Surprise, Surprise, or, Patrick Uses the Same Hulk Hogan Picture Twice in One Blog…

I’m starting off a Benedict Beer Blog post talking about beer.

I know.  I’m surprised too, brother!

I drank a few good beers today.

I was at C’est Cheese in Port Jefferson this afternoon.  I ordered a glass of Grimm Artisinal Ales Rainbow Dome.

Just look at it.  Rainbow Dome is a hazy, golden, juicy, gorgeous looking beer.  This is a dry-hopped, oak aged wild/sour beer, brewed with apricots.  I can’t stop looking at this picture.  It’s unbelievably CRUSHABLE at 5%ABV.

One sniff and you’re smacked in the face by fruit and citrus (this is dry-hopped with El Dorado, Cascade, and Columbus).  Taste is tart, lemon zest, mango, peach, apricot.  It’s not too acidic and the mouthfeel is creamy.  If it wasn’t too hard to come by, I would make this my summer go-to brew.  Throw me poolside, on a shaded recliner (is that a thing?  I think I could be a millionaire), with a glass of this.  Heaven.

I sat down at C’est Cheese to write today, but that went out the window.  A minute or two after I ordered, Bryan, a fellow C’est Beer member (it’s $20 for the membership and you get discounts on draft beer, and special bottles and cans), who we had met a few weeks back, sat down, and we chatted about our mutual Long Island beer friends, Matt and Lauri from Moustache Brewing Company (go back and read my love letter to these two cuties, if you haven’t!). 

What’s amazing is that everyone who meet Matt and Lauri talk about how passionate they are, and what amazing beer they’re making.  What’s interesting is, in every conversation I have about them, their passion is always mentioned first.  I think that’s why Holly and I gravitated towards them when we lived out here, because they are hard working people who laid it all on the line to do what they’re passionate about, and that is so admirable.  Ok, I’m gushing again.

Bryan and I also discussed my trip to Boston with Holly, and the amazing, juicy IPAs coming out of the Northeast.  He often travels to Tree House Brewing Company to pick up their insanely out of control juice bomb IPAs (as well as their top of the heap stouts).  This dude is all about beer, and all about community, so I’m so glad we got to spend an hour or so chatting.

I also ordered a Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union, an India Pale Lager from this Lager-only brewery in Framingham, Massachusetts.  This is a lager brewed with “classic American hops” (it doesn’t list which ones, but I’m sure the C hops, like Cascade and Columbus, are in there).  What I love about India Pale Lagers, or IPLs, is that the malt balances out the hops, so it finishes with a smooth malty sweetness that you find in a great lager.  I’m sad Holly and I didn’t make it to this brewery, because I don’t believe I give lagers enough credit (Brooklyn Brewery and Sam Adams Brewery are really the only two lagers I will see on a regular basis), and from reviews I’ve read and hearing them talk on podcasts, these guys have perfected the style and are taking it to the next level.  Cheers to them!

Last weekend, for Fathers Day, we bought my Dad a few beers, one was Central Waters Brewing Company Rye Barrel Aged Chocolate Porter, and the other, a Great Divide Brewing Company Chocolate Oak-Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.  Dad had a little left over of the Yeti (he has yet to open the Porter), so I poured an ounce or two into a wine glass to try it.  

It poured out viscous and jet-black.  Smells like you’ve just walked into a chocolate shop, like sweet oak and bakers chocolate.  Taste is similar, it envelops your mouth and evokes flavors of bitter chocolate, dark roasted coffee, with a little heat on the back end from the addition of cayenne pepper.  What a fantastic beer.  Be careful, all you out there in Internetland, this baby clocks in at 9.5%, so, as rapper Iced Cube would say, “prior to wrecking yourself, please check yourself.” (I’m 99% sure that’s right.)

Later in the evening, we went to my Grandparents’ house in Port Jeff Station, and I drank…  A Bud Light.  Yup.  

“One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong…”

Choicest hops (sure…), Best Barley Malt (you know it ain’t the best because they’re telling you it’s the best) and RICE?

I’m just as surprised as you, brother.
Why rice?  I’m still not really sure.  What I’ve heard forever is that it’s cheaper, and you don’t become a multi-billion dollar company by using expensive ingredients, I guess.  But, Anheuser-Busch’s website says it’s more expensive, and helps give the beer a lighter, crisper taste.  So who knows.

So yeah, I drank one of these tonight.  I drank one of these because, when your 87 year old Grandpa, who’s dealing with a particularly nasty bout of skin cancer, says “Beer man!  Have a beer with your Grandpa!”, you pop open that ice cold brew and drink it with a couple of slices of pizza.  I could say that this was the best beer of the day (it wasn’t), but pizza, a cold beer, and conversation with family always makes for an amazing experience.  Also, it was like 72 degrees outside, so that didn’t hurt, either.

Poolside dinner with a…  Beer?

Yeah I threw cold cheese on that slice because TREAT YO’SELF!
My Aunt Mary said to me at dinner, “Patrick, you’re going to be so mad at me.  All I drink is Coors Light.”  I prepared in my head some pilsners she could drink instead (Victory Brewing Prima Pils and Sixpoint The Crisp stick out), and I said “I can give you a few alternatives.” And she responded “But I don’t want any!” And I said “That’s ok.  That’s the whole point of my blog, is you should drink what you like.  Beer should be fun.”

I don’t like that Anheuser-Busch, Miller-Coors, etc. are trying to run smaller breweries, like our dear ones at Moustache, out of town, and are buying up Craft Breweries like crazy, but I’m not going to pontificate or force my Aunt to change her beer choice at an awesome dinner with family.  I might pick up a six pack of Prima Pils at the next party, and have her try it, but I’m certainly not going to spoil anyone else’s experience if they’re not interested.  I drink Goose Island.  I drink Lagunitas (who are in partnership with Heinekin), and I drink Ballast Point (who are in partnership with Constellation Beer, who produce Corona).   I don’t think, if you’re having fun with it, you should have to apologize for what you like to drink.  If you can change someone’s mind with an experience, it’s much better than telling them what NOT to drink.

Anheuser-Busch needs to apologize if they change their name to America, though.  That’s for sure.  Because that’s absolute nonsense.

Till next week!  Cheers!

Happy Fathers Day! Or, How I Turned My Dad Into a Stout Monster!

Happy Father’s Day!  I’m temporarily changing the name of this blog to the Benedict DAD Blog, so I can talk about my DAD.

10517553_846067222815_7651413625099699257_nLook at these handsome fellas!

11885195_966783616195_6710537173623158056_nSilliness on Journey Into Imagination in Epcot, Walt Disney World

11927488_10153666328678793_3504356497854311776_oDad and Holly intensely trying to defeat the evil Emperor Zurg on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World.

My Dad, Chris “MusicDktr” Benedict, is simply a fantastic human being.  He’s a quiet guy, until you get to know him.  He’s funny as hell, and sometimes you’ll only hear it if you’re sitting right next to him.  My Uncle Rod says he’s the funniest person he knows, and I can’t dispute that.  

My Grandma Dottie, on the left, Uncle Rod in the middle, and my Dad, with a Walkman, on the right.

He’s a natural comedian (I believe that having taught music to elementary school-aged children for 35 years sort of forces you to be a comedian), and I think I wouldn’t have been half as good at Improv if I didn’t get my humor from my parents.

Sometimes, I’ll walk around my apartment making strange noises with my mouth, and I’ll wonder to myself how I got so…  Special (read: Weird).  Then, I think back to when I was a child, and my sister Jessica and I would have back to back music lessons, Jess was learning the violin and I was learning to play cello (it never panned out for me, unfortunately, because Little Cello Boy Patrick had tiny hands, not unlike Presidential Candidate Donald Trump.  Ooh, check it out!  I just used topical, political humor!).  We would sit with my Dad while we waited for the other to be done with their lesson, and my Dad brought this notebook with him and would doodle all over it, and if I recall correctly, on most pages, would write “EKI EKI EKI EKI EKI ZUM PANG!  ZOO WOMB PANG NIWOOMB!!”  This is his favorite nonsensical phrase from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, his favorite movie.

(I texted my Dad to make sure that I was correct about Monty Python and the Holy Grail being his favorite movie, and this was our exchange…)

IMG_0599What can I say, we’re students of comedy.

So yeah, I get my weird humor from my Dad (My Mom, Eileen absolutely contributes to this, as well!). 

But, this is a blog about beer, right?

My Dad’s been a wine drinker, for as long as I’ve known him (which, if my calculations are correct, is forever).  My parents used to host wine tastings at our house, they have a wine club, Wine By Joe, where they order wine in bulk at a discount from their friend (the aforementioned Joe), so their wine rack is always stocked up.  Holly and I always try and find wine-specific gifts for them for Anniversaries, Birthdays, etc. and I think the present that gets the most use is a small wine fridge we bought that they keep in their living room, which they keep stocked with delicious white wines.

So, for all the time I’ve known him, my Dad had always been a wine drinker.  The first instance I remember seeing the little “stout sparkle” in his eyes was at the Third Avenue Ale House, about two years or so ago.  We were out with my Uncle Rod (you know, that shirtless guy in the picture above?), who lives right around the corner (sucks to live around the corner from a delicious craft beer bar with amazing food, doesn’t it, Rod?).  Dad ordered a Founders Brewing Company Breakfast Stout, 8.3% ABV, brewed with flaked oats, bitter chocolate, and coffee.  He was hooked!  The monster was growing inside him…  A chocolate-y, coffee-y, roasty, sweet, delicious monster.

