# Pinball Junk Drawer Episode 75 - Harry Potter Display Sample review

**Source:** Poor Man's Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-06-18  
**Duration:** 33m 13s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://poormanspinballpodcast.libsyn.com/pinball-junk-drawer-episode-75-harry-potter-display-sample-review

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## Analysis

Hosts Foghorn Leghorn and Craft Brew Sally review a Harry Potter display sample machine at Lumberjack Johnny's arcade. They discuss JJP's strategy of distributing CE samples without announced production caps, debate whether the game felt rushed, and assess its design with mixed reactions to the backbox LCD and playfield density. The episode includes repair shop talk about Elvira maintenance and a beer review segment on Samuel Adams Utopias.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Harry Potter display samples are being distributed without announced production caps to drive pre-orders and offset massive licensing costs — _Speculation by hosts on why JJP released CE samples without numbered limits, suggesting marketing strategy to 'get people playing' before CE window closes_
- [MEDIUM] Harry Potter will be one of the best-selling pinball machines in history and could sustain production for 20+ years — _Foghorn Leghorn's assessment based on IP strength and market demand_
- [MEDIUM] The Harry Potter display machine felt rushed in production — _Craft Brew Sally's consistent skepticism throughout review; expressed concerns about 'thrown together' nature to prove assets exist_
- [MEDIUM] The staircase on Harry Potter playfield has 13 different ball paths — _Hosts mention hearing this spec during gameplay; hosts only observed 2 distinct paths_
- [HIGH] Harry Potter code is early version (0.8 or similar) suggesting significant updates pending — _Hosts observed early code build number during play; mentioned potential for ongoing improvements_

### Notable Quotes

> "So Harry Potter's landed, and I guess the consensus is all other pinball manufacturers can shutter their doors and commit seppuku out in front of their disgraced things because it's the greatest thing that's ever hit the... The greatest that ever is, was, or ever will be, according to Brett the Hitman's heart."
> — **Foghorn Leghorn**, ~2:30
> _Sarcastic commentary on Harry Potter hype and JJP's marketing narrative_

> "I have never even once seen him play or approach a pinball machine as if it was a something that you would do. He leans against them. He takes pictures of them."
> — **Foghorn Leghorn**, ~1:00
> _Observation about Gary Stern's relationship with pinball machines despite running Stern for 50+ years_

> "It felt very rushed... this display piece is very beautiful... But some of those shots are just drain monsters. Just drain. No matter what. It goes right down."
> — **Craft Brew Sally**, ~6:00
> _Critique of game balance and perceived rushed production despite aesthetic appeal_

> "I'm not a huge fan of those knockers. Like, JJP machines have that knocker... I just don't like them."
> — **Craft Brew Sally**, ~18:00
> _Specific design preference criticism of JJP's physical knocker mechanism_

> "I think it's going to be probably one of the best selling if not the best selling pinball machine in the history of the world... They're gonna ride this Hogwarts Express into like for the next 20 years probably"
> — **Foghorn Leghorn**, ~20:00
> _Prediction of Harry Potter's market dominance and licensing duration_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Harry Potter pinball; subject of discussion regarding CE strategy and production roadmap |
| Harry Potter | game | Licensed IP-based pinball machine by JJP; display sample reviewed in episode |
| Foghorn Leghorn | person | Co-host of Pinball Junk Drawer podcast; primary speaker and commentator |
| Craft Brew Sally | person | Co-host of Pinball Junk Drawer podcast; provides skeptical analysis of Harry Potter gameplay |
| Gary Stern | person | Owner/CEO of Stern Pinball; subject of hosts' observation that he has never been seen playing pinball |
| Lumberjack Johnny's | organization | Arcade venue where hosts played Harry Potter display sample; described as heavy-traffic location |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; comparison point for game design and production practices |
| Avatar | game | JJP pinball machine that was superseded by Harry Potter hype; hosts debate its market reception |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; host speculates could have been better choice for Harry Potter license |
| Deep Root Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; mentioned as alternative that could have developed Harry Potter |
| D&D | game | Dungeons & Dragons pinball; comparison point for complex rule sets host doesn't understand |
