with
ivanting to be a woman. At least not for A&M stu
dent Randy Dion.
Dion, a 22-year-old meteorology student, first
itarted “doing drag” at Club 202 in Bryan about a
/ear ago. Dion said he first took part in the shows
lecause he loves performing and it gave him a great
opportunity to entertain people.
But looking at him, it’s hard to believe he could
ook like a woman.
T love to be on stage in almost any capacity,”
lion said. “I do drag because its really fun, but I
wouldn’t walk down the street that way. It’s like
oeing in character. Its acting.”
Many people confuse drag queens with transves
tites, Dion said. Drag queens are entertainers who
Iress for the stage and leave their outfits there,
transvestism is an entirely different realm, he said.
According to the American Psychological Associa-
K on, transvestism is a fetish. Men or women who
nd sexual excitement on a regular basis from
wearing apparel typically worn by the opposite sex
are classified as transvestites.
But not all transvestites are drag queens, and
not all drag queens are transvestites. In fact, the
idea of men dressing as women for the sake of en
tertainment has a very mainstream, heterosexual
liistory.
One of the most well known and most widely ac
cepted cross-dressers was Milton Berle, who
dressed as a woman on his television program dur
ing the late ’50s and early ’60s. Tom Hanks and
Peter Scolari dressed as women in the early ’80s
television program “Bosom Buddies.”
And Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze are set
to star in a new movie in drag.
But the concept of cross dressing doesn’t end
there. Remember “Tootsie” and “Mrs. Doubtfire?”
And don’t forget Rupaul, the ultimate cross-dress
ing drag queen who’s MTV hit “Supermodel (You
Better Work)” made him internationally famous.
But Randy Dion has no delusions of grandeur.
“This is something I am doing for now just be
cause it’s fun,” Dion said. “I really can’t see myself
doing this for very long.”
Dion said his first shopping experience to buy
outfits for his performance was awkward.
“Oh, god it was horrible,” Dion said. “They did
n’t have my size in anything. When I finally was
able to find something in my size I told the sales
lady I needed to try it on. She was really nice
about it, and since there weren’t any women in the
dressing room, she let me try it on in there.”
Dion said when he came out of the dressing
room to look at the dress and get the sales wom
an’s opinion, he received stares from other shop
pers.
“Other people were looking at me funny,” Dion
said, “but the sales lady said she thought it looked
better on me than it would have on her.”
Dion said perhaps the most difficult thing about
dressing in women’s clothing is finding shoes that
fit.
“Shoes are a bitch,” Dion said. “Guys’ feet are
a lot wider and just plain bigger. I wear an 11 in
women’s shoes.”
:
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Dion said the worst
part about shoe shop
ping is finding attractive
shoes in his size that
aren’t flats.
“What do they think,”
Dion said. “Women with
large feet can’t walk in
heels?”
Dion said he has be
come proficient at find
ing attractive outfits for
reasonable prices, even
in College Station. He
said the trick is to be
frugal and look for sales.
“If you’re really good
at it you can find some
good prices.” Dion said.
“I got a really good deal
at a bridal shop here in
town. I paid $75 apiece
for two gowns. One orig
inally cost $900 and the
other was $500.”
Even though he has
had success with finding
traditional drag attire,
Dion is looking toward a
more casual look for his
future performances.
“I want to look more like a woman you would
see just walking down the street,” Dion said.
“I’ve already done a Melissa Etheridge routine,
and I liked the comfort of the outfit and the sim
plicity.”
Dion said although he enjoys performing, he
does not consider himself a drag queen.
. . '
|i§ >> I
■
WmmImMfmmm
■
Brian Blake / The Battalion
Randy Dion, a 22 year old meteorology student enjoys entertaining people
by dressing up in drag.
“Lots of people experience a fascination with
what the opposite sex is wearing,” Dion said.
“I’m giving myself a chance to experience that,
but I don’t identify myself as a drag queen, I just
do drag shows. There are many other things go
ing on in my life. I don’t see myself doing this for
more than another year.”
f§ good! Contest nets student $50,000 for 50'
field goal
ion editor
3to editor
:s editor
■editor
anie Dube, Amandi
ari Whitley
Tiffany Moore, Slat)
ron, Blake Griggs,
Stavinoha
ewart Doreen and
■in Hill, Jeremy
lizabeth Preston,
Heson
the fall and spring
liversity holidaysaid
ration, TX 77840.