I don’t think any of us thought Dad would turn into a beer man, but he got a taste for the Breakfast Stout, and found out that his local Beer Distributer, Port Jeff Beverage, thanks to owner Bruce Bezner, had enough stocked away to last for quite a while (Founders releases Breakfast Stout only from September-December, but I still see it on shelves around NYC and on Long Island).  He now enjoys a Breakfast Stout (or similar) instead of a glass of wine.

He sends pictures, too, like this:


Or this

Check out that Cantaloupe!

And if I happen to be enjoying a stout, I’ll text him back…

Evil Twin Brewing Imperial Biscotti Break, in my top 2 Non-Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts (Alesmith Speedway Stout is my #1).  This is bursting with flavors of chocolate, coffee, but also vanilla, and almond.  It’s like drinking coffee after you’ve dunked a biscotti into it.  Unreal.

One night, I was over at Uncle Rod’s (on the rare occasion I visit him on the Upper East Side and we DON’T go to the Third Avenue Ale House) and, we just so happened to be drinking some Breakfast Stout, so I texted him this.

A glorious sight!

What have I created??!?!?!!  A monster!

I’m actually thrilled.  I’m thrilled because, I started this blog to write about my experiences with beer.  Sometimes, the beer itself steps aside and you focus on what’s in front of you; where you are, who you’re with, and you’re living in the experience.  I’m so glad that this simple, amazing tasting brew brought my Dad into the world of Craft Beer.

I look forward to our Lunches and Dinners at C’est Cheese in Port Jefferson, because Joe Ciardullo (who is also a Dad!  Look at me, keeping with the theme!)  has such a passion for not only cheese (which is absolutely our favorite food), but for Craft Beer.  Joe’s always got Breakfast Stout on the menu (thanks, Joe!), but Dad’s branching out and will often try something new.  He loves dark beers.  He’ll always try a sip of whatever IPA, Saison, or Sour  Holly and I are drinking, but he’s got a taste for the coffee and chocolate bitterness offered by Porters or Stouts.  My Mom, too, will try a sip of any beer I give her, and share in the experience.  From what she’s tasted, she loves the flavors of Saisons, Lambics and sour Goses, or anything with fruit in it!  I’m so glad to be able to share these beer experiences with my family and friends.

I never really knew the difference between a Porter and a Stout.  I looked it up a few months ago, and found this article.

http://allaboutbeer.com/whats-the-difference-between-porter-and-stout/

Most people say it’s the type of barley used, but this is a fascinating read into why it’s more complicated than that.  From the article, “All stouts are types of porter.  But not all porters are stouts.  Only the stronger ones.”

When I was out in California, I stopped in a little unassuming liquor store on the way to dinner with my roommate Ali.  We were browsing the shelves and fridges, when I saw two bottles of Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout with a shiny beacon of light behind them, as if sent down from the heavens above.  This is a Bourbon Barrel Aged version of their Breakfast Stout.  At 12% ABV, it picks up flavors from the bourbon barrel, like oak, caramel, and vanilla.  It’s smooth as hell, with not a lot of heat even though the ABV is so high.

My friend Justin had requested I bring back a Russian River Brewing Pliny the Elder back with me, as he had done when he went to California.  I didn’t have the chance to make it up to Russian River, and missed out on the bottles distributed near the hotel I stayed in.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to pick up one for Justin, and one for my Dad.

Gorgeous!

Long story short, Dad’s hooked on Bourbon Barrel Aged Stouts now!  As rare as the KBS was, I couldn’t find any more here in NY.  I suggested New Holland Brewing Company Dragon’s Milk Stout, as it’s one of the best readily available Bourbon Barrel Stouts, and Port Jeff Beverage is stocked up on them.

What my parents’ fridge looks like now…

Look at this guy!  Boulder Brewing Company Shake Chocolate Porter.  Like father, like son!

I texted him this a couple of weeks ago.  Cheers to Moustache Brewing Company for the awesome teku glass!

Last weekend, we brought him two cans of the Awake Coffee Porter we picked up from Night Shift Brewing Company in Everett, Massachusetts.  A lower ABV porter packed with unbelievable coffee, chocolate, and malt sweetness.  This is an unbelievable beer.

The label art is gorgeous, as well.

What Sunday dinners usually look like now.

It’s so cool to see my Dad so into craft beer, and I’m so happy he likes to share his experiences with me even when we’re not together.  I’m glad I was able to be a part of his craft beer story, and look forward to what beer he’s going to fall in love with next!

Happy Fathers Day, to The Stout Monster himself, Chris “MusicDktr” Benedict, and all the other Fathers out there!


Cheers!

Smooth as Tennessee Whiskey…

“Of emotions, of love, of breakup, of love and hate and death and dying, mama, apple pie, and the whole thing. It covers a lot of territory, country music does.” -Johnny Cash

Holly and I took a quick trip down to Nashville, TN to attend the wedding of our dear friend, and Holly’s former roommate, Sara, and her fiancé JP.

We hadn’t seen Sara in a few years, as she moved to Nashville shortly after we got married (March of 2011), and then down to Dallas, TX.  I had met JP only once (I believe), but when we first got to chatting, it was like we were old friends.

Reflecting back on our short time there, it seems the city of Nashville is like that, as well.  Everyone we met, from our AirB&B hosts, to boot store salespeople (you bet Holly got a pair of boots!), to Sara and JP’s friends, and even friends we haven’t seen in several years, welcomed us with open arms.

Mister Hat’s Boots!

Look at those cute little boots!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, and took a Lyft ($5 off coupon, babaaaaaay!) to our AirB&B in East Nashville.  We met Kat, one of the owners of the house, who was lovely, and got us acquainted with the space.  As we unpacked, and realized that our idea of Lyfting around town all weekend was going to be way more expensive than we realized (it was $20 to get from the airport to the B&B, even with the coupon), we looked into renting a car, and found a deal for a compact car for $35.  So, we Lyfted right back to the airport, and still spent less money than we would have if we relied on Uber and Lyft.  I don’t regret our rides to and fro the airport, though, as our drivers were very knowledgeable and friendly, offering advice on where to go and specifically, where to eat.  We did NOT starve.

First thing we did once we got our car (which, by the way, they upgraded to a pretty SWEET SUV.  Holly kept referring to it as her “Truck”, which is super cute), was head over to Centennial Park, in Downtown Nashville, to meet up with Sara and catch some free music.  We found a parking spot, got out of the Truck (That’s what I’m gonna call it from now on, too) and were taken aback by this massive stone building in the middle of the park.


WHAT EVEN IS THIS THING???

I texted my coworker, David (who grew up in Nashville and had sent me a number of recommendations of things to do there).  He said “The Parthenon!  I love that place!”  Living in Queens, we have a lot of old buildings/structures that have been abandoned since the World’s Fair, so I thought this was similar.

We walked up the large steps in the front of the building, and the large brass doors were locked, so we shrugged, and continued our walk around the park.  It was beautiful from the outside, and Sara and Jenna (one of Holly’s classmates from AMDA, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy here in NYC) were meeting us shortly, so we decided to move on.

A smart man once said, “Good things are often stumbled upon, when in search of the nearest restroom…”  And I am that smart man.

There were restrooms underneath The Parthenon, and nature was calling, so we both stepped inside, only to find that the restrooms were at the entrance to the MUSEUM(!!!)!  We love museums!  We answered nature’s call, paid our admission fee, and stepped into the museum.  As it turns out, The Parthenon in Nashville is a full-scale replica of The Parthenon in Athens, and was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.  Inside are paintings from 19th and 20th Century Artists, as well as photographs from the Exposition, the building of The Parthenon, etc.  This is why Nashville is called “The Athens of The South”, but you probably already knew that.

Oh yeah, also inside the museum?  AN UNBELIEVABLY HUGE REPLICA OF THE STATUE OF ATHENA HOLDING A TINY STATUE OF NIKE (god of Victory, also, I’m legally obliged to write “Just Do It” each time I write the word Nike “Just Do It”) AND HOLDING A GIANT SHIELD WITH A WACKY FACE ON IT AND ALSO A GIANT SERPENT.  It’s WILD.  And I’m sorry for all the caps.  But just look at this thing.

Athena and Nike “Just Do It”
A massive shield with a wacky face

A normal-sized Holly for scale.

It was WILD.

After our walk through the park and the museum, we had built up a powerful thirst.  And, this is a Beer Blog, lest ye forget (and by “lest ye forget” I mean “I should probably write about beer…”), so the only provision that could quench our thirst was a fine local ale!  David had told me about Yazoo Brewery, located right in Downtown Nashville.  They had a booth set up outside the free concert, so we grabbed two of their Hop Perfect IPAs, and sat down at a picnic table just off the side of the stage.  A band called The Mowglis was playing (I think I had heard one or two of their songs), and we weren’t terribly interested in them, but wanted to just relax and enjoy the warm weather and cool beers.

Yazoo Brewing Hop Perfect IPA, 5.7% ABV, malt forward, with some citrus from the hops. I gave it 3.5/5 on Untapped.  Totally refreshing!