| Elton John | game | Recent pinball release mentioned as comparison for playfield density and mod-heavy design |
| Incredible Hulk | game | Stern pinball used for quality comparison; described as 'how bad pinball could be' |
| Elvira | game | Host's personal machine being maintained; subject of repair troubleshooting discussion |
| Project Pinball | organization | Charity organization running annual Love Across America tour; dedicating machines to Ronald McDonald Houses |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; mentioned as partner in Project Pinball Madison dedication |
| Samuel Adams Utopias | product | 28% ABV beer reviewed in 'Butterbeer' segment; subject of consumer research and brewery routing discussion |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Harry Potter pinball release and market strategy, JJP's business model and licensing cost recovery, Game design preferences and playfield density
- **Secondary:** Pinball machine maintenance and repair, Boutique manufacturer competition, LCD backbox implementation in modern pinball
- **Mentioned:** Charity pinball initiatives

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Hosts appreciate Harry Potter's aesthetic and acknowledge its market potential, but express skepticism about rushed production, game balance issues, and whether JJP was the right manufacturer choice. Craft Brew Sally notably disappointed; Foghorn more optimistic but sarcastic. Praise for machine beauty conflicts with criticism of design execution and complexity.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** JJP licensing/asset costs for Harry Potter are substantial enough to require high-volume CE sales (potentially 100,000+ units) to achieve ROI breakeven (confidence: medium) — Foghorn: 'To recoup the massive amount of money they put into doing this... only makes financial sense if they can offset it... once we hit 2,000 of these, now we've paid for the license'
- **[event_signal]** Project Pinball 11th annual Love Across America charity tour launched with machine dedications at Ronald McDonald Houses; expanding to multiple stages in 2024 (confidence: high) — First dedication at Ronald McDonald House Charities Northeast Ohio in Akron; upcoming dedication alongside Spooky Pinball in Madison
- **[competitive_signal]** Harry Potter positioning as market leader in pinball IP strength, with potential to sustain 20+ year production run and dominate competition (confidence: medium) — Foghorn: 'probably one of the best selling if not the best selling pinball machine in the history of the world... they're gonna ride this Hogwarts Express into like for the next 20 years probably'
- **[design_philosophy]** Harry Potter playfield criticized for excessive density and mod-like aesthetic with 'crap everywhere'; some shots are drain traps with poor ergonomics despite early code stage (confidence: high) — Host observations: drain monster shots, staircase ball routing unclear despite 13-path spec, excessive aesthetic elements requiring eventual demodding for playability
- **[community_signal]** JJP display sample distribution strategy designed to drive CE pre-orders through high-traffic venue placement, offsetting uncertain production window with extended sales period (confidence: medium) — Speculation that 'they kind of have come out and say everyone that wants one can get one' and machines placed at 'heavy hitter' locations like Lumberjack Johnny's
- **[announcement]** Harry Potter pinball code is early version (0.8 or similar build), indicating significant development and balance updates pending before final release (confidence: high) — Foghorn: 'it was .8 or .something something' and speculation about ongoing code improvements
- **[product_strategy]** Harry Potter display samples released without announced CE production caps, suggesting last-minute rollout to counter Avatar pre-order losses and prove development progress (confidence: medium) — Craft Brew Sally: 'it felt to me like this was thrown together so that they had someone to prove that they actually had this' and speculation that 'someone spoke too soon' about Harry Potter coming
- **[product_concern]** LCD backbox implementation on Harry Potter serving as attention distraction during gameplay, causing ball losses despite aesthetic appeal (confidence: high) — Host experience: 'that backbox got me a ball... I was looking up and they're like oh look at this thing and I'm like what's this starting'

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## Transcript

