Happy Hour – Supping Suds with Philosofiers

“‘Twas the Night Before Xmas” or “A Craftbeer Christmas in Florida”

It’s been a while since I chimed in via blog, so I felt it was time to sit down and play a little catch-up with anyone who is still interested. No doubt like me you have been hustling and bustling about getting ready for the holiday season. Today has actually been one of our coldest this year and while we don’t have any snow you would certainly think by the way that everyone is dressed that we were in the Arctic. Of course, when you’re used to 70s and 80s the 20s does feel like the Arctic.

A couple weeks ago, while everyone else was starting their Christmas shopping and going to holiday parties, I was on the road headed to the southernmost part of the continental US, Key West. Another organization down there had reached out for help with some of their procurement and inventory procedures and, through a Municipal group my organization is a part, of had reached out to me and a couple other folks to assist with these concerns. Being the Stout-hearted (see what I did there) fellow I am how could I resist, especially since it included a free trip to the Keys. When any organization wants an outside look at their processes a Peer Review can cure what Ales you (did it again). As this was my first participation in the Peer Review process, on either side, I was a little unsure of what to expect but knew that helping out a sister organization would help our standing within the industry and I could also bring back information that would help us as well. While there are standard practices in the industry everyone has a way of doing things a bit differently. Seeing other practices and having thorough discussions with others can bring ideas you might not have considered.

I arrived in Key West a bit after 5 PM on a Monday, got checked in then met other members of the review team in the lobby. We discussed the process and the issues at the organization we were visiting then went to a local restaurant, Chico’s Cantina, on Stock Key, where we met members of the host organization for dinner.

Chico’s is a local Cuban place that is really known for their seafood tacos and other seafood dishes. I was tempted by the Yellow Tail Snapper dish they had but then I saw the Yucatecan Style Grilled Pork Chops described I had to have. They are 2 center cut pork chops, marinated in Achiote and seasonings, then grilled and topped with onions. They had the normal Mexican beers on tap but had a small section that said nothing but “Craft Beer”. When I asked, all they had for Craft was Jai Alai from Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, which I have already had many times, so I had the Dos Equis Amber instead as that goes well with spicy food. Everyone at dinner introduced themselves and we all participated in small talk throughout dinner and after. When we were finished, we headed back to the hotel and some of us headed to the bar to have a couple more libations and get to know each other some more. The discussions were anything but business, but I got a sense of who the other team members were and what to expect from the process.

The next morning saw the team meeting in the lobby for coffee and discussing how we wanted to approach the review process. Once we felt comfortable with our game plan, we headed over to the host organization and started our workday. We started by touring their new warehouse and looking over their materials layout. Then we moved into a conference room and started reviewing their procedures. By mid-morning we start interviewing the staff, first warehouse then procurement personnel. And while I can’t go into details here, I can say that I was very impressed with the amount of dedication I saw in these employees. To a person, everyone we talked to, while they might have had different ideas of how to approach an issue, all seemed dedicated to doing their jobs to the best of their ability. They were a real credit to their organization and would be to any that they belonged to.

For lunch we took a short walk down the street to a local landmark called Hogfish Bar & Grill, where we each had different dishes and were all pleased with the results. Supposedly, as the locals tell it the Bay of Pigs invasion was launched from that location.

At the end of the day, we returned to the hotel, where I checked my business emails and sent replies, the. Met downstairs at the bar so we could take the bus to downtown Key West and Duval Street where we could explore the night life. We ended up doing a little walking then ended up at Sloppy Joe’s a world renown Bar/Restaurant where we ate dinner.

I ordered a Sloppy Joes Pale Ale as I was sure it would go well with their world-famous Sloppy Joes Sandwich. And, of course, I was right. My team members had Casidillas and one had wine and the other a diet drink. All of enjoyed the meals. And I loved the atmosphere. It’s been a while since I hung out at a joint that had a house band that played good music and I had to yell at my table partners so they could hear me. The atmosphere of the place is awesome, festooned with flags from all over the world and various eclectic decorations including a look alike section with a multitude of folks who look like Papa Hemingway.

After dinner we walked around downtown some more to see what we could see. Now that I am an older fella I am much more interested in the history of places and would like to go back there again during the day and take some of the tours not available at night. But I am also still young enough to enjoy some of the evening activities available. After walking around, we went back to hotel and had another round of drinks. Then I retired to bed.

The last day we again went back to the organization and finished up our interviews with staff members, this time management. Again, folks who wanted to do good work but needed direction. In the afternoon we took our findings to the review committee and filled them in on what we found. The discussion involved a lot of back and forth and to be honest I am a terrible note taker, so I was really taxing my memory. I actually found this to be both draining and rewarding at the same time. At the end of it though I believe we did a good job for them, and I am hoping the results will give them good direction.

After we were done that afternoon, we were free to do what we wanted. Since i wasn’t leaving until the morning I was definitely taking the hotel bus back into town again. I had my eye on a specific distillery and a brewery to visit.

I arrived back downtown at 5:20 PM and Papas Pillar Distillery closes at 5:30. I hot footed it across the street from the bus stop and was able to get in before they closed for the day. Even though it was the end of their day they were gracious enough to offer me a couple of samples and then make sure that I received the Veteran discount they have for customers. Great service from these folks.

From the distillery I walked a few blocks down and turned left a couple more to get to the First Flight Island Restaurant & Brewery. I found a seat at the bar and ordered a flight of their three Flagship beers and two seasonals. And a dish of their mac and cheese.

Of the beers I liked the Maverick IPA and the Old Town Scottish Ale the best. And the mac n cheese was excellent. I really liked the atmosphere of the place and its connection to the beginning days of Pan Am Airlines.

I had enough walking and decided to head back to the bus stop and then on to the hotel. Once there I met some other folks from the Peer Review Process and we had one last libation together and talked some shop before heading to our rooms.

In the morning I packed up and headed back up US 1 toward the mainland. My plan was to stop at my younger sisters home in Coral Springs on the way home and stay there for a couple days. I stop at another brewery on the way back up and had an early lunch.

Florida Keys Brewing in Islamorada is definitely a Florida Beer company. If the decor and location didn’t clue you in, then the beers certainly would. After enjoying the flight with my tacos from a local vendor. I grabbed some six packs to-go to share with friends and family later. I thought all of their beers were pretty solid in style and flavor and were tasty. I would definitely stop there again if the opportunity comes up.

I continued from there up to Coral Springs and arrived a couple hours later. My brother-in-law was working from home. So we chatted a bit between his phone calls and waited for my niece to get home from school and my sister to get off from work. It was good seeing them as we hadn’t been able to meet in person since before COVID struck, around three years ago.