We ended up meeting and chatting with a local retired couple who usually walk to Centennial Park for the music, beer and wine, and the food trucks.  They were so excited to talk about their city, and find out where we were from and what we were doing.  We chatted with them for about 15 minutes before Sara and Jenna joined us.  We decided to drive over to The Pharmacy, a burger and craft beer bar in East Nashville (just a mile or 2 from our AirB&B).  As we waited for our table, I enjoyed an Against The Grain 35k Milk Stout. At 7%, this is a higher ABV milk stout (they usually hit between 4 and 5%), and I got notes of chocolate and coffee, with a sweetness from the milk.  

An artsy photograph of my Against The Grain 35k Milk Stout

Against the Grain is from Louisville, KY, but are distributed in New York, and I’d had their fantastic Citra Ass Down (amazing name) IPA. These guys are making great beer and don’t take themselves seriously.  Check them out!

We met JP’s sister Emily and her daughter (and flower girl) Kayleigh, and sat down for dinner.  This is what I ate.

Heart attack?  More like fart attack! Holy moly, the bathroom didn’t know what it had coming!  Gross.

This was a beef stroganoff burger with tots.  It was out of control.  David had warned me that he didn’t like the bun, as it is doughy, and it didn’t bother me much, but it was quite soggy from all the juice and the sour cream.  Real messy, but real good.  The tots were ok, I’m totally spoiled with the amazing Tetris Tots at Barcade in Chelsea, NYC, so these don’t compare.  The beer!  Founders Brewing Company Rubaeus, a tart, sweet, low ABV raspberry ale, which was a lovely complement to the heavy, creamy, meatburger.  We definitely didn’t starve.

We headed over to 3 Crow Bar, one of the 3 bars in Nashville that still allow smoking indoors.  I had a Coffee IPA from New Heights Brewing Company, which was tasty (like an espresso with lemon peel twist), but it was really hard to enjoy in a cloud of cigarette smoke.  On a side note, the bouncer looked like a young Marc Maron, so it had that going for it!

After an amazing night’s sleep on the soft AirB&B bed, Holly and I decided on Breakfast at Barista Parlor!  This is a small coffee chain around Nashville that David touted as having one of the best biscuit sandwiches in Nashville, also amazing coffee!  I had El Eden, which had flavors of dried pineapple and plums.  It was fantastic.  The biscuit sandwiches were absolutely unreal (we didn’t starve), and Holly said it was the best biscuit sandwich she’s ever eaten.

Dat biscuit tho.
Gorgeous, warehouse-like open space with cool table markers!
Delicious coffee.

After breakfast, it was off to Broadway, which, as my Mom described it, consists of bar, bar, boot store.  Bar, bar, boot store.  She wasn’t kidding.

Bar, bar, boot store!

It was time to get Holly some boots!  As some of you know, Holly Kay used to be a DJ on a Country Music Radio Station on Long Island.  She was laid off, as they told her the station was moving in a different direction.  (They now have all male DJs.).  Holly was 100% the best thing about that radio station.  She had a huge following of listeners who would come to her live events just to spend time with her.  (You should see her line dance!). Anyway, Holly had a few pairs of boots, and threw them away out of spite (which she regrets now, and I regret not stopping her), but if there’s any place to get boots, it’s gotta be in Nashville!  (See above picture of those cute boots!)

We stopped at a bar (because bar, bar, boot store!) called Rippy’s for some live country music, and a beer, before heading back to get ready for the wedding.

I drank a Falls City Beer Hipster Repellant IPA, outta Louisville, KY.  Another easy drinking, malt forward IPA.  I’m spoiled with the hop forward IPAs from New York and New England, but it says something about your beer if you can make a nicely balanced IPA, because not everyone loves being punched in the face with every sip.  

Holly had a Yazoo Brewing Hefeweizen, which was outrageously refreshing, with flavors of citrus, banana, and clove, and went down “smooth as Tennessee Whiskey”, which, coincidentally, was being sung as she drank it.

​​
​Tennessee Whiskey…

We headed back to the AirB&B, got ready, and headed to Sara and JP’s wedding, at the Buchanan Log House, a gorgeous, outdoor location just a few miles from the airport.  It was an absolutely gorgeous, intimate, celebration of their love for one another.  We had a great time seeing Raj again (after about 7 years), and meeting Glenna, Tripp and Amy, and Alan and Jolinda.  It was a small wedding, so to be able to meet and share stories about Sara and JP, how everybody knew each other, made the evening even more special.

 And the icing on the cake?  JP’s Groomsman Nate works for Fanatic Brewing Company, in Knoxville, TN.  He provided the beer for the reception!  The first I tried was the Tennessee Blonde.

Definitely a warm weather brew, 5% ABV, light, with grassy and citrus hops with a sugary sweet malt backbone.  You got a lawn to mow?  Peep this ish.
I also got to try the Fanatic Pale Ale.  This was a classic pale, malt forward with some orange citrus from the hops, another crushable, outdoor drinking brew, that paired perfectly with the food, provided by Edley’s BBQ, and the dance floor grooves from Sara and JP’s wedding playlist (Which ranged from Queen Bey to Luke Bryan).  

If you ever find yourself in Knoxville (and we certainly will now that Sara and JP are moving there!), stop by Fanatic Brewing Company!

We stayed until the bitter end of the wedding, chatting with our new friends and helping with clean-up, and we decided to join Raj and Glenna at The Basement East, a music venue in East Nashville (read: Brooklyn) where Raj’s friend Emma was hanging out after performing.  We walked into the venue to the sweet, sweet sounds of a drone metal band, so we ordered our beer and headed outside.  Both Raj and I had let our bow ties down (as one does not have a full range of dance moves if one’s bow tie is still tied), and Holly and Glenna wanted to wear them, so Emma snapped this amazing shot…

Those damn hipsters.

I enjoyed a Mayday Brewery Old Salem, a kettle sour.  5.4% ABV, made with rye, which gave it a sweet, spicy flavor in addition to the tart sour.  Hopped with Falconer’s Flight.  Funky as hell, and I loved it!

We had all decided on Brunch the next morning at AMOT – A Matter of Taste, a completely gluten free spot that had KILLER food, and a great, local beer list, and also, our new friend Tripp works there!  I had chicken with cornbread waffles, and a jalapeño maple syrup (you heard that right).  

We didn’t starve.
I paired this amazing brunch with Southern Prohibition Brewing Co. Soul Glo Saison, fresh on draft from their brewery in Hattiesburg, MS.  This is a delicious, 8.4%ABV (well masked), saison, with notes of fresh squeezed lemon and orange juice, banana, and spices.  Great substitute for a Mimosa!  (Although, they did have 3 dollar Mimosas…  You should go there.)

From there, we walked around some shops with Sara and JP, and Raj and Glenna, and headed back to the airport.  

I would love to come back to this city and explore some more, and I used that Johnny Cash quote in the beginning of this post, because, like Country music, I felt that Nashville also covers a lot of territory, and we only just scratched the surface.  This city had such personality, and the folks we met (or reconnected with) treated us with such love and hospitality, I won’t think twice before going back.  Thanks so much to Sara and JP for allowing us the opportunity to share in your love, we truly appreciated it.

Until next time!

Cheers!

Our Quick Trip to Boston, or I’m So Glad I Locked That Down…

The other day, Holly said to me, “We need to do more Beer Adventures so you have more fodder for your Blog!”  I told this to my coworker Kevin, and he said “Did you look down at your wedding ring and say ‘I made the right decision?'”  I responded, “Yeah, I’m so glad I locked that down…”

Holly and I are continuing our 2016 by finding more opportunities to do something different.  We live in the greatest, worst, dirtiest, prettiest, smelliest, most expensive city in the world.  This year started off with a bang (literally) when our ceiling collapsed, at 12:01am on January 1st.  (Ok, I don’t know exactly when it collapsed, as we were out at Singlecut Brewery with Alex, Shelbie, Ryan, Erica, and Rafa for the quietest, most amazing New Years celebration we’ve ever had.  So it may have happened in 2015.  We’ll never know.).  Things could definitely be worse, so we’ve been making a conscious effort to be present in the moment, and venture out and explore as much as possible.


“Hi.” -2016

IMG_0637

I got a text from Holly the other day, as we had the next day off together.  “Wanna drive to Vermont tonight and crash at a B&B and spend all day touring breweries? Or we could do Upstate NY.”  I thought that Vermont was a bit far for an overnight, so I did a little research, and we decided on Boston!  We left right after work, and as I got onto the Whitestone Bridge, Holly asks, “Can I make us a playlist for our ride?”  I said “Of course!”  She responds “THIS IS GOING TO BE LIKE JOCK JAMS.”  And like Jock Jams, it was.  We got to hear a freaking non-radio edit of Chumbawumba’s Tub Thumping.  Absolutely not-to-be-missed.  Also, it made the nearly 4 hour drive go by in a flash.

We had gift certificates for bedandbreakfast.com, so we booked a quaint little, definitely not haunted, Bed & Breakfast in Brookline, MA, called Coolidge Corner.


Sitting room on the second floor of our (DEFINITELY NOT HAUNTED) Bed & Breakfast


Room 16.  That bed was amazingly comfortable!!


A tiny iron burn on the hardwood that definitely wasn’t left there by a tiny ghost boy trying to iron his ghost clothing.


Cool old dresses, that way the ghosts have something to wear as they galavant the hallways whilst we’re asleep. (Because who wants to see a naked ghost?)


A Nest thermostat to cover up the fact that the temperature changes are actually caused by the ghost of this Cherub Boy.

In actuality, I didn’t see one ghost (not even a naked one), and frankly, I’m disappointed.  Minus one star on Trip Advisor.

