Category : The Session
The Session #37: When to Drink the Good Stuff
March 5th, 2010
Three years ago this month The Session celebrated its inaugural Friday with the topic of Stouts. This month, The Session’s third birthday, we have an entirely apropos topic: When to drink the good stuff, hosted by The Ferm.
Finding a drinking occasion that lives up to the reputation of the bottle and the story of its acquisition is not a dreadful struggle to have, but it is a struggle nonetheless. When my good friends are over and we have had a few other beverages, will we still be able to enjoy my cave aged Hennepin that I bought after my tour of the brewery and have cellared for ten years? Will I miss it like I miss that four year old Golden Monkey?
In March, The Ferm has the honor of hosting The Session, a monthly assemblage of beer bloggers to opine on a shared topic. The March 2010 topic is “The Display Shelf: When to Drink the Good Stuff.” The topic is open ended and the rules of The Session are close to nil. You can use your post to be persuasive or therapeutic. You may choose to tell a story of a great bottle you once opened or boast of your own beer collection.
As I write this post up, I’m enjoying a 2007 vintage bottle of The Abyss—partly in appreciation of this month’s topic, partly to celebrate The Session’s anniversary (enjoying an Imperial Stout in a nice symmetry with that first month of stouts), partly “just because.”
All of which leads into the best answer I can give of “when to drink the good stuff”: I don’t know—it’s entirely up to you.
What? Too anticlimactic? Well, there’s no way around it—beer can be such a subjective topic and everyone has their own tastes and preferences. The only one who can tell you when to drink that prized beer is you.
But if you can hold on to that beer for ten or more years? My hat’s off to you.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe I’m going to enjoy the last of this ‘07 Abyss…
Reminder: The Session is this Friday
March 2nd, 2010Don’t forget The Session is coming up this Friday, the 5th: the topic is “The Good Stuff” (when to drink it). Since it’s the anniversary of the first Session, and given the topic is “good stuff”, I may well open a 2007 Abyss to commemorate it.
The next Session: The Good Stuff
February 9th, 2010Next month, March 5th, is The Session’s third birthday: that’s right, three years ago March, the first Session stormed the internet on the topic of Stouts—”Not your father’s Irish Stout,” as suggested by Stan (who also came up with the idea of The Session).
So it’s entirely appropriate that March’s theme—brought to us by SirRon of The Ferm—is “When to Drink the Good Stuff“:
Finding a drinking occasion that lives up to the reputation of the bottle and the story of its acquisition is not a dreadful struggle to have, but it is a struggle nonetheless. When my good friends are over and we have had a few other beverages, will we still be able to enjoy my cave aged Hennepin that I bought after my tour of the brewery and have cellared for ten years? Will I miss it like I miss that four year old Golden Monkey?
In March, The Ferm has the honor of hosting The Session, a monthly assemblage of beer bloggers to opine on a shared topic. The March 2010 topic is “The Display Shelf: When to Drink the Good Stuff.” The topic is open ended and the rules of The Session are close to nil. You can use your post to be persuasive or therapeutic. You may choose to tell a story of a great bottle you once opened or boast of your own beer collection.
Friday, March 5th. Be there.
The Session #36: Cask-Conditioned Beer
February 5th, 2010It’s the first Friday of the month again, and that means it’s time for “Beer Blogging Friday”—AKA The Session, the monthly collaboration of beer bloggers across the world to write about a common topic. All the participating blog posts will then be gathered and summarized by the host for the month (who is also the one who got to pick the theme and set any ground rules).
This month’s topic is brought to us by Tom over at Yours for Good Fermentables and the topic is Cask-Conditioned Beer:
Cask-conditioned ale —or “real ale” as it is called, somewhat boastfully, by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA), a beer consumer advocacy group in the UK— is defined by that organization as
beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide.
Viewers of this blog have read my opinions on cask-conditioned ale, and probably once too often. So, let’s hear yours, and not only yours. Why not invite brewers and drinkers and bemused casked-spectators to contribute essays for the Session?
Besides that question, Tom suggests a number of other possible discussion points for this month’s topic. Actually he suggests a lot. I expect this month’s Session posts will be good reads.