 Now who's responsible for this unwarranted attack on my person? I say, I say, I say, pay attention now, boy. This is, of course, Foghorn Leghorn presents the Pinball Junk Drawer. You all asked for it. I say, you all asked for it now. You're gonna get it. Boy, oh boy, are you gonna get it. Go, I say, go away, boy, you're bothering me. And with the technical difficulties behind us for now, We are back from the magical world of Harry Potter. Anywho, this is, of course, Big Show 75 of the Pinball Junk Drawer. My name is Foghorn Leghorn. With me, as always, Craft Brew Sally. I'm surprised you're not shocked that I don't mix up my names. What are those called? Aliases. I jump from show to show seamlessly. Anyway, this is something completely new. I'm going to start off the show with a trivia that I'm going to, like a question out to the listeners. See if anyone can get this answer right. Maybe we'll send them a shirt or surprise them with something. I don't know. All right. Now, for the most part, my sieve of a brain, I try to remember to close the show with the phrase Shazvat Nanu Nanu. Now, there's two, there's like, that means two different things. so I guess my question is the first person that sends us the correct answer for why this has any relationship to pinball and we'll send them something not just stickers because we always say if you email us we'll give you stickers but maybe we'll pony up for a shirt so send your size or whatever so if you can tell me why Shazbot Nanu Nanu relates to a pinball show boom so anyway we as kind of alluded to we got to play Harry Potter over at Lumberjack Johnny's so we will talk a bit about that I did want to start off the show with something I've had on my notes for the last two six years anyway so we've been around a lot of settings with Gary Stern we've like the Curly's parties you know numerous times we've seen him at conventions we've seen him at now at in his home turf when we toured Stern question to everyone ever has anyone ever seen gary stern play pinball because i sure haven't and while he's an awesome salesman and he's he's built these things for seemingly what 60 years 50 years i have never even once seen him play or approach a pinball machine as if it was a something that you would do. He leans against them. He takes pictures of them. I've never seen him play pinball. That's an interesting question. Now, my brain automatically says, well, of course he plays pinball. But does he? I don't know. So, if you are in the know and you have been around him when he plays pinball, shoot us an email. Both of these things are at pinballjd at gmail.com So, it's pinballjd, standing for junk drawer, pinballjd at gmail.com. Am I giving out the right email address? Wonderful. All right. Now on to the show, as they say. So Harry Potter's landed, and I guess the consensus is all other pinball manufacturers can shutter their doors and commit seppuku out in front of their disgraced things because it's the greatest thing that's ever hit the... The greatest that ever is, was, or ever will be, according to Brett the Hitman's heart. Screw job, which is Harry Potter. So a lot of analogies rolling today. Sorry. Buckle up, folks. So now, like I said, so they got the samples. They got the CE machines out in the wild. A display sample. A display sample. And I'm saying that with air quotes. Yeah. Well, it's a CE that they kind of got together, got them out there. this makes sense in the fact when you hear that harry that this harry potter ces are going to be just a limited time there's no number on them like no other i've never seen i was like this is odd and i'm sitting there thinking like why am i playing a display sample it makes sense every other ce they come out and they say we're gonna wait before you before you go okay we have two different ideas of why there is a display sample. Correctamundo. Do you want to do yours first? No, you go first. I just wanted to throw that out there because I'm going to listen to what you say but I'm not buying it. Okay, well, that's fine. And I've been like, ever since the whole like, oh yeah, we got all we got the assets. Assets. Uh-huh. So So it makes sense because I was in my brain. I'm playing and I was like, OK, this is fun. There's a lot. There's a lot going on. There's a lot in that game. It's a it's packed. I was like, why would they send sample displays of CEs out randomly? Now, I can understand why one landed at Lumberjack Johnny's. He's a heavy hitter. Yeah. Whoever is works with him. They're doing great because of Lumberjack Johnny's. I write to some degree. Not, you know, not 100 percent, but you know what I'm saying? Right. So I was like, okay, that makes sense. There's a lot of traffic. Then I was like, well, why would they do this? It's because every other CE, like Sterner come out and say, there's 1,000 of these, there's 500 of these, or there's 750 of these. So there's always a cap, and then it's immediately sold out. So the history of pinball, as far as I know, they've never had to do this because they're sold out. But isn't that the point of a CE? Well, let's... Okay. You keep going. Okay, exactly. For JJP, they have a window of time that the CEs are going to sell. I don't know what that is. No one knows