We absolutely loved this place, and would definitely stay there again.  The staff is wonderful, and the bed was really comfy!

Boston is home to a ton of breweries, but the ones we decided we would try to hit in our limited time were: Sam Adams Brewing, and Trillium Brewing, which are inside the city, and Night Shift Brewing, and Lord Hobo Brewing Co., which are just North of the city.  The long shot, though, was Tree House Brewing.  Their brewery is in Monson, in Western Massachusetts.  I wasn’t sure we’d be able to make that one, as it was an hour and a half from Boston, but it was a possibility, as (I thought) they were (sort of) on the way home.  More on that later.

So basically, we tore through Boston.  We got up early and had an amazing Breakfast spread (because what’s a Bed & Breakfast without Breakfast?  I’ll tell you what.  It’s Just Bed.). We headed out to Sam Adams Brewery to catch one of their first tours of the day.  Holly and I agreed this tour was our favorite part of the trip.  Sam Adams is the second largest Craft Brewery in the United States (Yuengling Brewery is the largest).  They make a delicious lager, but you know that.  Their other offerings are hit or miss, but they’ve been around for 32 years, and are still 100% privately owned and going strong.

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A goober in front of Sam Adams Brewery.  Photo Credit to Holly Kay!

The facility is absolutely gorgeous.  The exterior of their buildings is a dark, reddish brown brick, combined with the cobblestone streets on their property, evoked a feeling of Old-World Germany.  We got our tickets for the tour, and wandered around the lobby, waiting for the tour to start.  (BTW, Tours are free!  They ask for a $2 donation, all of which goes to local Boston Charities!). Our tour guide was named Tom, and he was so passionate about the brand, and about beer in general!  Super well spoken and articulate about the ingredients that go into beer and the brewing process in general.

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Tom, mid sentence.  Photo Credit to Holly Kay!

We got to taste different types of barley (they get darker as they roast them for longer, and the more they’re roasted, the darker your beer is!  SCIENCE!!).

We also got to do a HOP APPRAISAL!!  (How do I get a job where all I do are hop appraisals??). A hop appraisal is where you take a handful of hops (in this case, Hallertau), rub your hands together to release the hop oils and aromas, and then smell your hands!!  This is one of the only acceptable time smelling your hands in public is appropriate (in addition to, say, Lush or Bath & Body Works, where smelling your hands is absolutely acceptable, and in fact, encouraged!).  I sniffed the hop flowers before grinding them up, and they smelled like sweetened iced tea, as I rubbed my hands together, and smelled again, they released flavors of lemon citrus, dank pine, and grapefruit.  If I could put this scent in one of those little tree air fresheners, I would.  (Is this a thing already?  If not, I’m going to be a millionaire.)

IMG_2153 Photo Credit to Holly Kay!
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Holly Holding Hops!  Photo Credit to Holly Kay!IMG_2162

“Quit smelling your hand, ya weirdo!” -Someone, probably.  Photo Credit to Holly Kay!

After tasting the malt and appraising the hops, we got to see the brew house itself.  Tom articulated the brewing process, from mashing in, which is where you add water to the grain to suck up all that sweet, biscuity sugar to make wort, which is non-fermented beer, to boiling and adding the hops, to adding yeast for the fermentation process.  Yeast are really cool, you guys.  They’re alive!  And they take a dive into the beer, chow down on sugar and oxygen, and they fart out carbon dioxide and alcohol.  It’s amazing.  So next time you take a sip of that delicious craft beverage, remember, you’re drinking yeast farts.  Malty, hoppy, yeasty fart water.  (SCIENCE!!)  But, I digress…

IMG_0111 The Brewhouse!  Photo Credit to Holly Kay!

After chatting about the brewing process, we went into the tasting room, and learned how to professionally taste a beer.  When you’re doing a professional tasting, you use 3 out of 5 senses:

Sight: observe the color of the beer.  Is it filtered, or unfiltered?  How much/what color is the foam head?

Smell: Swirl the beer around in the glass.  What do you smell?  Malt will smell like bread, or biscuits, or sugary sweetness.  Hops will smell like pine, or citrus, or grass, or tea, depending on the type of hop.  Yeast, we learned from Tom, will give a beer like a Hefeweizen (a German Wheat Beer) aromas and flavors of Banana or bubble gum.

Taste: Take a sip of the beer, and keep it on the front of your tongue for two seconds.  Swish it around and swallow.  Then, take another sip and swallow it like a shot, straight down the gullet.  You should get different flavors on the front and back of the palate.  (SCIENCE!!)

As I’ve said in previous blogs, if you don’t do this, that’s ok!  You shouldn’t have to put that much thought into each time you gather for a drink with friends, but sometimes it’s fun to sit and appreciate the hard work these Brewers go through to make good beer.  At Sam Adams, almost the entire brewing process is automated, but all small Craft Brewers, like my friends Matt and Lauri at Moustache Brewing Company, have to sit, wait, stir, and watch their beer for hours.  So much hard work and dedication goes into it.

In the tasting room, we got to sample Boston Lager (you all know how this tastes), Summer Ale (ehhhh…) and Oat Stout (YUM!).  The Oat Stout was an 8% ABV Oatmeal Stout that has not been released to the public.  It was roasty from the malts, with flavors of chocolate and coffee.  We chatted with Tom for a few minutes, and Holly asked if she could take a picture of the two of us, so, here ya go!

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Just two guys, with some beer!  Photo Credit to Holly Kay!

And, like any good theme park, you exit through the Gift Shop!  Holly bought a Sam Adams tee, and asked that I take her picture in front of this Rebel Raw sign (she was feeling reaaaaal good after a few tasting glasses of that Oatmeal Stout)


What a cutie!  Hot cha cha!

Next, it was off to Congress Street, home of Trillium Brewing Company.

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This is a quick, grab-your-bottles-and-go, shop.  No tasting room at this location(which is sad), but they do have a location just outside the city that has a small tasting room, and there are bars and restaurants throughout Boston that get their beer on tap, including The Publick House (which, coincidentally is about a mile from our B&B). There, I drank the Double Dry Hopped Scaled IPA, which poured like hazy pineapple juice and tasted like a pineapple dream.  (What is a pineapple dream?  I don’t know, I just made that up.  What does a pineapple dream taste like?  Let’s just say it was like melted Dole Whip).  Holly and I picked out a few bottles (Artaic, a double IPA brewed with honey, Upper Case, a double IPA with Mosaic, Galaxy, Citra, and Columbus hops, and Free Rise, a saison dry-hopped with mosaic) grabbed them, and went!  We stopped next door at Row 34 (their slogan is “If we could eat oysters and drink beer for every meal period, we probably would. Professionals Only.”  I’d like to say that we’re professionals.) We wanted a bite to eat and a half pint of Night Shift Whirlpool Pale Ale.  This is a low ABV Pale Ale that is pure golden in color, unfiltered, and tastes like crisp, citrusy pineapple and grapefruit.  This comes in cans, and is available around Boston.  Pick up a 4 pack of you have the opportunity.  Also, we had some unbelievable seafood; half of a giant lobster and some amazingly fresh oysters.

Aerial view of the GINORMOUS Half Lobster

The lobster was HUGE.

Small haul from Trillium!

Night Shift Whirlpool Pale Ale!

With that quick taste of Whirlpool, it was time to head up to Night Shift Brewery!  While the tour of Sam Adams was amazing, this was our favorite overall brewery.  It’s in a giant warehouse, with a beautiful, industrial looking tasting room, with the coolest looking flights we’ve ever seen.

Tasting room!

IMG_0191Really awesome wooden flight holder!

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We were just north of Boston, right across the street from Teddie Peanut Butter Factory, which was wild, because the smell of freshly roasted peanuts wafted in from one side of the street, while the smell of the bready, malted barley wafted from the other.

There was a separate area in the brew house with free arcade games and cornhole!  (WE LOVE CORNHOLE!).  It doesn’t really matter who won cornhole (it was me) because one of the brewers walked past us and said “You guys are amazing at this.  I’ve never seen anyone play this game so well.”  And our hearts grew three sizes that day!!

IMG_0200 Free arcade games!
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Cornhole!!!

Kegs on Kegs on Kegs.
Holly and I were growing tired, but we are intrepid travelers (I was trying to find a witty way to combine “Beer” and “Travelers” into something like “Beerelers”, or how ’bout “Beervelers”?  Neither of those really roll off the tongue, do they?), and we still had places to go!

Our next stop was Lord Hobo Brewing Co., about 20 minutes west of Night Shift.  We arrived at the brewery, whose building looks like a giant castle, with a grey brick facade and a large gate at the entrance.  I couldn’t take a good photo, as the sun was directly behind the building, but it was absolutely massive.

This was an odd tasting room, because they had so much space, but you were unable to buy pints or flights.  They offered free samples, and cans and growlers to-go of their three IPAs, Hobo Life Session IPA, Steal This Can IPA, and BOOM SAUCE (which is an amazing name) double IPA.  I’m not sure if they couldn’t get a license to sell pints on-premises, and don’t get me wrong, the beer is great, all three were classic New England-style juicy hop bombs, and the staff is very friendly, and they have a dog, but the fact that we couldn’t really enjoy the large tasting room made it a bit disappointing.

Delicious IPAs in a MASSIVE, underutilized, space.