One of the first things I thought, from his definition of cask-conditioned ale, is that homebrewed beer fits that definition almost perfectly: at least when it’s bottle-conditioned. Bottle-conditioning is essentially a secondary fermentation of the beer in the bottle, naturally carbonating it; you open a bottle and serve it as-is, without the “extraneous” CO2. It’s like bottles of homebrew are casks!
Beyond that pithy observation, I have to confess a lack of experience in drinking cask-conditioned beers. Not to say I’m completely clueless—I’ve thoroughly enjoyed cask ales when I’ve ordered them, and I’d be happy if every beer I drink could be cask-conditioned. But Oregon overall has a distinct lack of “cask culture”, so to speak, so the opportunities just aren’t there. The only place in Central Oregon that I know for sure offers cask-conditioned beer is Deschutes Brewery (of course)—they have two taps devoted to cask conditioned beers, one of which is always populated with their excellent Bachelor Bitter.
Now, having mentioned Oregon’s dearth of the cask, I do have to point to the one exception: the Brewers Union Local 180, located in tiny Oakridge, Oregon. It occupies a unique niche in the state’s beer scene: it’s the only Real Ale pub in Oregon—that is, all of their beers are cask-conditioned and only cask-conditioned.
They’re serious about it, too:
In order to keep our casks in peak condition, and to serve in an optimum way, we have built a temperature-controlled cellar behind the bar. This temperature will be maintained at 52° F (11° C), a bit on the cool side of the recommended range of 50°—55° F (10°—12° C). The stillage has been built to accommodate 8 casks, six of which can be in service and connected to the six beer engines on the bar at any one time. We are using CypherCo plastic firkins shipped from England that are automatically kept at the correct angle of incline based on remaining volume in the casks by the use of Tilt-a-Cask auto tilt mechanisms from A-Cask, another product shipped from England.
You would have to search far and wide, perhaps involving the journey over a large body of water, to find a more authentic pint.
The blog is also good reading, and I’d wager I’ve learned more about cask ales from reading it than anything else.
You’d expect a brewpub occupying such a unique niche to be located in Portland (Beervana), but strangely enough it’s to be found in one of the more out-of-the-way communities in the state—which for me, only adds to the appeal. And since Oakridge is only a mere 97 miles from Bend, one of my goals this year is to take (at the least) a day trip over to check out the Brewers Union 180.
And when I do, I’ll be able to talk a bit more about cask conditioning.
The next Session: Casks!
January 7th, 2010The next session—number 36 (a milestone!)—has been announced: it’s being hosted by Yours for Good Fermentables and the topic is Cask-Conditioned Beer:
Cask-conditioned ale —or “real ale” as it is called, somewhat boastfully, by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA), a beer consumer advocacy group in the UK— is defined by that organization as
beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide.
Viewers of this blog have read my opinions on cask-conditioned ale, and probably once too often. So, let’s hear yours, and not only yours. Why not invite brewers and drinkers and bemused casked-spectators to contribute essays for the Session?
He lays down a number of suggestions for what to write about, including: definition, encomium (praise), rant, lifestyle, practical, and more. Should be a good one!
Also, don’t miss the wrap-up of Session #35 (New Beer’s Resolutions).
The Session #35: New Beer’s Resolutions
January 1st, 2010Today is not only the first day of 2010, it’s also the First Friday of the month and in the beer blogging world that means it’s time for The Session!
Today’s Session is being hosted by The Beer Chicks, Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune (authors of The Naked Pint), and their theme is New Beer’s Resolutions:
The New Year, of course, is the ultimate time for reflection of the previous year’s mistakes as well as a time of making resolutions to make our lives better in the future. Its also the time of year where all the lists happen. You can’t turn the TV on without seeing a “Best of 2009″ list: the best movies, best iphone apps, best sports moments, the best scandals, the best sports stars in scandals, etc…
So we want to know what was your best and worst of beer for 2009? What beer mistakes did you make? What beer resolutions do you have for 2010? What are your beer regrets and embarrassing moments? What are you hoping to change about your beer experience in 2010?
I haven’t yet worked up a beer predictions post—or addressed last year’s—and while I’ll be working up a personal “best” list of 2009, I don’t really have any regrets (beyond missing a beer event here and there) or “worst moments” that I dwell on.
So really, the one “beer resolution” I can come up with for 2010 is easy: write more about beer. (I figure the “drinking” part is pretty well understood.) Stepping up the beer writing is going to be one of my big goals for this new year.