Building, Texas
University in the
Jrial offices are in
om phone numbe<
'nt by The Battalion
advertising, call
a.m. to 5 p.m.
dent to pick up a
■ school year and
ess, call 845-2611-
By Margaret Claughton
The Battalion
rian Wright sits in front of a
[fiv computer punching the key-
V*' board feverishly and staring
intently at the monitor. He looks
like many of the other student
Workers in the Teague Research
Center.
Judging from his casual student
attire and down-to-earth look one
Would never guess he won $50,000
Sunday for kicking a 50-yard field
goal.
Wright, a junior political science
major, was selected to attempt the
350,000 kick after entering a draw
ing sponsored by a Houston radio
station.
The station has run this promo
tional event for the last five years
which allows one fan the chance to
attempt a 50-yard field goal before
each Oilers home game.
The selected fan can kick from
three distances in an effort to make
afield goal and subsequently win
S50,000 dollars.
Wright said he received a call
from the station informing him of
Ms selection three hours before
Bonfire began last Thursday.
The long wait before the actual
event made him even more nervous
about the kick.
“I had four days to think about
it,” he said. “Like ‘what if my
shoelace hits it?’ I thought maybe I
would rush it or the tee they pro
vided me with would be different.”
During the four days before the
event, Wright said he practiced
every day.
“It drove me nuts,” he said. “I
wanted to practice but I didn’t
want to wear my leg out. I was
kicking 65 yards on Friday. But
Saturday I was really worried.”
Wright said he knew he could
make the field goal, but feared the
circumstances he was kicking un
der might affect his performance.
“I knew I had the ability,” he
said. “But I was worried because it
was a one-shot deal and I had to do
it in front of 45,000 people.”
Upon his arrival at the As
trodome, Wright said he suffered .
from a severe case of butterflies.
He was not allowed any warm
up kicks and was soon whisked off
into the middle of the Astrodome
field.
“The radio people told me the
whole thing was going to be real
quick,” he said.
But instead, the game announc- .
ers delayed the event to introduce
Oiler alumni.
“They announced all the old
players while I was standing there
in the middle of the field,” he said.
Wright said the extra time al
lowed him to relax, however, and
get used to the large crowd.
After they were finished,
Wright was introduced to the
crowd. He said he was surrounded
by radio personnel, some of which
were attempting to shake him up.
“One guy said ‘$50,000’ about
four times,” he said. “ I think he
was trying to make me nervous.”
As one announcer lowered his
hand, Wright let the pigskin have it.
“As soon as I kicked it I knew it
was good,” he said. “But they tell
me I jumped about 10 feet when it
went through.”
Wright’s father, Nick Wright,
watched the kick from the stands.
“The kid must have jumped
about 10 feet,” he said. “He looked
very surprised.”
Deborah Ethridge, Wright’s fi
ancee, said she screamed so loud
she lost her voice.
“The whole stadium screamed,”
she said. “I’ve lived in Houston all
my life and I’ve never heard the
stadium so loud. Even some of the
radio people mentioned it.”
Nick Wright said he was confi
dent of his son’s ability.
“I was extremely delighted but
not surprised,” he said. “I knew he
would make it. It was just the cir
cumstances he had to kick under.”
Wright said the radio station
was delighted he made the kick
as well.
“They were really happy to pay
someone,” he said. “I think they
liked to see someone make it.”
Pete Gardner, promotions direc
tor for KTRH, said in the Houston
Chronicle that he enjoyed seeing
the successful kick.
“It was really kind of neat,” he
said. “We’ve been doing this for
five years and I was beginning to
wonder if anyone was going to
make one.”
Gardner said the station carried
an insurance policy on the kick, in
case someone did make it.
Wright said he will probably re
ceive the check at the Astrodome
before the next Oilers home game.
“I’ll probably save it, bank it,” he
said. “Maybe use it for a nice wed
ding, but that’s 13 months away.”
Wright said his successful kick
is mainly due to his father’s skillful
coaching.
“He’s the main reason I made it,”
he said. “My dad taught me how to
kick when I was six or seven.”
Nick Wright said he hopes Brian
will use the money wisely.
“It would be nice if it would cov
er some of his education expenses,”
he said. “I’d like to see him go get
his masters degree with it.”
Ethridge said she would like to
see Wright spend the money on
himself.
“No one in the world deserves it
more than he does,” she said. “He
should do something for himself.”
iifNf
ms
A
HI
Stew Milne / The Battalion
Brian Wright holds the football he kicked 50 yards on Sun
day before the Houston Oilers game to win $50,000.