That evening they took me to see my first in person hockey game at Pantherland and see the Penguins play. My brother-in-law is a Pens fan and had the Crosby shirt to prove it. The only drawback to the night was the fact that Coors was the official sponsor of the arena The silver bullet could be had everywhere. So, I had one and regretted it instantly, as I couldn’t taste anything but water when I sipped. I tried having a Blue Moon, but they didn’t have any at that location. I ended up going downstairs to get a real beer and stopped at the Funky Buddha stand got the Gloves Off IPA which was tasty. And at the end of the first period, I found a Blue Moon at another vendor but was kind of disappointed as it couldn’t stand up to the Buddha.

The next day was Smoking day. My Bro-in law had started the smoker the night before, so we hung around and worked the smoker most of the day, smoking a pork roast. While hanging around I sampled some more beers I brought up from Florida Keys brewing. Great little examples of good beer to wash away the painful memories of the Coors I had.

The next day took their new dog, a 9-month-old Black Lab mix to the dog park to wear her out. In truth I think she wore me out a bit. Then we watched Croatia beat Morocco in the World Cup for 3rd Place.

Sister Iris, Stella the Black Lab mix, and Madison my niece.

Then we cooked some of the leftover pork on top of tortilla chips with other toppings and it was delicious. And before we came back and did that we stopped and got some groceries and I procured some holiday beers to consume with our food.

If you have never had these, you have to get them. They are awesome beers any time of year but taste better to me at the holidays.

The next morning my brother-in-law drove about an hour to pick up some Empanadas from an Argentinian bakery. And I have to admit they were probably the best Empanadas I have ever had. These had a very light and flaky crust with a great texture. They went great for brunch and were appropriate as we were watching Argentina play France in the final. Argentina was up 2 – 1 around Noon when I had to leave to come home. I found out later the final score and that I really missed the action.

I got home around 5:30 which was too late to pick up Tucker from the boarding place. So, I had to pick him up the next day. Some of you reading this may have wondered about him since I mention him so often throughout my various posts. I really couldn’t take him with me as he would have been too much with the new pup at my sister’s house. Instead, I boarded him with a company called Pet Paradise. Located in Newberry, they offer everything I needed to feel he was being taken care of. Worth the money.

Which brings me up to today. I finished Christmas shopping this morning so after lunch I went to one of our locals to imbibe and work on this blog a bit. Blackadder has their Making Spirits bright event which included discounts and, more importantly, all you can drink Gluhwein (spiced mulled wine for those who don’t know).

I started off with a mug of Gluhwein, which I believe Sissy makes herself, and a glass of Aventinus Weizendoppelbock, which is a great doppelbock. And the Gluhwein kind of enhanced the flavor. Then I went with one of Chris’ new brews, Raiders of the Lost Oak, which is an Imperial Coffee Stout. Really great flavor, and again, the Gluhwein enhanced it.

When I finished with them, I picked up some bottles of the Raisers to share with family on Christmas Day, then went home and cooked some homemade lasagna for dinner and served it with a salad and a Belgian Quad – Practise What You Preach, from Bierbrouwerji De Koningshoeven.

That about covers the last two weeks. Merry Christmas to all… and to all a great beer choice.

Papabear

A Visit to Twin Peaks, San Antonio TX

While on a recent business related trip to a conference in San Antonio, Texas, I was able to find this little gem on the internet and new I had to give a try. No – as far as I know Twin Peaks does not refer to the TV show, either the original series or the reboot. Instead, from while I can tell, it’s a double entendre (similar to Hooters), which is supported by the outfits the waitresses wear, see the examples of short khaki shorts and lumberjack style short tops.

Where Twin Peaks differs from Hooters and Winghouse and any other contenders out there is in the food offerings and the alcoholic selections. For one, they have their own line of beer selections, which are not bad from my tastings. I had a Dirty Blonde Ale and a Dropdead Redhead, both slightly different from the more common examples but good examples of the style they represented. And while they serve them a little colder than I prefer they still are pretty tasty. They also offer beer selections for the Macro beer consumers so they don’t alienate any customers.

They also have a decent selection of wines (though to be honest I did not sample any) and a wide variety of cocktails. But what really piqued my interest is they listing of whiskeys, They have Bourbons, Ryes, Irish Whiskey, American Whiskey, Rum, Vodkas and Tequilas. And their selections varied in quality and price in every category. I certainly enjoyed the Makers Mark I had after dinner.

Their food selection is a lot more extensive that the other competitors I already mentioned and my Avocado Smash Burger, which was slightly augmented with bacon by a suggestion from my waitress Janna was really delicious, juicy and flavorful. The fries that accompanied were pretty good too, being light and crispy like I like them.

The environment was loud but I’m okay with that and kind of expected as this is also a sports bar. The décor is focused on lodge style with faux log cabin panels on the indoors, open rafters in the ceiling, rams and deer heads, animal skins and fish on plagues decorating the walls, and antlers for the chandlers.

I like this place, and look forward to the next time I can visit one. The staff were friendly and helpful, the food, beer and alcohol selection is pretty good and varied and the atmosphere for me was great for working on this blog and another.

I will recommend this to anyone who asks and suggest it to friends who travel to San Antonio.

Papabear

A Visit to Austin, TX and a Very Hopp-y Easter!

It’s been a few months since my last post and to be honest I’ve been so busy at work that taking the time write an epistle was not a priority. Ironically, it took a work-related event in the form of a conference to cause me to stop… take a breath… and realize how much time has passed since I had flexed my blogging muscles.

I will not go into conference details as, unless you using SAP as your ERP system, then you are not likely to find any interest in that aspect of the story. But I will highlight some of my exposure to Austin’s food and craft beer cultures.

The décor in my hotel room in the Hyatt Regency speaks of Austin’s musical background in Texas Blues.

My arrival on Monday the 26th included an afternoon session, after which I met up with colleagues from other companies as well as a my coworkers who also attended including a former colleague who was working in a related but different industry and was there for the conference. The meet-n-greet included free alcoholic beverages so I took the opportunity to begin sampling some of Austin’s craft beer. My intro was a Pilsner from Austin Beerworks.

It had a good Pils flavor though it was slightly stronger in the hops arena. My only complaint was that they did not include a glass to serve it in. I would like to have seen how the beer clung to a clean glass and what kind of head it produced.

After the meet-n-greet my colleagues and I took a stroll across the Congress Avenue Bridge and headed north toward the Capitol, until we got to 6th Street, then we turned right and went another block and entered BD Riley’s Pub just on the left.