What’s on your New Beer’s Resolutions list?
The next Session (New Year’s Day!)
December 9th, 2009The next Session has been announced, and it’s being hosted by The Beer Chicks, Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune (authors of The Naked Pint). The theme is New Beer’s Resolutions.
The New Year, of course, is the ultimate time for reflection of the previous year’s mistakes as well as a time of making resolutions to make our lives better in the future. Its also the time of year where all the lists happen. You can’t turn the TV on without seeing a “Best of 2009″ list: the best movies, best iphone apps, best sports moments, the best scandals, the best sports stars in scandals, etc…
So we want to know what was your best and worst of beer for 2009? What beer mistakes did you make? What beer resolutions do you have for 2010? What are your beer regrets and embarrassing moments? What are you hoping to change about your beer experience in 2010?
And yes, the first Friday of January is indeed New Year’s Day. You’ll have to shake off that hangover long enough to get your resolutions in writing.
The Session #34: Stumbling Home
December 4th, 2009The first Friday of the month means it’s time for The Session, the collaborative blogging effort that brings together beer bloggers from across the web to write about a common theme. We’re in the 34th iteration of The Session—fast approaching the third anniversary!—and this month’s topic is from Two Parts Rye: Stumbling Home:
It’s time to give a shout out to your favorite watering hole. How good are the beers? Any interesting cast of characters? What are your drinking buddies like? They probably need to be embarrassed on the internet. Now’s the time.
You don’t have to limit yourself to one. Feel free to reminisce about the good old days if you like. Maybe you are a shut-in like this guy, and don’t get out that much, talk about the home bar.
There is a catch. This booze stuff has interesting side effects. That means, you can’t get behind the wheel. You gotta walk, take public transportation, or be a regular supporter of your favorite taxi company. Bicycles are acceptable but you still need to be careful. I have the cracked helmet and scars to prove it. Gotta love the 5 mph one man crash.
Ohhh, I wish I could say I have a regular watering hole, but other than the occasional visit to a brewery or—lately—The Abbey Pub (Bend’s newest beer bar, whose owner I am fortunate to know), it’s really the “home bar” where I enjoy most of my beer these days. (Also our friends Paul and Sandi’s place—they are beer aficionados as well and whenever we visit there’s always good beer on tap, be it craft brewed or homebrewed.)
As might be expected based on what you’ve read here over the years, I (try to) keep a fairly decent selection of beers on hand, from the one-off bottles I buy to drink and review, to a rotating selection of homebrewed beer (right now I have Billy Chinook Cream Ale, Hood River Harvest Apple Ale, my world-(in)famous Pumpkin Ale, and the latest Coconut Cream Stout that isn’t as good as the first batch), to a “standard” stock of craft-brewed beer. You’ll also find the occasional Macros like PBR from time to time, I’m not ashamed to admit.
Drinking from home (or from friends’ houses, which are very close by), I really don’t have the opportunity for any good “stumbling home” stories. If we’re out and I’ve had more than enough to drink, I don’t drive. If we’re home, then I go to bed. Along the way I try to make sure to drink plenty of water (not always successful) and occasionally pop some pre-emptive aspirin when I go bed (which doesn’t always help).
But! There was this one time… way back in 1999, at the Oregon Brewers Festival… yeah, you see where this is going, but no, it’s not as bad as you think. I went up on Friday for the start of the Fest, and started drinking around 1:30. (I had parked my car at my friend’s place and rode the bus downtown.) It was a pretty hot day, and between sampling a fair number of beers and traipsing around under the hot sun with, er, not so much water, by the time we left (my friend Justin joined me later in the day), we were pretty happy.
We rode the bus back, but it was a long-ish ride and after consuming a fair amount of liquid with limited restroom facilities (late in the day at the Fest there are infamously long lines…), by the time we exited the bus we had to find a restroom pretty desperately… and we were still five or so blocks from Justin’s house. Fortunately there is a restaurant at that bus stop (it’s changed hands and names, but it’s still there), so we ducked in, asked politely to use the facilities, and were in luck—they graciously let us in.
But! They were so nice to do so that we felt we couldn’t leave without buying at least one obligatory beer… so one very unnecessary pint later (I had Widmer Hefeweizen) we were on our way. And I’m pretty sure “stumbling” could well have been an apt description of the walk back.