So, that’s a lot of breweries, right?  But, like I said before, Holly and I are Beervelers! (That definitely doesn’t work.).  So we looked at the map, and saw that it was about an hour and 30 minutes to Tree House Brewing, and then about 2 hours and 30 minutes from there to our apartment in Jackson Heights.

As it turns out, Tree House wasn’t really “on the way home” as much as it was “in the middle of nowhere”.  It was an absolutely gorgeous drive through the hills of Massachusetts (is that a thing?). Tree House is a Mecca for Beer Geeks who love hops (I fall into both those categories).  But again, overall, Holly and I were a bit disappointed.  We thought it would be a nice way to break up the trip back to New York, stop in and have a taste of some of the best IPAs in the country, maybe have a bite to eat, chat for a little bit, then head home.

I was reading Tree House’s Twitter page to see what beers they were releasing (they release their hoppy IPAs the day they come off the canning line, as hops begin to fade the longer the beer sits in the bottle or can).  So I knew there was going to be a line.  We arrived at the sprawling, farmhouse style building in the middle of nowhere, and were directed to park by employees in red Tree House tee shirts.  We hopped on line with about 100 other people, waiting to purchase their cans and fill their growlers.  We waited in line for about 30 minutes, soaking up the rays of the setting Massachusetts sun, and entered the tasting room.  They weren’t pouring any tastes, only distributing cans for purchase, and filling growlers. Those who wanted growlers filled had to wait an additional 45 minutes to an hour.  Once we got our cans, we packed them up in the car and headed back to New York.  Yes, these guys make unbelievable beer, but we were disappointed in our experience at the brewery, as you couldn’t even enjoy the cans you purchased on property.  They have a beautiful space outdoors with picnic tables and cornhole (CORNHOLE!) but, it appears it’s just for those waiting to get their growlers filled.

Tasting Room and Merchandise at Tree House!

Fermenters!

Three Can Release!
IMG_2179 Photo Credit to Holly Kay!IMG_2180

Photo Credit to Holly Kay!IMG_2181

Our disappointmentcertainly won’t stop Beer Lovers from lining up for these liquid masterpieces of beer.  (The beer is worth the wait.)  The facility was beautiful, I only wish we could have spent more time there.  I understand they are opening a new facility, and I hope that they are able to keep up with demand, and create a better on-site beer experience for their customers.

We got home around 10pm, travel weary and with a trunk full of beer!

Absolutely insane.

Our year of adventures continue, and I’m so thankful Holly Kay and I were able to share the experience together on a whim!  Go out and adventure!  Stay in a quaint Bed & Breakfast with ghosts!  Go to a brewery!  Or a vineyard!  Or a museum!  Enjoy the moment, and share your experiences with those around you!  It feels amazing.

Thanks again for reading.

Cheers!

A Love Letter to Moustache Brewing Company, or “Hey, didn’t that guy used to be in a ska band?”

I’m back in New York!  We’ve taken a hard jump right into summer, it seems we’ve skipped right over spring, but I’m wearing shorts, and that’s ok by me.  My pale, white body is craving some Vitamin D that I don’t receive in the form of gummies that Holly and I bought at Target.  (Although I will still keep taking them because they’re basically candy.)

We’re going to go back in time to just about 5 years ago.

Holly and I had just gotten married, and had moved out to Long Island.  At this point, my knowledge of craft beer was still pretty limited.  I knew how to describe the flavor, and how it made me feel, but if I had the selection of beer available now (again, to my still semi-limited knowledge), five years ago, I think I might have been completely overwhelmed.  So, I think Holly and I met Matthew and Lauri Spitz at just the right time.


Look at these two friendlies!  And check out that SHAG tattoo!

I worked with Matt at “Fruitz R Us” (that’s not the actual name), and we became fast friends because A. He’s awesome.  B. I’m ok too, I guess.  C. We both love beer.  D. Shoeberry Jam.  E. Check out that sweet moustache. At this point, Matt had been homebrewing for a long time, and knew waaaaaaaaay (look at all those A’s!) more about Craft Beer than I did.  We started hanging out outside of work, and that’s how Holly and I got to meet Matt’s wife, Lauri.

We quickly became friends, and they were the reason Holly and I signed up for LIBME, or, The Long Island Beer and Malt Enthusiasts.  LIBME is a group that meets monthly at different restaurants and breweries on Long Island to socialize and talk about beer.  They are also a member of the American Homebrewers Association, and participate in homebrewing competitions throughout Long Island. We joined as Charter Members, which gave us discounts at local bottle shops and restaurants, and we attended multiple meetings and met some amazing people.

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A LIBME meeting at Long Ireland Brewing Company where Holly won a pint glass and Matt creeped on her like a big, moustachioed, handsome creep!

Along with Matt and Lauri, and among many great folks, (Tim Sal and Joshua Hawkins, I’m talking about you!) we met Phil Ebel, fellow Disney Nerd, formerly of Great South Bay Brewery, and now Beer Ranger at New Belgium Brewing (which just began distributing to New York!  Go grab some!), and his lovely wife Katie.  We also found out at the first meeting we attended that my family friends Lee Ann and Ed Hahne were also members!  Ed passed away, tragically, nearly two years ago.  Some of my fondest memories of him were, when I was younger, when he used to bring six packs of his homebrewed beer to my parents’ house for parties (he was a music teacher with my Mom), and also, being able to spend time with him and Lee Ann at our LIBME gatherings to talk about beer, and music.  If we hadn’t joined LIBME, we may not have reconnected with him, but I’m so glad we did, and so thankful for those memories.  I miss that dude, a lot!  (Matt and Lauri made an amazing beer in his memory, which you’ll see later in this post)

LIBME was like a giant, extended family, that reached all over Long Island.  The beer community on Long Island is so strong, and everyone is supportive of one another.  As I mentioned earlier, Matt and Lauri had been homebrewing for several years, and were able to start their amazing brewery, Moustache Brewing Co., in part because of a Kickstarter they ran, called “We’re Growing a Moustache!” that raised just over $31,000 to help them realize a dream they’d been…  Well, dreaming, for so many beers…  I mean, years (since 2005, when they brewed their very first beer!).

Before the brewery opened, we would spend time with Matt and Lauri, both at LIBME meetings and elsewhere.  One of my favorite evenings was a bottle share that we had at Andrew and Katherine’s (two more amazing LIBME members) house.  It was epic.  That night, I got to try Sam Adams Utopias for the first time.

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Some delicious selections at this particular bottle share…  Including Sam Adams Utopias (27% ABV) and Brewmeister Armageddon (65% ABV).


Lauri modeling one of the highest ABV beers ever made.
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Lauri’s Instagram Post from January, 2013 of Holly chugging a bottle of The Bruery Rugbrod and me making a normal face…

Hanging out with Matt and Lauri offered Holly and I so many amazing opportunities to taste some of Moustache’s many delicious libations in their early stages.  I had the opportunity to spend the day with Matt in his father’s backyard while he brewed Moustache Everyman’s Porter, a 4.5%, black as night, Porter, with intense coffee and chocolate, both on the nose and palate, something you can drink in the dead of winter by the fire, or in the intense, Long Island, summer heat.  Go to Riverhead, drink this beer.  It’s unreal.


A crushable Everyman’s Porter, straight from the source.

I believe it was around this time that they were also brewing their Mojito Pale Ale, which tastes just as insanely delicious as it sounds.  Brewed with fresh lime zest (HAND ZESTED!!) and mint (HAND…  MINTED?), it’s a lime citrus forward Pale Ale with refreshing mint, that will also ward off Scurvy.  I promise.  Give this to all of your pirate friends.  They’ll thank ya later.  (Also, if you have pirate friends, send them my way.  I want pirate friends.)

In April of 2014, we were able to attend the Kickstarter Backers preview at the new Moustache Brewing Company in Riverhead.  It was so special to see the outpouring of love from Matt and Lauri’s friends and family as they poured their beers, sort of officially, for the first time.  These two had been working their butts off for as long as I’d known them to get their business, their love, their baby, up and running.

Cheers!


Kickstarter Backers Board at Moustache Brewing Company in Riverhead, NY!

A few days later, we were at their official Grand Opening, where Matt shaved off his bushy winter beard, AKA his Rally Beard (after which they have named a once-a-year Rally Beard IIPA) revealing the eponymous Moustache, and beginning a tradition that has been replicated at both their first and second anniversary parties!

IMG_0900 Authentic barber’s chair for the shaving of the Rally Beard at the Grand Opening of Moustache Brewing Company, April 2014.

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Revealing that glorious, glorious Moustache that everyone knows and loves.  And Matty’s sweet cheeks!

Since they’ve opened two years ago, people have been asking for their amazing brews across Long Island, in New York City, and even stretching into Upstate New York.  They’ve already gotten larger fermenters so they can make more beer for your face.  They’ve released some special, barrel aged beers, like Snügg, an Old Ale aged in French Oak Bordeaux barrels, that is inspired by Glögg, a spiced, mulled wine, and most recently, a Bourbon Barrel-aged Blueberry and Ginger Tripel, that will be released next Saturday, June 4th.  (I’ve had the non-barrel-aged version of this beer, and it tastes like a Blueberry scone, it’s unbelievable.)
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Look at these gorgeous barrels…


“But I was just looking for the bung hole!” -Is something I probably said about 100 times.

They’ve also made beer for charity.  Buffalo Theory, a Double IPA, was made in memory of our friend Ed Hahne, was brewed with hops from his garden, and all proceeds from the beer were donated to the charity in his name at Stony Brook University.  They also participated in the Craft Cares IPA, with breweries from all over Long Island, which was given out in exchange for two non-perishable cans of food, for Long Island Craft Beer Week.