these mystical things. It might be 10 years. It doesn't matter. So at some point, they're going to stop making CEs. So they're kind of saying, okay, get as many people playing these as possible because if they're interested, they'll put in an order. Eventually, they're going to get their CE. so it makes sense from their standpoint like if they sell a hundred thousand of these things they want to sell a hundred thousand of these things like this is one of those things from my perspective that like will save jjp this this is such a strong not safe they weren't like on their way out but they had some they had some hits or they had a couple misses in a row they I didn't see them making tons of money. This thing could be made for 20 years, and they will be JJP-HHP. Harry Potter. HHPP. It doesn't matter. They might just make Harry Potters for the rest of their existence, and they'll be billionaires. Because everyone in the world loves Harry Potter more than life itself. So, slightly sarcastic there. I don't dislike Harry Potter, but I don't care about Harry Potter. To me, I like Godzilla more. As dumb as that sounds, I know some people just flip their wigs. No, it's your thing. I think Godzilla to me is as strong or stronger than Harry Potter. Now, I know that sounds insane. Please don't at me, bro. Harry Potter is a gigantic thing. The get of this was insane. So if they can make 100,000 CEs, they want to because that's their biggest margin. So this is designed to say, okay, get these out here. Get these people playing this. Get them in love with it. Let them know they have to order this now. Now, I know what you were saying because, well, isn't the whole point of a collectible like that there is only 500 of them? You know like those like you know like the Elvira the blood kiss or the you know there the 70th Godzilla the 70th Godzilla Like there there is literally there only this And if you have one you awesome Yeah They taking that different route in this I think to recoup the massive amount of money they put into doing this. To get the license. I think they have to. Or to get the assets. It only makes financial sense if they can offset it. And that only means, okay, we've lost $1,000 off what we usually make off of CE, but we're going to gain that back. as soon as we hit 2,000 of these, now we've paid for the license. I mean, these are made-up numbers, but you know what I mean? Like, that's my thought about it. I could be wrong. I haven't run a pinball machine in – I haven't run a pinball corporation in years. Or ever. Or ever. Or ever, you know. But, like, that makes sense to me. And that whole, like, concept made sense to me because the arcade edition is just for the route people, the people that have routes to get them and grind them make your money sell them or make your money and keep it doesn't matter you know yeah and the the middle one i'm not sure who that's for but then the ce is they kind of have come out and say everyone that wants one can get one you're like well all right but get it now well yeah yeah i mean i don't ever see a time where the time runs out oh my god i don't ever see a time it's gonna be hard to get a harry potter machine even now even though we've never seen one actually built other than these samples. I have a feeling it won't be too hard to get a Harry Potter. Even after they cut off the CE. You know. You can get Blood Red Kiss, Illvira's. You can get the Batman with the signatures. You can get the, all the crap. Like everything that's out there can be got. Yeah. It depends how much money you want to spend. How much do you want it. Right. So that was my thought that maybe that's why they didn't. Now why do you think they did this? So just the whole way the release of this was done has gotten me from the very beginning that I've been very skeptical about this whole thing. Because I've been saying, is there actually a machine coming? And everybody keeps saying yes, but there was nothing out there. like you you showing us pictures of a snitch yeah as the for a month conjure yeah that's it that's all you're giving us yeah well you know what i mean like so to me this feels like they made a mistake oh when someone said something about oh don't buy this machine because this one's coming. Well, the titular Jersey, Jack. Right. So Jack from Jack Winare. Yeah, I know. Right. I didn't want to call him out. Well, should I cut that? No, I'm not going to cut it. I'm the Ed Wood of podcasting. I'm not really cutting that. We don't do edits here. Not much. But so it felt to me like this was thrown together so that they had something to prove that they actually had this. Oh, like the Russian. Like, yeah, like they got the assets. This is coming, but someone spoke too soon. Just oversold it. And here we are throwing something together so that these people that aren't going to buy our Avatar machine