Too much beer + too much hot sun + too little water = an evening feeling nauseous and fugue-ish. I remember watching “The Blues Brothers”… or semi-watching it anyway. It was a bit rough.
But we had recovered sufficiently by the next day to head down to the Fest again… albeit for a much more subdued day. There was no stumbling that day.
Incidentally, that ‘99 Fest was the first time I tasted Arrogant Bastard. Is that relevant to the story? Probably not, but it’s one of the details that sticks out from that trip. That and I bought three of the previous year’s 1998 Oregon Brewfest T-shirts for something like $1 each. (Still have them, but they’re getting pretty ratty.)
The next Session: Stumbling Home
November 13th, 2009The December Session (#34) has been announced, and it’s being hosted by Two Parts Rye: Stumbling Home.
It’s time to give a shout out to your favorite watering hole. How good are the beers? Any interesting cast of characters? What are your drinking buddies like? They probably need to be embarassed on the internet. Now’s the time.
You don’t have to limit yourself to one. Feel free to reminisce about the good old days if you like. Maybe you are a shut-in like this guy, and don’t get out that much, talk about the home bar.
There is a catch. This booze stuff has interesting side effects. That means, you can’t get behind the wheel. You gotta walk, take public transportation, or be a regular supporter of your favorite taxi company. Bicycles are acceptable but you still need to be careful. I have the cracked helmet and scars to prove it. Gotta love the 5 mph one man crash.
I’m not entirely sure about the “There is a catch” part. Does it mean we need to relate a story of, well, stumbling home from the favorite bar? Seems like a minor tack-on after two paragraphs describing the kinds of things to write about your favorite watering hole.
The Session #33: Framing Beer
November 6th, 2009I have to admit, I’m a bit stumped as to how to approach this month’s Session: Framing Beer, hosted and suggested by Andy Couch.
For better or worse, in everyday situations beer comes with a label. This label very really ‘frames’ the beer inside. The fact that the beer comes commercially-produced signals the presence of investment (if not skill). A style name or tasting notes indicates the general characteristics to expect. If you know the brewery the beer is framed with your past experiences. Even the label art will affect your expectations for the beer.
What role does this framing play in beer tasting, especially for ‘professional evaluators’? Relate an amusing or optimistic anecdote about introducing someone to strange beer. Comment on the role a label plays in framing a beer or share a label-approval related story. I have not done much blind tasting, and I would be intrigued to hear about this ‘frameless’ evaluation of beer.
And drink a beer. Ideally drink something that you don’t think you will like. Try to pick out what it is about that brew that other people enjoy (make sure to properly frame the beer!).
It’s a thought-provoking topic that I could come at from several angles. So, I suppose I’ll do just that, mostly because I can’t decide on any single way to deconstruct the topic.
One thing Andy didn’t cover in his descriptors and examples above is what I think is a fairly recent twist in the “beer framing” discussion: the growing role that beer review sites like RateBeer and BeerAdvocate (and the web in general) in framing beer and influencing opinions on beer before said beer ever touches your lips. Indeed, because of these sites I know things like:
- The best beers in the world are “big” or extreme beers, often Imperial Stouts, and often barrel-aged;
- Some of said “best beers” are often rare and feature exclusive or limited releases: typically the harder the beer is to get, the better it is;
- Most beers brewed by industrial macrobrewers are terrible;
- Beers like Three Floyds’ Dark Lord Imperial Stout are so coveted that people will travel from far and wide to camp overnight at the brewery for just a chance of acquiring some on the one day a year it’s released—so it must be amazing.
I’m being a bit snarky, yes, but really: if you know nothing else about a beer at first other than it got high marks at BeerAdvocate, then that is definitely a “framing factor” that will influence your take on it.
I can think of one clear instance recently where I myself “framed” a beer before drinking it: with Widmer’s Cherry Oak Doppelbock I wrote:
I opened the bottle up yesterday, and I’ll be honest, I was expecting a good beer, a competent beer, but nothing really “blow your socks off.”
Boy, was I surprised. Stunned, even. I’m declaring right now Widmer’s Cherry Oak Doppelbock is one of the best beers of 2009.