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They took a blank canvas inside of a warehouse and designed an amazing tasting room.
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Gorgeous bar at Moustache Brewing Company.
IMG_0212 Decorated for the Holidays!
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Holly and our dear friends Pete and Kelsey Shelly on Opening Day, 2014!

I wanted to write a post about Matt and Lauri, because they have worked so hard, and are so passionate, they have helped shape me into the sort-of knowledgable beer geek I am today.  It wasn’t an easy road for them (you can ask them), but they’re doing amazing things for the community.  Their dedication to their art is inspiring, and people are chomping at the bit for their beer to be in restaurants and bars all over New York.  So look out for these guys, because they’re going to be all over the place before you know it.

For now, head over to their gorgeous brewery and tasting room in Riverhead, and follow them on Facebook here to see what’s on tap!  (I suggest the Franco ‘Murica, a pale ale brewed with French Saison yeast!)

Until next time, Cheers!

When Opportunity Knocks, Part II

This is a continuation of my previous post!  If you like reading, you should go back and check that out.  If you already did that, thanks for coming back!  I’m not insufferable!  Yahoo for me!

After my Saturday in San Francisco, galavanting about on beautiful, old, 100% haunted, wooden ships, eating amazing seafood (with draaaaaaawn butter…), and drinking some fresh, delicious, local craft beer at Southern Pacific Brewing Company, I figured I would start my first free Sunday in California by doing what any hard-working 30-something would do, I put on my lime green swimsuit and I hit that hotel hot tub.  Hard.  But I was not alone.  I stepped into the pool area, and, as the steam from the hot tub dissipated (not unlike the fog over the Golden Gate Bridge), I gazed upon a pair of sunglasses and a wide, bright white smile.  I felt like Alice, gazing upon the Cheshire Cat.  “A SUUUUUH DUUUDE” came swirling out of the steam (I think one of those capital U’s smacked me in the face).  

A photo of the Cheshire Cat, for reference.
A photo of Eric, for reference.

I stepped into that lukewarm (the temperature has since increased, thank God) bubble bath and chatted with Eric for nearly an hour.  The topic quickly turned to beer (surprise, surprise).  We talked about Founders and Bells, as he’s from Michigan.  (What’s good for the Goose is good for the Michigander, I’ve heard.)

“Dude, do you want to go to a brewery today?” I asked.  Eric smiled, “Of course, dude.” (I’m paraphrasing, but I’m 99% sure that’s how it went down).  

We ended up at Alpha Acid Brewing Company, in Belmont, CA.  It was the only brewery in the area that was open on a Sunday, surprisingly.  Also, we almost didn’t find it.  We used our technology to get us there, and it brought us to an industrial complex with a bunch of closed, locked garages.  We drove around for a few minutes, and tucked away in one of the back buildings, was the brewery.  Their giant garage door was open, and inside was a small tasting room, with a few high tables, some picnic tables, and my absolute favorite thing, some old whisky barrels.  The beer, that delicious nectar, hibernating inside the walls of that wooden wonderland, soaking up all of the flavor from the spirits that inhabited that barrel.  

Absolutely gorgeous.

A simple chalkboard displayed the beers that these made scientists at Alpha Acid were cooking up.

Ali and I opted for the Citra Bro.  I’ve mentioned before that single-hopped IPAs can sometimes be one-note.  Citra’s hops have a spectrum of citrus flavors, this one was bursting with mango, pineapple and grapefruit.  You know those “Let’s all go to the lobby” cartoons that played in Movie theaters?  Replace those dancing snacks with citrus fruits, and put those dancing citrus fruits in my mouth, that’s what this beer tastes like.  It was unreal.  I also had a Stout called I’m in Love with the Mocha, which is a play on my favorite O. T. Genasis song (also, the only O. T. Genasis song I’ve ever heard), I’m in Love With the Coco.  I’ve never done, or been in love with coco, but I do love mocha, and I love a nice, roasty, coffee, chocolate, oatmeal stout, so this guy did the job.  It was an awesome brewery.  I wish we could have stayed longer, but we wanted to do some exploring, so we drove through a gorgeous mountain covered in beautiful greenery, and over to Half Moon Bay.  Only in California can look out at a gorgeous ocean, turn around, and see the most amazing rolling hills and picturesque landscapes imaginable.

Absolutely unbelievable view just before you get to the GD PACIFIC OCEAN!!  Can you believe that??

That ocean tho.

Another amazing idea, fueling an off the cuff adventure, planned over a fantastic craft beer.

On our way to Half Moon Bay, Eric and I were talking music.  We had both bonded over The Format earlier in the week, so we were talking about other bands we had a mutual interest in.  “Do you like Motion City Soundtrack?” I asked.  “Dude, they’re playing tomorrow night, in San Francisco.

Needless to say, we bought tickets later that night and ended up seeing one of my favorite bands of all time play on their Farewell Tour.  It was amazing.  The floor literally shook as they played their encore songs.  Their original drummer, Tony Thaxton (who now has his own hilarious, Christmas themed podcast called Feliz Navipod, check it out) came back to play with them on this tour.  I was in heaven.  Eric was in heaven.  It was absoutely out of control, and another spontaneous adventure.  

Motion City Soundtrack sonically rocking The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.

The Regency was a very cool venue.  If fit right in with the city, which has so much charm and character.  They had an entire room dedicated to Local Craft beer!  They featured a bunch of Lagunitas Brewing Company, some Anchor Brewing Company, Bear Republic Brewing, and Sierra Nevada Brewing.  I went with one of my favorite, easily available, brews, A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin.  This is a pale wheat ale, packed with citrus and pine from the 50% wheat malt, and all the “C” hops (Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Columbus).  It tastes like freaking orange juice.  I’m a huge fan.  Although I didn’t get to visit the brewery in Petaluma (about an hour north of San Francisco), I was able to drink a few of their beers very fresh, and man, they’re awesome.  (They also don’t need me as an advocate, Heinekin now has a 50% stake in their company so they can distribute their beer internationally.) It’s also nice that we get their beer relatively fresh out here in NYC.

A blurry picture of me looking like a doofus with a $14 (with tip) Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’.  

Gorgeous exterior of the Regency Ballroom.  Go see a show here!

I had an amazing time in California.  I got to experience a lot (but still not enough) of the Bay Area.  I’m so glad I met some amazing people, and had the opportunity to sample some amazing California beer while experiencing some crazy adventures (stay tuned for our adventure to Muir Woods).  Thank you all so much for tuning in (can one “tune in” to a blog?) each week to read about my experiences.  This has been a fun two or so months writing this, and I hope to continue to share my adventures with you, as long as you’ll keep reading! 

See you next week! 

Cheers!

When Opportunity Knocks…

Holly and I have been talking lately about being open to opportunities, and saying “Yes” when an opportunity arises. Having been in California for two weeks, and not knowing when I’ll be able to come back (either for work or otherwise), I’ve been contemplating this conversation a lot.

I’m 32 years old, and most of the time, I don’t feel it. (Also all the time I act like a grown man baby.) There are days when I’ll come home from work and feel like crashing. I’ve been taking in a lot of information at work while I’ve been here, and some nights, I will want to just turn on the television, order Pizza Hut (because, let’s face it, I have no excuse ordering Pizza Hut living in New York City, but since I’m here, where all pizza is bad pizza, I may as well order my favorite bad pizza), and shortly after, hating myself for eating Pizza Hut and falling asleep. Thankfully, I’ve only done this twice since I got here!

Saying “Yes” has put me in some unbelievably awesome places here. I’ve been to two breweries so far, and seen some of the gorgeous scenery that the Bay Area has to offer. It hasn’t really been warm, and it hasn’t really been sunny (I think I brought the rain from New York, but I hear that California is in a drought, so I can’t really be mad about it, because without water, there is no beer…), but we’ve made the best of our time.

This past Saturday, some of my new buddies and I went to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.  It was raining, but it didn’t really impede us.  We found a metered parking spot in front of a little chocolate shop, and our friends pulled into a spot behind us (after my roommate Ali spent about 10 minutes shooing away people who tried to park behind us). Ali is Persian, and has just the friendliest face you’ll ever see, so it was hilarious to see him jump out of the car every few minutes to chat with the presumably (and rightfully so, we were parked like a-holes) angry drivers, flashing a smile and lying right to their faces, telling them we already payed for both spots.  As it turns out, the spot we were in didn’t have a meter.  We asked a passing traffic cop if it was ok to park there, because there was white paint on the curb, and the lady in the chocolate shop told us it was for deliveries.  Traffic cop tells us that in San Francisco, they only go off what they can clearly read, and since whatever was painted on that curb was all faded, we were good to go.  Boom!  Parked right in the heart of San Francisco!  (I’ve been told multiple times by Kat, one of my classmates who is a local, to never call it “San Fran”.  I’m trying so hard.). Maybe the traffic cop was lying to us.  (In New York, that would definitely be the case).  We didn’t really care at that point.  We didn’t want to waste anymore time.  Thankfully, he wasn’t lying, and we got a free parking spot for 4 hours.  Again, boom.

Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco

It looks like a movie set.  Not pictured, all the panhandlers, Ripley’s Believe it Or Not, or Madame Toussaud’s Wax Museum.  It’s still way nicer (and less crowded) than Times Square.

