It must be time for me to break out my annual United Way Chili Cook-off advice for rookies:

1) Don't wear a jacket or sweatshirt to this event. It's a crowded room with 40 different kinds of chili being cooked. It gets hot. Shorts and a T-shirt is the way to go.

2) It's best to go with someone you don't mind sharing food with. Instead of the two of you getting two portions of everything, just get one portion and share. If you like that particular chili, get a second portion. If you don't, move on. You don't want to waste a lot of time and stomach on a chili you don't like, because there are many that you will like if you can get to them before they run out.

By the way, Thursday is the Brewhouse's 16th anniversary, so all that United Way chili should be washed down with a couple brews.

Master Brewer Dave Hoops has two special beers releasing for this event:

* Cherry Batch -- made with Door County, Wis. cherries. This is a seasonal at the Brewhouse and generally doesn't last long.

* Batch 3000 -- the Brewhouse's 3,000 batch of beer! It's a Belgian-style black saison brewed with pale malts, chocolate malts, Belgian yeasts and crushed black peppercorns.

Another Chili Cook-off tip:

The Pedestrian Slip Bridge that connects the DECC to Canal Park is not working ... as usual. So, you know, plan to walk around the slip, unless city crews actually manage to fix it today.