Sometimes a bright Moon and a quiet patio make for a great drinking companion
Not here to rank these. I don’t want these these to battle. Just here to make a running list of things that are known to be great beer drinking company.
Dogs
Cats
Humans (a few of them – on an occasional basis)
Bottle opener.
Phone.
A TV series.
A movie.
A porch with ANY kind of view of anything.
Patio (also with a view of any kind of anything).
Book.
Video game.
Any kind of sporting event.
Plant life.
Pool or any body of water.
Bird feeder.
Wildlife.
The sky.
Stars and or The Moon.
The sound of crickets (or whatever your local noisy insect is).
Rain.
A breeze flowing through trees.
I will regularly come back to this list when I have something to add. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
The Golden Hour of drinking and photography, combined
I don’t think it’s talked about enough: A good beer buzz.
Maybe you are a normal fuck. You don’t need beer or pot to open up an environment for you to act like a normal person.
Sadly (or not), I need a beer or two to actually enjoy things. To think like a norm.
That came out wrong; I enjoy things without beer. I am not THAT bad off. But my anxiety filled mind quiets down a bit after a good beer or two.
The right music and a second beer in? I am usually feeling pretty good. A nice buzz, man. That’s what I like, what I need. It’s a big part of why I like beer.
That’s the “Golden Hour” in beer drinking. For filmmakers it’s that last hour of light, when everything looks magical on film.
For beer drinking it’s that buzz after two beers. It doesn’t last long, maybe an hour – one foot in reality, awake and still making good decisions, one foot into a mind altered state where everything is kinda fun.
I am not afraid to admit it. A nice little buzz is what I look for most drinking sessions. I like it. It’s nice. It should be enjoyed and talked about more often.
I don’t really know that I truly live in the suburbs.
Geographically I am in the middle of the city. My neighborhood is 70 years old. Can that still be called “the suburbs”?
I had always thought of the suburbs as like, the small towns and track homes around the city as the real suburbs.
Well anyway, I live in a house that 60 years ago, was the edge of town. So … vintage suburbs then.
Which finally leads me to: Do we drink differently in the suburbs? Are beer trends the same as the core of the city? What about people out in the country?
Do I drink more living where I am at? Less? ANY difference than if I lived in a loft downtown?
Maybe.
A different part of the city might be closer to taprooms or breweries. Another has basic liquor stores. Out in the boonies you have a small country market.
That would have to make a difference, right?
I feel like I drink more grocery store beer than anybody in a different part of the city or countryside.
Are styles used differently? More Lagers out in the boonies? More Stouts in track homes?
Welcome! Come on inside. You are safe. I will keep my mask on the entire time you’re in my newsletter shop.
Meme That Made Me Nod With Agreement (courtesy of Al Green)
As much as I agree with this and find it boring to use the same hops over and over, I also will buy this hop combo again and again. Forever.
Stone Of Controversy
As the drama continues regarding Stone vs. SawStone (Stone’s CEO left the company), a great byproduct happened this week. The Full Pint offered $500 to someone with inside knowledge of what’s going on at Stone…
…and then Stone’s Greg Koch comes in with a nice comment:
Gotta love the beer world.
Packaging Of The Week!
Stone & Modern Times colab for video play magic. This is available nationwide. The actual beer is a Hazy Coffee IPA. I don’t really know what the hell that is but I still want it.
Videos Worthy of Watching!
John G from Drakes Brewing kicks off a new video series by Drakes. In it, he leans into you for not liking pales more. I think I agree.
From the nice and knowledgeable blokes at The Craft Beer Channel, a solid primer on the basics of being a good beer geek when shopping for the right beer:
Beer That Stopped Me Scrolling
Definitely the beer I feel like I saw the most on Instagram this week, “Insert Hip Hop Reference There” by Trillium. Never had it, always wanted to though. Love that damn can art:
Window Of My Dreams
I did not think I’d be linking to a New York Post article today but I am because I think the concept of a wine window is rad:
(photo: nypost.com)
So yeah, the pandemic has sparked Italy to bring back a concept that the bubonic plague brought about: wine windows. The benefit is obvious right now, as little as contact as possible. Just move the concept over to taprooms and beer and we are set.
I have written about how we need more walk-up window style things, even before COVID-19, I would really love to see updated versions of these windows around the beer world, even staying after this is all over.
(Thanks to BenjClark for the heads up on the article)
Release To Look Out For
It’s been a while since I’ve gotten excited about a Sierra Nevada release. Besides the lovely can art and promise of dankness, Sierra has already committed (yes, before you even buy it) at least one million dollars towards community non-profits. The money will be helped by the sale of this beer, but Sierra will donate at least one million no matter what the beer brings in. Look for it mid-September.
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