because they said the Harry Potter is coming. I don't think anyone was buying Avatar. I really think they thought Avatar was important. Because based on numbers, now this is kind of a different thought, but based on numbers, people do love Avatar. Not people that buy pinball machines because it's like, eh. Right. You know, like, I don't know. And I don't know how well the movies did, but whatever. So you thought it kind of felt rushed. It felt very rushed. And, I mean, this display piece is very beautiful. Yeah. There are some shots on there that just are drain monster. Just drain. No matter what. It goes right down. Yeah. Now, there was, yeah, and this might also be something where they're collecting data. Yeah. Where the code is going to keep getting better and better. You know, and I heard about some of the stuff that's in this thing. Now, we both shot it. I have a feeling maybe, like we have off Friday, I have a feeling maybe we'll take another $10 and go play this a little bit, right when they open, when it's quiet. And we'll, I don't know, put some more games on. I definitely want to play this some more. Right. Because this has a lot. This has a lot of fun. and when they just said that that staircase has 13 different ball paths i'm like wait what now because i saw two yeah you know which you know just take that for what it will it was fast so i drained a lot a lot of times i'm sitting there staring like what in the hell just happened i'm not a fan of the tv in the backbox i can't ever enjoy it yeah it's nice when when you're playing i can watch it yeah but it cost me a ball yeah because i was looking up and they're like oh look at this thing and I'm like what's this starting because I didn't know what's going on yeah I was like oh what's starting is I just drained yeah and that's the end of that so I get it that it's a it is an attention grabber and it is good but it's I don't care so much about those I kind of like like back glass and the traditional like mirror back glass or like I like pinball art a great deal I really love you know some of the old classic back glasses so to me digital is digital. It's here to stay. It's not like, you know, it doesn't matter one way or the other, but I just enjoy artwork. It's beautiful. The cabinet is very beautiful. Yeah. People love that there's a lot of stuff in there. I know you knew what all that stuff was and there's crap everywhere. There's like, so I'm thinking there's the sorting hat is there. The whomping willow with the flying car. The Undertaker. A Death Eater. Yeah, that guy. Wouldn't it be funny to switch that out with an Undertaker action figure? I would. I know you would. Oh, God. The staircase is there. There was like a pot. The mirror of Erised. The potions pot, like a cauldron. It had the three wands, the three main characters' wands. The artwork was beautiful. Yeah. Now, this has that armor on it and had the radcals on it. It has the, like, mischief managed on the side from the Marauder's Map. And there was an upper play field, which, generally speaking, you can take it or leave it. I was getting that thing cranking with a loop. Yeah. There was a couple times where I was timing it really well and I was just hammering and hammering and hammering. It was on this loop. Really action-packed. Or really packed. it did have an air of like if I walk up to a used machine that I'm looking at buying and someone has just glued everything they can imagine onto the play field somewhere all that wacky crap, mods you know everyone loves mods and I sit there for about 5 minutes going how am I going to demod this thing so it's an actual just regular pinball machine again that was in my head a little bit like oh my god there's so much crap in here now modern machines are that like Elton John has a lot of stuff going on But also for them to make it a complete series, it has to have all that stuff on it. Of course. To tie it all together. And there's stuff they don't have in it. Right. So that's going to be video assets. So again, that's my own, like I kind of, less is more sometimes for me. But I'm a very, most people do not agree with me whatsoever. They want as much crap as they have shoved in there, you know. so uh the shots were hard but makeable um i think and now i didn't care one way or the other so i came away kind of going oh this is cool you have a vested interest and you kind of went away feeling a little disappointed i was i mean i think just because i still feel that it it felt rushed but But I just... I could be. I may have just... Well, I think in your head you're over... You know what it could have Right So you have a million different things it could be Right It ain going to be all those million things So you kind of like hmm I also I felt since the beginning that if a different manufacturer had gotten it that it would be different. Right. Like Haggis