See what happened there? I initially approached the beer from a different assumption than the reality, which is exactly the state of affairs Andy describes. Why would I do that with a Widmer beer? No idea. I like to think I’m fairly open-minded when it comes to beer, and I’ve extolled the virtues of Widmer many times in the past. Perhaps it was “big beer fatigue”, some sort of “anti-framing” to the website framing I talk about above—an initial “ho hum” reaction to yet another big beer.
Which brings to mind an interesting question: how many people experience something akin to anti-framing a beer? That is, the way they approach the beer is counter to how it would typically be approached? Of course, then we’d have to define “typical” with beer.
Of course, there we go framing the beer again…
The next Session: Framing Beer
October 5th, 2009Next month’s Session is being hosted by Andy Couch of I’ll Have a Beer, and the announced topic is “Framing Beer“:
For better or worse, in everyday situations beer comes with a label. This label very really ‘frames’ the beer inside. The fact that the beer comes commercially-produced signals the presence of investment (if not skill). A style name or tasting notes indicates the general characteristics to expect. If you know the brewery the beer is framed with your past experiences. Even the label art will affect your expectations for the beer.
What role does this framing play in beer tasting, especially for ‘professional evaluators’? Relate an amusing or optimistic anecdote about introducing someone to strange beer. Comment on the role a label plays in framing a beer or share a label-approval related story. I have not done much blind tasting, and I would be intrigued to hear about this ‘frameless’ evaluation of beer.
And drink a beer. Ideally drink something that you don’t think you will like. Try to pick out what it is about that brew that other people enjoy (make sure to properly frame the beer!).
I think this might be the most unique and thought-out topic we’ve yet had for The Session.
The Session #32: Eastern Beers
October 2nd, 2009It’s the first Friday of the month again and that means it’s time for beer bloggers to collectively pool their efforts and write about a common topic—that’s right, it’s another month of The Session!
This month’s topic comes to us from Girl Likes Beer, and she’s picked a geographically interesting topic: Eastern Beers.
You are probably wondering what I mean by that. So let me explain. My goal is to try at least one beer of each country that has its own brewery. So far I did try a lot of beers that are made in countries that are west from mine (which is Poland if anyone was wondering). I would like to explore the ones on the east.
So to sum up I would like you to pick your favorite beer made east form your hometown but east enough that it is already in a different country. It can be from the closest country or from the furthest. Explain why do you like this beer. What is the coolest stereotype associated with the country the beer comes from (of course according to you)? And one more thing. If you do a video or picture of the beer (not obligatory of course) try to include the flag of the country.
When I blogged the announcement I looked up the country that is directly east (by latitude) from me (here in Bend, Oregon), and determined that Canada is the first, followed by France across the Atlantic. No offense to Canadians, but France is more interesting to me for this topic—so France it is.
For me when I think of France and beer, one style comes to mind: Bière de Garde. These farmhouse-style ales from northern France hearken back to a rustic tradition when brewing was a major function of the farmhouse brewery or household. Literally meaning “beer for keeping”, they were typically brewed in winter or spring, to keep throughout the summer (when it was otherwise too hot to brew).
As a homebrewer, this rustic tradition of beer strikes a chord with me, and at the same time, I find it fascinating that the Bière de Garde is the only considered style to come from France—especially as the country has such a thriving wine culture and history, and it shares borders with Germany and Belgium, two of the world’s major brewing regions.
I wish I could point to more French beers that I have tried, but the only two that come immediately to mind are from Brasserie Duyck, both Bières de Garde: Jenlain Ambrée and Jenlain Noël. Both are also top-notch examples of the style, and are well worth seeking out. The Ambrée is the classic example of the Bière de Garde, complex and engaging. I wrote:
Smell: Malty sweet, overripe plum, cut grass, musty berry, sweet dough.
Taste: Sweet grains—almost cloying—almost a brandy character. Leather. Some sort of fruit… old blackberry? Root vegetables. Dry. Sour just enough to be refreshing. A nice toasted wheat bread. Very complex.
It traces its roots back to 1922, and is the flagship beer from Duyck. If you’re just starting out with French beers, you can’t go wrong starting here.
Their Christmas beer, the Jenlain Noël, is also great, with holiday spicing and an unusual characteristic:
Taste: Spicy, sweet, and—as weird as it sounds—bubblegum. Very tasty, and the spices complement the sweetness nicely. It’s more of a hop spice than culinary, and a bit earthy.