Observers waiting for the Bats on Congress Bridge.

Heading north on Congress Avenue you can see the Capitol building in the distance.

BD Riley’s is an Irish Pub to be clear but it’s an Irish Pub in Texas. So the Blues music cultural is definitely alive and well there (see link below).

While there I started with a really good Pecan Porter from (512) Brewing Company. It has a really great flavor and look to it. And it went well with the Appetizer Sampler platter we ordered. The wings had good heat the fried dill pickle slices were tasty and the chicken planks weren’t bad. I didn’t have any stuffed potato skins but I was told there were delicious.

For my main course I ordered the Chicken Newton. Which contains pulled chicken breast, crisp bacon and tangy green apples chopped and topped with a four-cheese blend then skewered on Texas Toast quarters. I paired that with an Axis IPA from Real Ale Brewing. Both were very good and satisfying.

We headed back to our hotel after dinner and awaited the next day’s sessions of conference presentations.

After all of the speaking and mingling of the day, we met up with a mix of other utility companies at a social dinner sponsored by one of the Vendors at the conference. It was a good mix of discussions about our day to day activities as well as comparisons of how each company handles their own tasks. We also ventured off into other avenues of interest which included travel, foods and craft beers (for some of us). It was good to meet people from other areas who shared my interest in Craft. The dinner was held at Zax Restaurant & Bar, a short walking distance from the Hyatt Regency.

They had us segmented away in a corner of the restaurant and rightfully so as there were about 30 or more of us. I walked back toward the bar to view the display of beer taps and see what the fare was. I was surprised to find that most of the taps were local brands, and only a few were more well known (Lone Star, Shiner).

I started out with a Kolsch named All Call from Lakewood Brewing. Very nice Kolsch flavor and it re-enforced the reputation that a lot of breweries in Texas are specializing in Lagers, Pilsners and other German based brews.

As the evening went on and discussions carried forward we began placing our orders for dinner. When I did I also put in an order for what they called their “Austin Flight” which was an all Austin based sampling of beers.

This included a Pilsner, an IPA, a Vienna Lager and an Amber Ale. I wish I could tell you the breweries but I wasn’t fast enough to write them down, much less hear them correctly with the background chatter surrounding me. I can say they were all good examples of each style and very tasty. They also complemented the dinner of Tilapia served with capers on linguine and mixed veggies.

And I have to give a mention to the delicious Blackberry Ginger Cheesecake that was made on site. A very tasty dessert.

That evening drew to a close and we went into the last day of the conference with all of the associated sessions. By 5 PM the conference was ended and many folks had gone on their way to their respective destinations. My colleagues and I weren’t returning until the next day, so we spent Wednesday evening with one last journey into the Austin air. We decided to follow a recommendation (from several sources) for local BBQ, Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, located on Congress Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets. Being a short walking distance from the hotel didn’t hurt.

We arrived just before the customary line out the door started. In fact, it started forming behind us as there was a small line to get in to put your order inside. While waiting on the inside line I ordered another local beer, National Park Hefeweizen from Big Bend Brewing.

This was a very tasty Hefe and paired well with the BBQ Pork Ribs and Brisket I ordered for my meal. It also went well with the cole slaw, grilled corn on the cob, and the jalapeno-bacon-mac & cheese that I had for the sides.

That was some of the best BBQ I have had at a restaurant ever! I highly recommend this place if you find yourself in Austin. Not only is the BBQ very good but the beer selection is great as well. There are two levels of seating as well as outdoor seating and they were filling up by the time we left.

We decided to take a stroll and found ourselves heading north for the Capitol building. Unknown to me until informed by the Supershuttle driver who brought me from the Airport, the Capitol in Austin is the largest Capitol in the US. And after having seen it in person I believe her (see pics below).

After walking to the Capitol and making our way back to the hotel, I decided one final draft was in order, so I went to the hotel bar and ordered a perfect dessert beer to top off the evening, the Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout from Independence Brewing.

This smooth coffee/chocolate/oatmeal flavored stout was the perfect cap to an evening

In the morning, I arose and showered then began to pack and decided to get breakfast at the hotel. The view was cloudy but pretty and the breakfast was a tex/mex fave of mine, Huevos Rancheros.

The layer of beans covered with sausage and a couple over easy eggs, topped with avocado and a grilled jalapeno was a perfect “I’m going to be traveling all day and don’t know when I will eat.” type of breakfast. A good final meal to say goodbye to Texas with.

My only complaint about the trip would be how beer is served in Austin, and this may be true throughout Texas. I don’t like drinking from a can. No matter how good the packaging technology may be, psychologically I still taste metal. And I don’t like that they serve their beers in frosted glasses. In fact, when I asked for a non-frosted glass the bar person looked at me like I was crazy. They obviously haven’t been taught in Texas that frosting the beer glass masks the flavor of the beer. And while the beers I had tasted good, I really didn’t get their true flavor because they were all masked. That is a bit disappointing in a town that pride’s itself on craft beer.

I would like to add that I have been to Texas many times in the past, (San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and parts in between) and none of those visits has been as rewarding as this one. I would readily take a trip to Austin again, whether on business or as a vacation destination. I cannot say that of the other parts of Texas I have been to.

A no-show of a co-pilot delayed my connecting flight in Atlanta by about a hour and half so I didn’t get back into Gainesville until after 8 PM that Thursday. So I was unable to pick-up Tucker from the Doctor’s house until the next day. Luckily for me, the Doctor was able to keep Tucker entertained while I was away.

So much so that he slept well while he was there.

So now I am home and spending my Easter with my little beer hound. I hope all of you are getting to spend Easter with your loved ones and enjoying the day.

Maybe you’re hunting for eggs or for a new tradition that seems to catching on beers.

Most of all I hope you’re enjoying the holiday meals that have been prepared, both the traditional and non-traditional.

However you are spending the day, whether based in faith, or in spending time with family and/or friends, or both I hope you enjoy the colors and flavors of the day and match them up well with your favorite ale!

Papabear

Beercation 2017 – Preparation (Subtitled “Hey Irma… We’re still standing!!”)

I don’t know about the rest of you but the last few months for me have been extremely busy. We in Florida had a rather worrisome lady friend, named Irma, give us one helluva visit in September! She may not have been as dangerous as we thought she was going to be, but she was plenty dangerous enough for me.

Her arrival in the wee early morning hours on September 11th, and her subsequent departure later in the day, left the utility company I work for enough to keep us busy for 8 straight days of 17 hour shifts. By the time it was over we were exhausted, but we had services back up to 100% of our customers in that time frame. A lot of other places in Florida weren’t as fortunate.