Pinball should have had it. Yep. Yep. For sure. Boom. Get another shot at another Haggis. No, what was that other one? The one in Texas, Deep Root. Yeah, Deep Root could have got it. No. I know. and maybe after we put another you know we'll put another 10 or 20 bucks in it and see how we feel going away over the week I have thought and reflected about it and have felt better about it than when I initially walked away because I walked away and I was like I'm going to go play like you know so I went and played I forget what I even played doesn't matter like a stern you know the Incredible Hulk I went and played the Incredible Hulk and realized how bad pinball could be and then you know that one that's That's up for $2,600. It's still up. I almost wanted to write him and ask if they had the decimal in the wrong place because I would give them $200 for it, and I realized I wouldn't give them $200 for it. I kid the incredible Hulk. Right. So overall, I mean, it's a lot of machine. I mean, it's beautiful. And it has that one song that is so iconic. The second you hear that. It's called the Hedwig song. Sure. Do you know who Hedwig is? I think that's a lead singer for Megadeth, and he's so pissed off that he was never included in Willow. He got kicked out of Willow early on, so he's been bitching about it ever since that. No, I don't know. I don't know. Hedwig is Harry's owl. His owl? Yeah, the owl. His owl is an art. It actually can play a music instrument. That's cool. So, all right. That's, you know, I think we both did like it. Yeah. And again, maybe after the next time we play through it for a while, we'll find some shots. and I did feel the same way about Harry Potter game playing it as I did with D&D where I could tell that there was a whole lot going on but I could also tell I had no part of this world whatsoever. So I just kind of enjoyed it for the shots and for some stuff I was unlocking and stuff because in D&D they gave you those choices. They were like, you could do this thing and this stuff and I'm like, I don't know what any of that means. So I just pushed the button and go, let's do that thing. And you do get to pick which, I guess, movie you want to play through. It would unlock things. And this is early code. I think it's .8 or .something something. So, well, it was enjoyable. You know, I have a feeling there's going to be one in the house at some point. I would say you're probably right. Oh, I was going to say it before. Go ahead. I am not a huge fan of those knockers. Like, JJP machines have that knocker. Oh, the physical. Yeah. And I don't know why, but I just don't. just don't like them. No. Well, I'm like that with the shaker motors. Yeah. A lot of people, the first thing they do is add the shaker motors. Yeah. I get it, but I've also stepped up the machines. Maybe that's what I'm thinking about. I've stepped up the machines that shake and it feels like they're rattling apart and I'm like, I don't want this to happen to my machine. Like that Toy Story. Toy Story does that. It has that shaker knocker kind of. I don't know if you remember when Tao and Chris were up that one time and we went to the player two and they had that they had a um maybe it wasn't player two doesn't matter we went somewhere and it had a rick and morty and that shaker motor things were falling apart it was shaking so hard when you were doing stuff i could tell the bottom end of that play field was falling off yeah it was so powerful i'm like that's wrong that's bad i don't i don't want that you know right but it's another personal preference thing some people mod them with right off the bat they buy that they buy the preamp and get a better subwoofer in them stuff like that you can do a lot to machines so we will it was fun um it it is going to be probably one of the best selling if not the best selling pinball machine in the history of the world i can i can you can almost guarantee that uh how long they ride this train this this what's that what's the train called in in harry potter world the train express yeah they're gonna ride this hogwarts express into like for the next 20 years probably so if they're allowed to they're gonna and it's understandable you know right so whatever what else did we do i finally got to use the pin snake um my helvira was not ejecting the balls and i'm like well that's weird must be the opto well it wasn't the opto it was something completely different and i went what in the Hell am I looking at? So I don't take the glass off my Elvira because it's so tight. But now I've got it worked out. I loosened up the armor, the side rails, and it's working a little bit better now. But one of the damn gargoyles came off, so I've been putting that off. So I was like, okay, enough things are broken that I have to fix this thing again. So I lifted up the play field, got the little metal thing, and reattached