For lunch, we hit up The Franciscan.  And, my dear sweet lord, we filled our bellies with the freshest seafood you’ll find.  Basically jumping (do Mussels jump?  I think shrimp would probably jump, if ever given the opportunity) right off the docks and into our gullets.  Also, you have the opportunity to dine overlooking the San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz, so the ghosts of all the dead murderers and Sean Connery (not a ghost, and don’t you even think about it, 2016…) can watch you eat!

Can you guess how many of these crabs are haunted by the ghosts of prisoners of Alcatraz (pictured in the background)?  I can guarantee at least one of these things winked at me.

I had Steamed Mussels and Shrimp with drawn butter (is there a better phrase in the English language than “drawn butter”?)

We walked around the Wharf (a much needed walk) after our amazing lunch.  We explored some unbelievably gorgeous old (read: Haunted) Ships at the Maritime National Park.

I stood up on this anchor and a Park Ranger down on the dock shouted “YOU GOTTA DO THE SAILOR’S POINT!  LOOK IN ONE DIRECTION AND POINT IN ANOTHER.”  I’m so thankful for him.

After our jaunt at Fisherman’s Wharf, we drove a mile or so and headed to meet Kat at Southern Pacific Brewing Company.  This is a relatively new brewery, and the joint was jumping on a Saturday afternoon!

Southern Pacific Brewing Company
Like I said…  The joint?  She was a’jumpin’!

A bunch of us got flights, so we could all sample a bit of everything they had to offer.


I tasted a bit of all of the house beers.  The highlights were:

Their Barrel Aged Blend, which was a blend of their California Blonde and Saison, aged in Pinot Blanc barrels.  It smelled like hay, citrus, and funk (I love a beer that has some funk to it).  Taste was sour lemon, grass, white wine, ginger.  What a way to start!  It was an amazing beer to be drinking with my new friends, out on the front porch of the brewery. If this is how San Francisco tastes, I don’t wanna leave. 

A ton of awesome people.

Other highlights:

Hefeweizen, a Bavarian wheat beer, which was totally unfiltered and looked like a beautiful glass of pineapple juice, and tasted like ripe bananas and clove.  Gorgeous brew.  Wish I had a nice soft Bavarian pretzel to go with it.

Pale Ale, brewed with some classic hops (Cascade, Centennial, and Summit) was absolutely crushable at 5.2%ABV, but packed a punch with smells and flavors of daaaaaank pine and citrus.  (All those extra A’s were on purpose)

IPA, brewed with Columbus, Tomahawk, and Zythos hops, smelled and tasted just as sticky icky as the Pale Ale, and clocked in at only 5.8%ABV.  

So yeah, they’ve got some beers that smell like weed.  I had originally heard that Humulus Lupulus (hops) and Cannabis Sativa (marijuana) were relatives, but according to this article, there is no scientific proof.  I’ve always been fascinated when I smell a hop forward beer, the nose can evoke such interesting aromas, like pine, citrus (tropical or otherwise), black tea, grass, floral notes, herbs, spice, or, in this case, front row center at a Phish concert.  (Editor’s note: I’ve never been to a Phish Concert.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  I like pretty much all their songs that clock in under 5 minutes, also, I’m tickled by the fact that their drummer’s last name is Fishman.)

Packed house at Southern Pacific Brewing Company on a Saturday afternoon. I’m 99% sure there’s something delicious inside that tank.Gorgeous view from inside the brewery!

As I sit here in my hotel room, my exhausted Holly (she’s here!) is asleep after a long travel day, I reflect on all the great experiences I’ve had since I got here nearly two weeks ago.  I can’t fit them all into one post, so in a few days, I’ll post up again with my adventure to Half Moon Bay, a local brewery that we almost couldn’t find, and a farewell to one of my favorite bands.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to check out this blog!  You’re all wonderful!

Cheers!  See you in a few days!

Counting my Blessings

This is a blog about beer.

But first…  Love.

I’ll start off by saying, I really miss my wife, Holly.  I’m in California for three weeks for work, and I’ve met some cool people, I also have had the opportunity to travel here with some awesome Coworkers, and all around good sons, Alex and Daniel.  I am their Dad.  Not even their Work Dad.  I am their actual Father.  You can ask them.

But, being away from the one person you love most in this world is really hard.  Yes, she’s coming to visit next weekend (which I’m over the moon about!!), but we haven’t been apart this long in… Ever.  The most we’ve been apart is about a week, and even that was difficult. (Although, last time we were apart she was in Mexico, and she got to hang glide off of a boat and also they have Tequila in Mexico so…  She won that round.). The time difference also doesn’t help.  I’ve been waking up at 7am PST, and she’s already at work.  When I get out at 6pm, it’s 9pm on the East Coast.  So, it’s not ideal, but it definitely makes me appreciate all the time we’ve been able to spend together over the last 7 years.  (I love you, Holl!!)

My Gorgeous Lady.

This is a blog about beer.

But first, food.

I’ve finally gotten used to the time difference, aka I’m not exhausted and trying to keep my eyes open at 10pm.  I’ve had some amazing food since we’ve gotten here.  I ate Korean BBQ at a restaurant called Gooyi Gooyi, (which you’ll now find yourself shouting out loud to yourself, ya weirdo), and had beef tongue for the first time, as well as all the other meat you could possibly imagine.  

GOOYI GOOYICooking up some of that beef tongue, baby!

Kimchi Fried Rice and Pork Belly

My suitemate, Ali, is from Iran.  He took us to a Persian restaurant called Arya, and he lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw the menu.  He looked at the waitress, smiled, and said “This reminds me of my childhood.”  It’s amazing how food and drink can transport someone to another time and place.  We all decided what we wanted, and he insisted he order for us.  He was so thrilled, because where he lives now (Charlotte, North Carolina), he’s unable to get good Persian Food.  And Cupertino, I’ve learned, has one of the largest Persian populations in America.  He even bought fresh Persian sour fruit (he can’t ever find it fresh in North Carolina) and mailed it to his wife and 2-year-old son in Charlotte.

From L to R, Myself, Alex, Ali, and Daniel.

But yeah, this is a blog about beer!

I haven’t gone on any beer adventures yet (I’m hoping to get to Lagunitas, in Petaluma, and Russian River, in Santa Rosa.  I owe Justin “Panda” Mendes a Pliny the Elder.  I’d also love to hit up 21st Amendment in San Francisco.

Let’s talk about what I HAVE had.

Because, I don’t know if you’ve heard…  This is a blog about beer.


This. Is a sexy beer.  Green Flash West Coast IPA.  Because, when one is on the West Coast, even if one has had this beer before, and one can find a bottle that is fresh to death (as the kids say), one does not pass up this opportunity.  

This beer is 8.1% ABV, Made with Simcoe, Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, and Citra Hops, and a British Crystal Malt. Comes in at a whopping 95 IBU (emphasis on the WHOP)!!

I’m immediately smacked in the face by grapefruit, lemon zest, tropical citrus, sweet mango, pine, and floral notes.  Grapefruit and pine dominate the palate, with lingering caramel sweetness from the malt.
This beer grabs you, picks you up from wherever your lazy, near-lifeless body sits (warning: this beer gives ya the Jelly Legs), and drops you in a hammock in paradise with a good book and a tropical breeze.  Drink this beer.
My first time with this beer.  Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA.  Comes in at 6.5% ABV, so I was able to enjoy it and still cook a damn amazing burger.  I’ve heard a lot of great things, so my expectations were high.

Made with Citra and Mosaic (there she is again!  See earlier blog posts for my love letter to Mosaic).  Smell is Pineapple, grapefruit, orange.  Taste follows, but the malts balance the bitter citrus with a delicious, caramel sweetness.  I’m sad they don’t distribute to NY.


Stone Enjoy By 5.30.16 Tangerine IPA.  9.5%ABV.  90 IBU.  Ok.  Listen to these hops.  They just sing. Nugget.  Super Galena (COME ON HOW AM I NOT A HOP NAMER?).  Simcoe.  Delta (fly me to the moon).  Target (also mine and Holly’s favorite Department Store).  Amarillo.  Cascade (a waterfall of flavor).  Galaxy.  Citra.  Nelson Sauvin (The “Rico Suave” of hops).  Motueka.  Helga.

Helga.

Stone has been putting out this Enjoy By IPA for a few years.  As with all IPAs, as soon as it’s bottled, the hops begin to fade.  Stone’s goal was to brew a beer designed to be drank…  Real quick.  Within 37 days.  This batch was brewed with puréed tangerines, as if the citrus from the hops wasn’t enough.  I shared this beer with a bunch of people at the cookout, and my classmate Doug threatened to walk away with my glass.  Thankfully, he’s a classy gentleman and would never walk away with another man’s beer.  This is the best variant from this series that I’ve tasted.  Speaking of classy, this beer is just that.  I wowed multiple people with a taste of this bad boy, beer lovers and non-beer lovers alike.  These dudes at Stone know what’s up.

Tonight, Daniel and I met up with some former Coworkers, Chrissy and Steve.  We met up at BJ’s Brewhouse, which is a chain restaurant that brews their own beer.


From L to R, Daniel, Steve, Myself, Ram (hiding) and Chrissy

The beer was ordinary.  The company was amazing.  California has gained some amazing people over the past year, and I was so glad to be able to spend a bit of time with them.  

So, to recap, I miss my gorgeous wife, I’ve met some wonderful people, spent time with old friends, and had both ordinary and extraordinary brews.  