This also put a little bit of a time constraint I had on prepping a new RV trailer I purchased the week before, Labor Day weekend. When I got the trailer home I took Tucker and his new little buddy Harley (I was babysitting Rowdy’s dog while she and the Cooler were out of town.) out to see the new toy and they were plenty excited.

Later that day I began making plans for a vacation to Asheville, NC. I booked a KOA camp site, looked up a list of breweries and pubs that I haven’t been to yet and highlighted those that were pet friendly as Tucker is accompanying me, then began an itinerary that included some time at Grandfather Mountain, hiking, and just some relaxing.

Then upon returning to work on the Tuesday after Labor Day we were entered into full blown Storm Prep. Any plans I were working on were forgotten in the milieu that accompanied the approaching doom. You may think I am exaggerating, but at the time Irma was tracking on a course that would bring her right up the middle of the state, the worst possible scenario. The devastation from that trajectory would do so much harm that the recovery could take months.

At work we prepped as best we could, contacting Vendors to get as much material in ahead of time that we could, seeing what was lined up to come in and what was available after Harvey had torn up Texas. I have to give some credit here because the Vendors that we use for supplying our material needs really stepped up and made sure we were a priority for them. After that is was a matter of battening down the hatches and securing the facilities. By the end of business that Friday, except for a couple of last minute deliveries we had set-up for that Saturday and Sunday, we were about as ready as we could be for this storm.
I attended a little pre-storm beer session with my fellow Beer Bacchanalians that early Friday evening and, in between answering phone calls and emails from work on my cell phone, managed to enjoy a couple of last brews before the storm hit.

All of Saturday was spent on phone calls and emails coordinating schedules for after the storm restoration and determining who would be hunkered down at work during the storm. I spent so much time on this that I wasn’t able to get the outside of the house prepped for the storm until late Sunday morning. I was picking up deck chairs and making sure the new RV was secure while it was raining cats and dogs.

Around 10 PM my power blinked out once for about 5 minutes. I took that as a hint that it was fixing to get bad, so when the power came back on I turned everything off and went to bed to await Irma’s imminent arrival. I actually spent the next couple of hours texting back and forth with my sisters who both also live in Florida. Tucker had fits all during the evening as the sounds of the storm made him restless.

Around 1 AM I woke up to the sound of the wind howling like a banshee around the house and through the trees that surround my neighborhood. I began hearing the sound of the house creaking loudly coming from the corner that my bedroom was in. The sound of the wind and the creaking was enough to make me rethink my location so I got up and laid down a couple of sleeping bags in the hallway between my office and the guest room. That was centrally located and probably provided the best protection in case of a tree falling or the roof lifting off. Tucker followed me and while we tried to get some rest we both had little of it that night.

At 430 AM my alarm went off and while I was already awake I knew I need to grab my flashlight and begin getting ready for the early morning storm briefing. At that point Irma had passed over us but we were still experiencing tropical force winds and would until about Noon that day. I checked out the house and saw some damage to the privacy fence but near damage to the main structure so I changed clothes and went in to work.

That alone was a difficult task. Not only were trees and limbs down all over town and well as power out to most of the traffic lights, but the entrance to my neighborhood was under about three feet of water. I know that because when I drove though it, as it came up to the bottom door of my pick-up truck. Some of my neighbors were stuck there with the lower cars they had.

So we all went in at Noon and worked til 10 PM that night. Then went home and came back at 5 AM in the morning and again worked until 10 PM. This routine repeated for the next 6 days.

By Friday morning, all of us had been at this for at this for at least 61 hours, some longer because of the preparations for the storm. As I looked around the room all I saw were tired faces. Tired… but determined.

Sunday morning while we’re dragging ourselves in to try and finish restoration to the last 1.5% of the community, while most of the folks in the area are already back to their Sunday routines of church, family gatherings and NFL football. That routine is what the last 1.5% wants to get back to… and so do we. But we’re not done yet.

As the day wears on the effect of the fatigue we are feeling becomes very evident when one of my staff members is injured. Luckily, the injury is just a simple contusion, but it could have been worse and would have been easier to prevent if we weren’t all exhausted. After getting him a medical check out at the Health Center we sent him home with a lesson learned for all of us.

By Sunday night we have all but 380 customers back and we plan to start working on those at first light. That is less than 0.4% of our customers. Well over 60,000 restored within a 7 day period. By Tuesday morning we had restored all customers back to service.

Nothing enhances flavor quite like the deprivation of it. Going home for the first time in daylight that day I was finally able to do a better evaluation of my home and how it survived the storm. I talked to some of my neighbors to see how they fared. And I noticed that someone had cleaned up some of the debris in my yard and piled it for pick-up. The neighbors know I work for the utility company and knew I was at work while they could start making repairs on the damage they went through. Not only did the company I work for pull together to get everyone back up and running, but the community as a whole pulled together to help each other out.

The next weekend I began working on replacing a portion of the privacy fence. I also restarted prepping the RV for a trip I was planning in October. That was the first time I had been able to enjoy a beer since before the storm hit. I don’t know if it was deprivation or just a really good beer but nothing has tasted so good in a long time.

The following Monday the 25th I was joined by Rowdy and the Cooler for a Taps and Tapas dinner at Blackadder Brewing. An excellent 4 course meal accompanied by 5 excellent beers.

The following Saturday brought more rain back into the area but Rowdy and I decided to attend the Bacon and Brew fest in Deland Florida. They had some excellent Bacon available but the beer ran out in less than two hours. As you can see from the picture below we weren’t happy about that.

We did however decide to visit one of the breweries in town, Persimmon Brewing, which had some very good beers. And Rowdy’s Mom joined us and we went to Yola Mac and Grilled Cheese for some food. Excellent food bit the service was only so-so.

I finally finished the section of fence by this last Tuesday night and continued prepping for the vacation to Asheville NC, this Saturday. Tucker and I are both ready for a road trip and I have picked out some pet friendly places in Asheville to visit.

Today I am attending the Gator Homecoming Parade with my fellow Beer Bacchanalians and Gainesville House of Beer. Then I will finish up my preparations from the trip and leave for Ashville in the morning.

Tucker and I will report in on our visitations and provide some much needed information for this blog. It’s been too long without some wordage!

Papabear

My Annual Drink with Dad!! Craft Beer vs Macro!!

Today is my Dad’s 75th birthday. Or it would be if he were still with us. He passed away in ’98 and since then I have taken this day to drink a beer with him. I don’t know if it’s to make up for all those I didn’t get to drink with him or just my way of remembering him, but wherever I am I hunt down his beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and drink it in his remembrance. Today I picked Gainesville House of Beer for this annual event.