the gargoyle with Gorilla Glue. and then I'm like I was like okay where's the opto for this thing I'm looking around I was like well that's not right it wasn't the opto at all what happened was they ran the cord for the insider connect through the two the two wires that are attached to the coil that spits out the ball and at some point it got pushed down that the spring in the coil was literally just chewing this wire in half so it was grounding itself out and it didn't work anymore. Oof. And I'm like, why did they do that? So I was going to reroute the cable, but then I'm like looking at it, I was like, I think they wanted to stay there? I don't know. I just made sure I fixed it, re-soldered it, and put, you know, I coated it so it didn't do that again. And then like just tried to tuck the wire up. And the next time I open it up, I'm going to like re-make sure it's still up out of the way. It was such a weird thing. So literally every time it ejected the ball, it was burning through one of the wires leading to the coil, and it just eventually chewed through and grounded itself out. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. Wow. It wasn't kidding me. It was not. So that was cool. But anyway, I also then I got a pin snake for my birthday many months ago, and I finally got to use that, and that thing is cool as hell. I should have never doubted the might of the pin snake. It really cleaned out a lot of spots you can't get to with my fat fingers and stupid trying to do stuff without scratching it. This thing is really cool. So if you haven't used a pin snake and you do work on machines, I'd advise you get it because I was running it around the back arch. It goes up like each of the – any place you can't get to, you just take the little pin snake and you just slide it through and it just cleans it right out. I'm like, man, that was nice. Brought to you by pin snake. No, not at all. there whereas sadly we don't have any we don't have any sponsors i know we're hey if you want to be if you want to sponsor this show reach out at pinballjd at gmail.com so that was an odd one i think it's going to be time for everyone's i have an i have an article i want to go over we're already running low or running late so uh thanks to everyone for buying some of our pinball merch we appreciate all you out there grabbing up the shirts grabbing up the pint glasses so go to silver ball swag and get yours today i keep thinking i want to do a different design so uh you know buy these up quick got anything else before we go uh got to your everyone's favorite segment nope nope all right here it is time for her to review butterbeer nice craft brew Sally Gonna have to put Your journal down Crab Brew Sally Child You've been to All the breweries around You've been Running all over The town Tell me what to drink Until I fall on the ground Yeah That right people And we back What do you have for us this week, Crafty Sally? So I've been in search of my new, my next beer that I have to have that I can't find anywhere. Yes, you can't have that. Yeah, I'm just looking around. And the one that keeps popping up, which I don't know if I need to have this one or I probably don't. but it's Samuel Adams Utopias. It sounds ridiculous. Is that the one that they make once a year? It's a CE? It's a CE, yes. They make it every other year. Okay. So this year they should be making it. It is illegal in 15 states. Why? because it is 28% alcohol by volume. That doesn't sound like beer. No. It sounds like brandy. Right. It doesn't seem like it would be enjoyable. It sure wouldn't be. It sounds terrible. Yeah. So, like I said, they brew it every other year. It's a blend of multiple batches. Okay. So whatever's left over each year, they just kind of dump into one. It kind of sounds like it's some sort of thing like that. Okay. Some of the batches are aged for three decades. I don't. I know. On wooden bourbon casks. There's not one single thing you like about anything you just said. I know. I know. And it probably costs like $118 per bottle or something stupid. No, it's way more than that. More than that? Yeah. I'll get there. Oh. So the way they make this beer is they brew it at their Samuel Adams Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio. And then they move it to Pennsylvania. And there it is aged in Buffalo Trace barrels. Buffalo Trace sounds like something that's bad. Buffalo Trace is a... Where they store poo. No. Okay. It's one of those, I think it's bourbon that's really hard to get. Like some of the bourbon you can only get at the brewery. So here's a... I'm not done yet. Okay. Save the questions for the end. I might forget them by then. Okay. Write it down. Then it gets to... Then it all goes to Boston Brewery and they blend it there. And then it goes to Dogfish Head Brewing Company in Delaware, and that's where it's bottled. And then