I look forward to the rest of my time here in California, and, as it’s nearly 2am PST, will fall asleep, counting my blessings.

Welcome to California!

I made it! I’m here in Cupertino for a work trip, and today was my travel day. I was on a six hour flight from New York, in which a young boy (read: Monster) was running up and down the aisles (all the while being lazily watched by his seemingly uncaring mother), and he was hitting everyone in an aisle seat, including myself. Remember the movie Clifford? With Martin Short? Think of that.

Definitely an image of the boy who kept smacking me and all of the other people on the aisle with his bacteria laden stickyfingers, and definitely not a picture of Martin Short as Clifford in the movie Clifford.

It’s 9:15pm PST, which means it’s 12:15am EST. I’ve been traveling since 9am EST, and I ate a Country Fried Steak and my buddy Alexander’s extra Oreo Shake at Denny’s. So, basically I’m ready to hibernate, like a full bellied, exhausted bear. But, at the end of a long travel day, comes a sweet, sweet, luxurious California reward! 

Sierra Nevada Five Hop Experimental IPA

5.8%ABV, made with “Experimental Hops”. Sierra Nevada’s website does not say what hops they use. Comes in at 60 IBUs. (IBU = International Bitterness Units)
This was bottled on 02/02/2016. I love my IPAs super fresh, as the older they get, the more the hops fade. When I opened this one, it smelled like fresh grapefruit, orange, and even some coconut and vanilla. It had a two finger, bright white, fluffy head, that stuck around for days, seemingly. Sierra Nevada makes such amazing quality beers, the age didn’t do much, although you can tell the hops faded a bit, especially on the nose. Taste is candied orange (less grapefruit than the nose), and dry. Another great beer from these dudes. I rated it a 3.75/5 on Untappd, only because it’s not super fresh. I bet I would bump it up if it were fresher.  
I wanted to post a quick beer review for my first beer in California! Stay tuned for more stories, I’ll be here for the next three weeks! Cheers!

Ask Me (About) Another (Beer Blog Post), or, How Patrick Finally Learned How to Use Links

I was struggling to come up with what to write about this week.   You’re probably asking yourself…  “This is your 4th blog, and you’re already running out of material?”   Fear not, dear reader!  Having a background in Improvisation, I’m known to think on my toes…  Bicycle!  Mount Rainier!  French Onion Soup!  Horticulturist!  Grandfather holding a baby (or a baby gremlin)!  A banana as a hat!

…See?  That was all off the top of the dome.  Nothing to worry about.  Nothin’ at all…

I have plenty of experiences I want to write about, I just wasn’t sure which one to pick this week.  And then, on Tuesday night, my wife Holly Kay and I, and our friends Scott and Emily, went to see a live recording of one of our favorite podcasts, NPR’s Ask Me Another, at The Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn.  When we arrived there, we discovered it was being sponsored by Lagunitas Brewing Company, purveyors of some of my favorite libations (which I will talk about later in this post, of course!).  It was a sign from the heavens!  “Here’s your next blog post, my son.  Also, your posts make me thirsty.” -God.  Does God get thirsty?  He probably does.  OTHERWISE, THERE WOULD BE NO BEER.

I’ll preface this story by saying, my wife and I do not like to go to Brooklyn.  Nothing against anyone from Brooklyn, or against the borough itself (I mean, Three’s Brewing and Other Half Brewing are putting out some of the best beers in the Northeast), it’s just that, we live in Queens.  Those of you who have lived, or currently live in Queens, know that getting to Brooklyn is a living nightmare.  Unless you want to take the G train (not gonna take the G unless I’m going to Törst, a world class Beer Bar with a Michelin Star rated restaurant, called Luksus, in the back room), you have to go all the way through Manhattan to get there.  That means, it’s at least a 3,000 hour commitment each way to get there.  So, if we’ve come to visit you in Brooklyn, that means we really love you, or we dreaded the subway ride so much that I drove.  If you live in Brooklyn, and we haven’t come to visit you, it’s not you.  It’s just…  The farthest away.

So, I won four tickets to see Ask Me Another, which is an NPR podcast that features puzzles, trivia, word games, music, comedy, jokes, laughing, microphones, buzzers, and fun.  It’s hosted by Ophira Eisenberg, who is delightful, and very quick witted.  She did about 10 minutes of crowd work before they began recording, to get us warmed up for the show, and she was hilarious.  Their House Musician is Jonathan Coulton.  If you haven’t heard of him, go.  Go and do that.  I will wait here.

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Here’s a picture.

IMG_2362Jonathan Coulton and Ophira Eisenberg, hosting one of the games during the recording of Ask Me Another!

JoCo (as he is sometimes referred) is an Ivy League graduate, composed the theme songs to both Portal video games, Still Alive and Want You Gone and, in 2006, wrote a song a week and compiled them into 4 different albums, Thing A Week 1 through Thing A Week 4.  Those albums produced such wonderful classics as Tom Cruise Crazy, Shop Vac, and Re: Your Brains (a song about zombie office coworkers).  Like I said, go check him out.  I sang one of his songs, Skullcrusher Mountain (about a Mad Scientist who falls in love) at my wedding.

We were all very excited to see the show.  We invited Scott and Emily, because they are just as big Jonathan Coulton fans as we are, and they introduced us to Ask Me Another.  Scott had no idea what we were doing. Emily decided she was going to surprise him, and told him they were going to an Awesome 80’s Dance Party (something Scott was less than thrilled about).  I was coming straight from work, so they all got there before I did (it took me nearly 3 days to get from Midtown Manhattan to The Bell House).  I learned that Scott had gone to help a young lady change her tire (possibly with the hopes of not having to endure Taco’s amazing cover of Puttin’ on the Ritz or Milli Vanilli’s lip-synctastical Girl, You Know It’s True).  When he discovered what we were actually doing, he was,  I can only describe it as, maniacally excited.

This is Scott.  Doesn’t he just look delightfully maniacal?  This is from a different event, but you get the picture.  Also, what does he need that pen for?

As I walked into the Bell House, I saw Lagunitas paraphanelia and signage, and was handed two tokens for free Lagunitas Pilsner!  WHOA!

IMG_2361

“Silly is the man who turns down a free Lagunitas.” -Abraham Lincoln

As it turns out, the featured guests on the show this week were Bob Boilen, host of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts and All Songs Considered, and Gaelynn Lea, who won the 2016 Tiny Desk Contest, beating out nearly 6,000 other applicants.  Lagunitas is sponsoring the Tiny Desk contest, and subsequent tour.

Gaelynn Lea is an astonishing performer and composer.  She was born with Brittle Bone Disease, and is in a wheelchair.  She learned to play the violin in an upright position, like a cello, and she uses an electronic looping pedal, recording all the necessary pieces of the song and singing over them.  Her story is inspirational, as is her music (Americana and Old World Folk), and I highly recommend checking out her Tiny Desk Concert to see what she’s all about.  She’s an inspiration, and we were all very emotional seeing her perform live.

It was fun to see the behind the scenes of our favorite podcast.  The show ran about 2 hours, and they edit it down into about an hour long podcast.  I loved watching them do pick ups at the end, to re record lines they fumbled on during the recording.

Oh right, so, beer.  Yes, as I mentioned earlier, we each were given two tokens for Lagunitas Pils.  I’m not usually a Pilsner guy.  It is a very easy style to get wrong (most times, a bad Pilsner reminds me of Bud Light).  It’s a very difficult style to get right, because there’s no room for error.  Hoppy beers can hide easily behind their hops, so when you have a Pilsner, which should be crisp, grassy, and refreshing, it’s very easy to go wrong.  

Lagunitas does not go wrong.  My first sip (I hadn’t had it in probably about 5 years) had a gorgeous, citrus hop bite, followed by some grassiness, hay, and then was softened and smoothed out by the Czech Pilsner malts.  It may have been the environment, the company, or the fact that it was $FREE.99, but that beer was absolutely perfect for that moment, that night, that show.  We all agreed.  It reinvigorated my interest in Pilsners, and I’m very excited to pick some more up now that the weather is finally warmer.

The other beer that Scott and I had was the Sixpoint Bengali.  (The Artist Formerly Known as Sixpoint Bengali Tiger, RIP Prince.).  Another perfect beer for our live Ask Me Another experience!  This beer is all about balance, and at 6.5%, you can have a couple and still enjoy the show without falling asleep.  It’s bright and citrusy from the hops, and balanced out by the sweetness from the malts.  I drank it out of the can.  It was an amazing night.

Sixpoint Bengali in the can (tee hee), and Lagunitas Pils in the cup.  A thing of beauty!

I wish I could have kept these tokens!

Scott even made a new friend, and asked her to take a picture with us.  Check it out!


This is Lily (I think.  I’m terrible with names.), with Scott and I.  We gave her this polariod.  Also, there’s SWAG in my hand.  I felt like Michael Scott at the Paper Convention.  It was amazing.

All in all, it was a perfect night. Holly and I were in the perfect place (BROOKLYN!?!?!?) with the perfect friends, drinking the perfect beer (A PILSNER!?!?!?). There are times where you want the beer to compliment the experience, not outshine, or overpower it.  This was one of those nights, and it made everything just perfect.

…and don’t worry, I’ll be back to palate wrecking IPAs and Bourbon Barrel Stouts before you know it!

As for now, I’mma go grab some more Pilsners.  It’s Springtime.  Drink what you like!

See ya later, Alligators!