Most of us probably learned about beer from our Dad’s. Even though there are lot more female beer drinkers today than have been (at least in the US) in the last couple hundred years, I would bet even most of them learned about beer from their Dad’s. The same way we learn a lot of things from our fathers, they do, we watch, we repeat.

That’s right son…now shake it a little bit…

I can remember as a kid helping Dad work on the car or some other work around the house and he would take a break and crack open a bottle or snap open a can, then slowly pour back the container and let it roll down then would stop and tip his head back up and slowly let the beer roll around on his tongue before he swallowed it. Then I would hear the inevitable, yet interesting “Aaaaaaahhh!”

I may not have known what he was having the first time I heard that sound but I certainly knew he was enjoying it. I catch myself doing the same thing occasionally. It’s that sound you make when you feel that quench being satisfied or the pang being quelled.

I just finished his PBR and am moving on to 3 Daughters Key Lime Cider because in Florida in July light and refreshing is the way to finish on a hot day. Having said that while it did help cleanse my pallet it was not quite the “Aaaaaahhh!” I was hoping for.

You see there a couple others things I learned from Dad. He wasn’t afraid to try something new.. at least not when it came to beer. After I got back from the Air Force or any time I went up to PA on vacation we made it a point to at least go out to a bar together at least once and have at least one beer. And it was always a draft, never a bottle or can. I learned from him that draft beers usually taste better than packaged, something that usually still holds true today. At least for me. We also tried to find a beer that we hadn’t had before.

More than a few people have asked me if I thought my Dad would have liked Craft Beer or stuck with his go to. I can answer that easily. His go to beer was for sitting around the house on the weekend and doing odd chores like working on the car or helping relatives build something, or having with a family picnic. But whenever he and I went to a bar together we would always have something different. I get the tendency for that from him.

Me with my Nova SS and Dad with his Nash

Rowdy came in and joined me when the cider hit the bar in front of me. She stuck around and we philosphied a bit while supping suds. When I finished the cider I ordered an Old Rasputin Nitro, which I had had before but not as a nitro, which changes the texture of the beer certainly, but the flavor a little bit too.

I like the coffee flavor of Old Rasputin tempered slightly with the hint of chocolate, but when you add the nitro you take what could be to some a heavy feeling beer and add a nice malty feel to it. Now that’s the “Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!’ I was looking for.

So, Dad, I started this out with your go-to Macro beer, but ended up finishing it with a great Craft Beer I think you would have enjoyed trying with me. Order another round at that bar in the sky and give Mom a hug from me. Cheers!!

Papabear

Cypress & Grove Brewing and Indigo’s Homemade Ice Cream – New FLavors in Town!!!

So part of my July 4th weekend was spent doing the usual, grilling food and spending time with friends and family. Part of this involved visiting a couple of new places in Gainesville as well as some of our regular haunts.

On Friday, June 30th, the Maestro and I met up at First Magnitude to begin Supping back some Suds and begin some earnest Philosophying. I started off with their Dunkulla Weizenbock which was a great example of a good roasty Weizenbock flavor. I also sampled their Kemp’s Ridley Radler and it tasted good but sweeter than I expected. But the highlight for me at First Mag that evening was their New England Style IPA Trop Hop, which had strong citrus and floral notes in the nose but a great IPA flavor with a clean finish, a very refreshing beer.

While there, the Maestro and I started up a conversation with two other gents, both Gator Alumni and one was visiting for the first time in many years. We discussed a lot of the changes that had happened around town since he had been here last. Then they eventually told us they had just left another brewery called Cypress & Grove Brewing that had just opened up.

Now I knew there was a new brewery opening, that was originally going to be called Rainstorm Brewing but they had to do a name change for some reason, but I never heard the new name. But when these gents told us where it was located I knew it was the same place. So the Maestro and I wrapped our conversation and decided to head over there and see what offerings they had available.

In the interim, Rowdy and the Cooler had texted us to see if we were still at First Mag so we told them where we were headed and said to meet us there.

Cypress & Grove has only had a soft opening so far and is still undergoing some construction. For instance the AC was not installed yet the night we went and they have a large game area where they will probably have Corn Hole games and other games set-up. But without the AC it was very hot in that section as well.

They had a small list of beers available, but they also had a wine and some of their own seltzer water with flavoring for any young ones. The beers listed included a Blonde, a Pale Ale, an IPA and a Stout. They haven’t come up with any catchy names yet so if you go to look the beers up on Untappd it’s just under the brewery name for now.

I started out with their IPA which had a pretty good flavor and finish. I would definitely order it again. The Maestro said they same about their Pale Ale. My second glass was their Stout which had a traditional Stout flavor and reminded me of a Guinness. I have to be careful when trying Stouts anymore as more and more folks are putting out Chocolate Stouts and Barrel-Aged Stouts and a normal Stout really doesn’t compare to those. But if you like Guinness you will probably like this one.

I asked some folks on the staff and the Grand Opening will be in August sometime. By then I suspect they will have the AC in place. But if you can take the heat I would recommend stopping by and trying some of their fare.

After our second beer there I was hungry and suggested we adjourn to Satchel’s for dinner, which the Maestro, Rowdy and the Cooler all agreed was a good idea.

Our wait at Satchel’s was short and we were shown to a table pretty quickly for a Friday evening. We decided to share a small house salad and do a Democratic large pizza. I call it Democratic because it includes 4 toppings and there were four of us present so we each got to pick a topping and each had a veto power over a topping. Democracy in action on a holiday weekend celebrating our liberty’s….

Sorry, I just felt a lump forming in my throat.

To accompany the pizza I ordered the Big John’s Apricot Wheat from Bold City Brewing. I gotta tell you I love Satchel’s, but that night the pizza, salad and beer combination really hit the spot. I left completely sated.

The second part of this blog story takes place the Monday after this visit on July 3rd. I worked that day and had a cold come back on me over the weekend so plans I had to visit a new Ice Cream shop over the weekend had been delayed. I was originally going to try and bring my sister, her husband and the kids with me, but since I didn’t go out on the weekend and this is kind of on my way home, I decided instead to see if they offered to-go quarts, which they do.

Indigo’s Homemade hasn’t been open a year yet and I actually discovered them through Twitter. But I have to say, when you first walk in the door it’s got a very nostalgic feel to it. The décor is definitely 50’s style with that old soda shop look to it. In the background you hear music from the 50’s/60’s and can see the accompanying videos on a couple of flat screen TVs.