the asking price is $240 for 25.4 ounces. Asking price? Why do you say it like that? Because it says that different markets can change that price. It's a call for pricing. It's a call for pricing, everyone. They're like, wait a minute. What now? So wouldn't it be cheaper to fly to Pennsylvania and then just break into that place and steal them? Or whoever they bottle them. I think you should probably do that in Delaware. Yeah, Delaware. That's on that. Well, you could steal a whole bottle if you break into the one in Pennsylvania. The whole barrel. Just steal the whole damn thing. And then we could bottle it ourselves and say, oh, this is the home pin version of that stuff. And we're going to do it cheaper. so give us $100 per bottle. That's making money right there. That's telekinesis, Holmes. Anyway, we've just watched Tenacious D lately, so trying to work on some of their shenanigans. But anyway, it comes in ceramic bottles, and they are numbered. And it looks like they give the bottle to employees, starting with, I guess, in order of how they were hired. Seniority, yeah. So like the person that is like the founder of the company gets bottle number one. Well, that's a plus because my seniority doesn't mean anything where I work. Especially not me, I guess. Seniority does where I work now. And I am the lowest on the totem pole. Well, it might mean something, but apparently not. I'm going to stop saying things before I get fired. Right. All right. So, okay. So I think that I would like to try to find this somewhere where I could get just a smidge of it. Well, they couldn't possibly do that. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe you should start up a Facebook group like Wisconsinites looking for that. And then 10 people can chip in and it'll only be $20. Oh, yeah. Or $30. You can have a tablespoon of it for $30. Does anybody out there want to chip in on some? That sounds like the worst. I know. You know what we could do? We should do like, what's this stuff called? Samuel Adams. Utopias? We should do a Utopias launch party at Lumberjack Johnny's and then 20 people can just pay five bucks each and we'll buy a bottle and then everybody can, I won't drink any of it, but I'll be there. I'll buy you. I'll buy in yours. I'll be like, I'm going to be over here playing the Incredible Hulk while you guys drink that crap. Right. Well, okay. So I guess a third call out, if anybody has had Utopias and you want to write in and tell Crap You're Sally why she should or shouldn't waste money on this thing, send us an email at pinballjd at gmail.com. Really doing a heavy-handed blitz for the email, huh? Mm-hmm. Anything else? No? Oh. Oh, wait. Oh, wait. There is more. Project Pinball started their 11th annual Love Across America tour. Wow. Yes. Do they drive in like a Beetle van? No. Like a hippie van? No. I think he has a... An actual van. Go ahead. Yeah, an actual van. And they had their first dedication at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio in Akron. Hell yeah. There you go. Mm-hmm. And they dedicated the machine in memory of Bob Smith. Bob Smith. Yes. Wow. I think he might have been one of the... It sounds like a made-up name. Right. Like if a cop pulls you over, you're like, what's your name? You're like, Bob Smith. Bob Smith, sir. My cousin John Doe is not in this car at this time. Okay, so... It looks like they have the schedule up for... Through the end of this month for part one of the... Nice. It looks like they're doing it in stages this time. So you said they rededicated that one. Like he had dedicated it, then when he passed away, they've like refurbed it and put it out again. Yeah, that's what it sounds like. In memory of Bob Smith. Oh, that's nice. I joked about his name, but obviously he was a cool dude because he did a good thing. So, awesome. Make sure you check them out and give them money. Or at least buy raffle tickets or whatever. What did you just say? Oh, you've discovered something else. Yeah, the second one that they dedicated is going to be at McDonald House Charities of Madison. Nice. alongside Spooky Pinball Company. Oh, cool. Yeah. And if you want to petition them to donate one to our basement, well, reach out to projectpinball.org and say, you should really put some for the children in Foghorn Leghorn's basement. No, that's not how that works. I know. I joke. I know. That's all I know how to do. To mix results. Anyway, so yeah, check them out. Of course, we always support projectpinball.org. They are cool. I dig Dan and what he's doing, and you should too, because it's doing something good with the pinball universe. Yes. That's it. Anything else? No. I don't either. Remember, this is the only podcast for your ears and your butt. Yes. And as always, Shazbot, nanu nanu. That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 198ed44d-fdbb-4726-bf22-3942d5ce4fe8*