Bubblegum. This is one of those flavors that you scratch your head over, but in this beer it just works. Definitely one of the more interesting Christmas beers I’ve tried.
Most people don’t think “beer” when they think of France. I think, “why not?” I think it’s time to start exploring more of the offerings the French have to offer in the world of beer.
The next Session: Eastern Beers
September 11th, 2009The next Session, #32 for October, has been announced. It’s being hosted by Girl Likes Beer, and the topic is “Eastern Beers“:
You are probably wondering what I mean by that. So let me explain. My goal is to try at least one beer of each country that has its own brewery. So far I did try a lot of beers that are made in countries that are west from mine (which is Poland if anyone was wondering). I would like to explore the ones on the east.
So to sum up I would like you to pick your favorite beer made east form your hometown but east enough that it is already in a different country. It can be from the closest country or from the furthest. Explain why do you like this beer. What is the coolest stereotype associated with the country the beer comes from (of course according to you)? And one more thing. If you do a video or picture of the beer (not obligatory of course) try to include the flag of the country.
The “next” country to the east of Bend, Oregon (by latitude of approximately 44°N) is actually Canada, crazily enough (it dips down to 42°N at Lake Erie). The next one after that is France. Of course, that’s if I go with a strict interpretation of “east”. We’ll see.
The Session #31: Summer Beers
September 4th, 2009The first Friday of September is upon us already, and it’s time for another round of The Session! Beer bloggers are writing today on a common topic, which was provided to us by BetterBeerBlog: Summer Beers.
With the summer coming to a close, what was your favorite beer of the summer? It doesn’t even have to be from this summer. Is it a lager or maybe a light bodied wheat ale? Maybe you’re drinking anti-seasonally and are having a barleywine or Russian Imperial Stout. Why is this beer your favorite? Is there a particular memory associated with this beer? How about a city? Maybe there was a particular dish that made this beer memorable? Spare no detail.
It’s very apropos as a theme as summer seems to be winding down here in Central Oregon—cool weather is moving in, the days are noticeably shorter, and there’s a tiny nip of autumn in the air. A good time to reflect back on those summertime beers.
On the other hand, whenever it comes to one of these “favorite” questions, I’m always a bit torn because honestly, I can’t just point to one beer and say it’s a favorite. I like too many beers, and I’m always on the lookout for new beers to try, which sounds like a copout, I know, but it’s true.
That having been said, one of the summer beers I consistently reach for when it comes out is Deschutes Brewery’s Twilight Ale—probably as close to a favorite summer beer as I get.
Twilight is a flavorful and lively session Pale Ale at 5% alcohol by volume; toasted biscuit and caramel malts fill the body (in this year’s review I wrote, “Think crusty fresh-baked bread”), and the Brewery says it uses four different hops, though the press release reveals only three: Cascade, Amarillo, and Tetnang.
What’s the fourth? My guess would be their new (possibly proprietary?) hop they’ve been experimenting with, which has shown up in this year’s Hop Henge (and I think Red Chair IPA).
It’s juicy and crisp, extremely well-balanced and easy-drinking, as a summer beer should be, and I look forward to its release every year. When it comes to summertime drinking, what more could you ask for?
I did enjoy other beers this summer, as well—some of them of the “anti-seasonal” variety even. Off the top of my head: Double Mountain’s beers, both the tasters I had at their public house and (later) their Kolsch; Deschutes’ Black Butte XXI; Oggi Pizza’s Nit Wit (in San Diego); heck, many of the beers I drank in San Diego this year(!); and my own homebrew (my Ginger Wheat Ale was brewed as a summer beer).
Of course, that’s certainly not all I’ve drank this summer, but some of the standouts.
And summer’s not over yet. I’ll be hunting more Twilight Ale this weekend…
The next Session: Summer beers
August 19th, 2009The announcement for the next Session is up over at BetterBeerBlog, and it’s a topic I considered doing for a Theme Week too: Summer beers.
With the summer coming to a close, what was your favorite beer of the summer? It doesn’t even have to be from this summer. Is it a lager or maybe a light bodied wheat ale? Maybe you’re drinking anti-seasonally and are having a barleywine or Russian Imperial Stout. Why is this beer your favorite? Is there a particular memory associated with this beer? How about a city? Maybe there was a particular dish that made this beer memorable? Spare no detail.
September’s first Friday is the 4th. Be there!