The ice cream is in large container’s under a glass display where you can easily see them. I don’t remember the exact number but I am guessing they had 24 different flavors of ice cream to choose from. They have a waffle iron on the back counter where they make their own waffle cones. And they have enough homemade syrups and toppings to make any dish served very personally tailored.

I talked with the lady behind the counter while she filled my quarts and found out that the ice cream is made locally by a company in Tampa, but it is fresh made and uses local ingredients, except for the Caramel which comes from Peru and the chocolate in the Dutch Chocolate, which is one of the quarts I ordered. The other two were Vanilla and Strawberry Cheescake. The service was great and the décor was very well done.

The real test though came later that night after dinner. I decided again to play Democracy and give every flavor a chance at impressing me. Unfortunately, it is next to impossible for me to try and have something like ice cream without Tucker catching wind of it, no matter how hard I try. So the entire time I was scooping and sampling he was right there watching.

Now some of you may ask with 24 flavors available why I would order Vanilla. I like Vanilla, particularly good Vanilla. And I have to tell you this is good Vanilla. Really good flavor and the texture is very smooth and that buttery-creamy texture that homemade ice cream should have. It was sweet without having that over-sweet flavor that a lot of store bought ice cream has.

The Strawberry Cheesecake doesn’t just taste like strawberry cheesecake, it has chucks of strawberries and cheesecake in it. And the Dutch Chocolate doesn’t taste like store-bought milk chocolate ice cream, but dark chocolate from the Black Forest Region of Germany. Rich flavor without being sickeningly sweet with a creamy texture. I gotta say I loved all three and am looking forward to another bowl this evening.

I definitely recommend stopping by Indigo’s Homemade. I certainly will again and the next time I want one of their homemade waffle cones.

Just an FYI I couldn’t resist letting Tucker lick the bowl. And he wants more too.

Papabear

Celebrate the Season with Blackadder Brewing Company!

If you have read my blog before you have probably seen my mention of anticipating the opening of new Brewery in Gainesville, Blackadder Brewing Company! Well, the day has finally arrived and they have opened and in my opinion, it was worth the wait!

Last Friday, a little before 10 AM I got a message in my email that Blackadder was opening it’s doors that day (see above). I sent a pic of the email out to my fellow beer bacchanalians and suggested this for happy hour that afternoon.

Unfortunately, I immediately succumbed to a flu bug going around town, (fever, chills, aches, digestive disorders, etc.) and ended up going home early that day. I told the crew I wouldn’t make it but to send me pics or the new place so I could see how it had turned out. The Doctor, Rowdy and the Maestro both obliged with the following:

While I was kinda ticked that I was too sick to make it to the opening day festivities, I was certainly glad to see that the business had a good turn out for their first day.

If you don’t know anything about Blackadder Brewing Company here is a quick quote about the owners/brewers from their website Blackadder Brewing:

“Chris and Sissy Hart have been married for 20+ years. Sissy is a Gainesville native and Chris has been here since coming to the University of Florida in 1987. Brewing has been a part of their lives for over a decade. For more than 6 years, Chris has worked at and managed the local homebrew supply shop and is a BJCP judge. Both Chris & Sissy are active members of Gainesville’s homebrew club, the Hogtown Brewers. Collectively, they have earned over 30 medals in beer competitions throughout Florida and the US. Their love of creating craft beer and sharing it with others led to the establishment of Blackadder Brewing Company. They look forward to sharing their award winning beers with the Gainesville community. “

Whether you bother going to the website or not (and I would recommend you do) all you really need to know is that they not only know good beer, they make good beer as well.

Now it really took me a few days to get over the bug I caught. I was pretty much sick all weekend and while I went back to work on Monday I was still drained physically of any energy. But by Tuesday I was feeling much better. Well enough that after work I headed over to the west side of town to do some Christmas shopping for the niece and nephew at Toys R Us, which is just west of the Oaks Mall. After I was done there, I decided to stop by Blackadder on the way home and see how it was.

If you are trying to find Blackadder, the address is 618 NW 60th Street, Suite A. It’s on the Southeast corner of the same building that is home for Honey Baked Ham, McAllister’s Deli and Painting with a Twist.

As you approach the business you will easily see the sign on the front, and they have a front and side entrance.

Once you enter you immediately feel like you have stepped into something much akin to an Olde World Pub. The tables are Pub style, and the wood brace accenting, fireplace and chandelier definitely lend themselves to that feel.

At the bar you can see they took their time in decorating and picking out the right look for that area. The dark wood cabinetry, raised white accent paneling and Olde World Style map behind the bar go great together.

But now let’s talk about the best part… The Beer!

First, it looks like they have around 40 taps available. I know they had 4 of their own brews (signified by the Blackadder tap handles) and well as two sodas they brewed themselves as well. But they also had a wide selection of good quality craft beers.

But I didn’t care about the other craft beers. You see I have had samplings of their beers before at some Beerfests and other activities and I know the kind of quality they are capable of producing. So I went their flight deal, which includes a sampling of all of their taps.

That evening they were serving the following from right to left in the pic above:

Prince Ludwig the Indestructible: which is a lager with really good flavor. If you or someone you know is not that familiar with craft beers I would recommend this as an introductory beer.

Zakziskie: A Smoked Wheat Beer. The smoke definitely hits the nose when you bring the glass up to the lips, but the smoke flavor combines with the wheat and almost makes it taste like a Belgian, in my opinion.

Warm Cockles: This Old ale is very tasty and you can tell it has a higher ABV. Loved the flavor! I would put this up against Founders Dirty Bastard, maybe even the Backwoods Bastard. This was probably my favorite of the evening but it was close tie with the next one.

Riders of the Lost Oat: This was an excellent stout! It was smooth tasting with a good mix of coffee and chocolate flavors!

I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t want to go to this establishment. It has a great atmosphere, a great staff that knows the product and good quality selection of beers to choose from. The only drawback for me is that it isn’t closer to my side of town, but for this place I will make an exception and brave the traffic.

One little disclosure statement: If you sit at the left hand side of the bar and look up on the wall you will see a plaque with some names on it called the Blackadder Founders Club. My name is one of those on that plaque. But I do not receive any funds or profit from the business and am not associated with it in any way other than as a patron. I donated some funding to their Kickstarter campaign because I wanted to see another brewery in the Gainesville area and I always like to see a small business get a good start.

In my opinion, it was money well spent.

Papabear

Ode to Craft Beer Badges

If the title worries you that I may begin waxing poetic…. don’t worry. My word-smithing is more direct and not as open to interpretation as most poetry is. And to be honest trying to emulate the styles of any poets I admire (of which there are admittedly few) would be a wasted effort. And I like to add visual aids to my posts to drive home my point… Like this one!!

If you are a craft beer fan then you probably have an App on your phone. You may use this App for keeping track of beers that you like with a rating system. You may use it to find businesses near by that sell craft beers. You may use it to find specific beers that you are looking for, There are other uses for Apps as well. Some craft beer bars have their own Apps so you can track the beers you consume in their establishments and see how many points you have toward their next level/prize.

My fellow beer bacchanalians and I primarily make use of the Untappd App for various reasons, one being that we can use it in multiple places. Another is the addictive nature of the App because as you try more and more different styles and brands of beer you get badges. So it has the usefulness of helping track and find beers, as well as a bit of a social media touch with the friends aspect attached to it, but also has the addictiveness of a game.

While I am talking specifically about this App, this is in no way an endorsement of this particular App or any other App for that matter. In fact there was a point where we were so focused on getting badges we weren’t anywhere near as concerned about the quality of beer. Both the Doctor and I would look at upcoming or newly created badges and see what beers we would need to get them.

In honor of the craziness we experienced with this App and other similar Apps out there, the following is a list of Badges we would like to see Untappd make available (but probably never will because they are really too appropriate for our group).

For all the nasty beers we drank just to get a badge. A habit which has now fallen by the wayside. Life is to short to waste it on a nasty beer!

One of our haunts has a priest who visits and works on his paperwork while he enjoys a brewed beverage. If he’s there when we stop in we take as a sign of good luck.

If you use this App, or one like it, with your friends, then you probably have that one friend who leads the pack in badges and has to let everybody know about it.

We all also have that one friend who doesn’t want their picture taken or to checked in on Facebook. The reasons ay vary but you know you have one.

You also probably have the friend who works the job where the hours aren’t 9 to 5, so they often are absent when you are out trying to collect badges. This one is for them.

This is for the friend who has a rotating schedule and only drinks every other week. So their badge collection suffers.

Karaoke and beer go together like ham and eggs.

Some times this can accompany the karaoke badge. But it also can stand on it’s own.

This is for the brave souls who really just don’t know their limits.

This probably ends up accompanying the High ABV badge.

Unfortunately these two badges come as a set. I don’t think it’s intentional it just turns out that way.

Every group of beer drinkers has the one guy with the long beard. Mea culpa!

And finally this either for those who don’t use the App. You have a badge waiting for you. It can also be applied to those who have finally quit keeping track of how many badges you have. But then you would probably never know you got it.

Whether you use this App or another, enjoy the beer and the camaraderie, the badges can wait.

Papabear

Lord of the Drinks: The Fellowship of the Drink

It’s been a while since an epistle has been posted here so I thought I’d better blow some dust of the keyboard and give you all something to read before you lose interest. The title for the article comes from two sources:

1 – The Doctor seems to want to keep comparing me to Gandalf from the Middle Earth tales of J.R.R. Tolkien, which I just don’t get….

2 – And it occurred to me during one of my evenings out during the last couple of weeks that quite often in life strong bonds of friendship, camaraderie and fellowship are often formed in our lives with the aid or at least accompaniment of alcohol.

Now this may seem obvious to some of you. But really strong bonds with other people are usually formed in the following ways:

Strong shared emotional distress – the birth, serious illness or death of a family member is an example.

Strong shared physical and mental stress – this is why men and women who have served in the military together have a bond with each other that last the rest of their lives.

And when barriers have been removed and open and honest words and feelings are exchanged – this is where the alcohol comes in.

Now since my last posting I have had more than a few outings involving craft beer. On July 4^th weekend I visited my sister in Coral Springs and the night that I arrived we went to a nearby eatery, Nick’s New Haven Style Pizzeria and Bar, and enjoyed some Italian food and Craft Beer.

The next day we sat beside the pool and grilled out and drank craft beer that I had brought with me and some that my brother-in-law had bought at Lucky’s market, We also had some very good Dominican Rum and cigars as well.

The next weekend I started by meeting Rowdy and the Cooler at Gainesville House of Beer, along with the Doctor and the Deck-orator joined us as well. The standout that day was Weyerbacher’s 21^st Anniversary Ale, and the fact that Rowdy had returned from a trip to Cuba with some hand-rolled cigars and some Cuban beer, which I drank later that weekend.

A few days later Rowdy and I met at First Magnitude brewery after work where they were having a Funky Buddha tap takeover. I had Funky Buddha Wide Awake It’s Morning chocolate stout and then had First Mag’s British Strong Ale, which was a very good strong ale by the way.

That following Friday I met up with the Maestro at the Hop Top which isn’t far from his place, and we were joined by Rowdy and the Amester. I started by toasting my father’s birthday with his go=to beer, a PBR. I finished that as quickly as I could. They also had a few taps featuring Funky Buddha which we availed ourselves of. For me the stand out that evening was Funky’s Vanilla Espresso Piiti Porter.

Again on a Tuesday, the 19^th, I went to another craft beer related event at a local sub shop called Hogan’s Heros. They were starting what they called a Craft Beer Tour, where you get a card featuring beer’s from local breweries Swamp Head and First Magnitude. As you get different brews from the breweries you get symbols signed off on the card and when it is full you get a t-shirt of some kind. The Maestro joined me there on his way back from some event.

That following Thursday I met the Doctor and the Maestro at BrassTap, where they were having a Founder’s Brewing Tap Takeover. And the same rep from Founder’s, a pretty young lady named Kelly who really knows her beers, was also at this event. I got a chance to talk to her this time about how great the beer pairing dinner at the Top was and asked if they were planning any other dinners like it. And she asked me if any other restaurant’s in town had the quality of food that the Top had and served craft beer. I gave her a few names but we’ll have to see how that plays out.

The maestro ended leaving after two beers to go bowling and the Doctor and I hung out with Allen while Trivia night was playing out. Then after a bit we went out on the patio and smoked a Cuban that Rowdy had given to each of us. We sat out there for a while, enjoying a nice beer with a cigar, then after a bit we were joined by a young veteran who was looking for a friend of his. We started talking for a bit and I offered him a cigar and he and the Doctor and I enjoyed some Philosophying for a bit.

My next event was not Craft Beer related but was just as much fun as it was the last Tuesday of the month so that meant that the Wine Pairing Dinner at Leonardo’s 706 was going on. That evening was little different as both Maestro and the Muse were out of town as was Rowdy and Cooler and another couple who normally joins our table. But Sam and Barbara, whom I know from the Wine Tasting Class days, were there as were Will and Edo, who have recently started doing the wine tasting dinners.

The theme was a taste of Maine so the main course was lobster, and even though I can’t eat a lot of shellfish without digestive problems, the little bit of lobster that I did have was delicious. And it paired very well with the Merlot that Gonzolo had brought for the dinner. Which brings us to this weekend…

Last night I met the Maestro at House of Beer after I got out of work. And we caught up with each other, drank beer and philosophied for a bit. The he called the Muse and she joined us there and had a glass of wine while we finished our beers. When that was done we decided to go down to the Artwalk, which is an annual event in Gainesville. We specifically went to see one lady’s showing because she used to work with the Maestro way back. Her name is Leslie and I have to say I was very impressed with some of her work.

After the art, we decided to go around the corner and see if we could get a table at Emiliano’s for dinner. Luckily the students aren’t fully back in town yet, and we could get a table. We ordered some food and switched to a bottle of red wine for dinner. The Maestro and I both ordered the Puerco Rico and the Muse had a chicken dish that I have had before and enjoyed but now can’t remember the name. Honestly, though, it doesn’t matter because I haven’t had anything yet from Emiliano’s that I didn’t like. And last evening was no exception.

So this morning I reflected a little on the last month and realized that most of the social activity has involved alcohol in one form or another. And it was not over-indulgence in the drinks, just enough to relax you and make you feel like talking. The company I kept was the most important part of it. And it was family and friends who I mostly had some strong bonds with. But during this time those bonds were strengthened. We all enjoyed each other’s companies and grew closer as friends and family.

If there are any folks out there who think alcohol is the devil’s work and would advocate for a return to the days of prohibition, I would like to remind you of a couple of things. One, prohibition was more responsible than anything else for the rise of organized crime in the United States when it was enacted.

Two, it isn’t alcohol that’s the problem for folks that have problems with it. It’s the over indulgence of it. Over indulgence in most things isn’t a good thing. And while it’s never good to see people suffering from their weaknesses, is it just to prohibit other’s from enjoying themselves because of others weaknesses??

So if anyone out there thinks that try to get Prohibition enacted again is a good idea, I have a message for you from Gandalf…

Papabear

The Curative Powers of… Supping Suds with Philosophiers!

This last work week was not one of the best of weeks for me. Mondays are never usually great to begin with, but Tuesday through Thursday I was suffering from a bout of sinus headaches that not only made it very difficult to concentrate on what I was doing, but was also responsible for canceling a night out with friends mid-week. Then, though I was feeling better physically on Friday, I had a bomb drop on me at work that not only affected me professionally but personally. I was literally fuming most of the day and by the time I left for the weekend I was not any happier about what happened.

This was not some trivial little slight or misunderstanding. This was a decision by an outside party that not only affected me, but a good friend as well. And there was nothing that could be done about it. That was the maddening part of it, the part that stuck in my craw all day. I was unable to affect the outcome in any way or aspect. I won’t go into the details of what happened here but angry doesn’t quite capture how I felt all day. Freaking pissed off was more like it!

But the time I got home I was still angry. I needed a way to vent my anger and I wouldn’t have been above starting a fight with someone just to do that. I haven’t been that ticked off in a long time. Luckily for me the Doctor sent me a prescription in the form of a text message showing me where he was at (see below).

I replied that I would be on my way as soon as I gave Tucker his walk and changed clothes. I was about to text the rest of the group when the Maestro sent out a group text inquiring where happy hour should commence at. Not long after Rowdy chimed in as well. After a few back and forth texts we all agreed to meet at the prescribed location.

On the way over I encountered the usual Friday afternoon traffic when trying to get to that side of town. And with my state of mind of course every other driver on the road was an idiot and the expletives were flying out my mouth at a rapid pace. Luckily school is not in session now and what would normally have been around 45 minutes to an hour to drive a few miles was really only about 20 minutes.

There was plenty of parking near BrassTap and in a short time I was inside ready to order. One of our favorite bartenders was on duty and asked what I was in the mood for. I said “BEER! NOW!”.

Actually, I probably said that I really didn’t care, I just wanted a beer… then I added something lighter to start with. He brought out First Magnitude’s Strawberry Gose and it was a nice beginning for a calmer weekend.

The Doctor was not at the bar when I arrived but his hat was so I knew he would be back shortly. And sure enough he walked around the corner and greeted with his usual greeting. Not long after the Maestro arrived and the three of us greeted each other, then Rowdy and the Cooler showed up and it was time to get a table.

It turns out that a lot of us had weeks from hell. I won’t go into specifics, and I really don’t want to dwell on that aspect any longer. What happened next though demonstrates why folks call it happy hour. It’s not because of drunken revelry or any form of debauchery. Nor is it from the specials of food or drinks that flow at that time of day.

Happy Hour is called so because you’re getting together with friends, cohorts, comrades, fellow revelers and enjoying the company of the moment. We all had crappy weeks but we didn’t talk about that. We talked about the trips some had been on, the ones that some were taking in the near future and the ones we would like to take down the road a ways. Rowdy is traveling to Cuba to visit an area where sea turtles nest. The Maestro and the Muse are traveling to Oregon. Since Rowdy is out of town the Cooler and I will be going to a wine pairing dinner with some other friends, and we tried talking the Doctor into coming with us. The Maestro mentioned a Viking Cruise sometime in the future that starts in Bavaria and continues into Prague, which I said to count me in for.

After a couple of beers Rowdy got a call from one of her Roller Derby cohorts and before long Jaded Jester joined us for some revelry. Most of our party also went next door to Chipotle and got some form of dinner and brought it back to the bar to enjoy it. I just staved off hunger with some pretzels bites and both a cheese and a mustard dipping sauce.

Empty pretzel bites cone because I ate it all

Throughout the night we didn’t dwell on any of the negative that we had to deal with all week, we instead focused on the future and our friendships. While there I had a recommendation from the bartender for the Organic Monkshine Belgian Style from Uinta Brewing, which was pretty good. And I also selected the Chocolate Chili Stout from Sierra Nevada and the Maven Chocolate Milk Stout from Barley Mow. Both were tasty and hit the spot.

By the end of the session we were all sated and, I think, in better spirits… at least I know I was. So the Doctor’s prescription actually worked. And this one I can actually share with others. Get out with your friends and enjoy yourselves. It actually worked so well that the next day I felt ambitious enough to actually build a raised Hops Garden and plant some rhizomes in it (see below). If not for the company of my friends I probably would have just sat around sulking all weekend.

So to quote the Beatles (which I seldom do)…

“I get by with a little help from my friends!”

Papabear