A beer blog about drinking for yourself
Location: Out Of The Barrel beer bar, on the patio. Fresno, CA.
7:08 PM. 64 degrees. Overcast.
Dammit Slice is good at labels, beer names, and Westies.
[the night continues…]
After hanging with my daughter briefly (the best part of my day by far) I stopped in at Mad Duck Brewing NW and got a Citra (one of their Pales).
As usual, five dudes and two girls at the bar. I guess I shouldn’t say usual as there are usually just dudes.
Sunny 82 degrees. Vibe: Mellow with a hint of pre-game energy heading out to the Fresno State vs. Boise State football game.
Late Saturday afternoon beer at Out Of The Barrel. A West Coast that is proper California West Coast – because, a lot of times a brewery will call a beer a West Coast but it’s really a standard American IPA (more pine & malt).
I am going through a too damn long segment of my life where I have to watch every stupid dollar, especially the ones for beer. It freaking sucks.
Also, during this time, I enjoy hanging in a bar with a good atmosphere, because I often have nowhere else to be.
This causes me a problem: Not enough money to have more than one or two beers, tops.
So I have to milk my beer. In other words, take as long as humanly possible to drink what’s in front of me.
I have found that taking a full sip is the key. For me, a full sip is when you drink enough to cover your whole tongue, hold it there a little, feel the burn of the alcohol, and drink it down. It’s in between a sip and a drink.
Now, yes, it takes some discipline. But I have found you can burn a whole hour with one beer. It helps if you have something to read or an interesting game to watch.
Interestingly enough, when I am with friends or just talking to someone, I tend to drink faster. Not sure what that is about. I think it’s because talking makes me uncomfortable and I keep drinking the beer, searching for a little comfort.
All I know is that I finish my beer faster than anyone at the table. Undiscipled drinking.
That said, my ‘alone drinking’ has gotten really good. I am up to two hours and just two 16oz beers. Praise me.
-Mike
Even if you’re (considered) lame and go to a cheap (but super…) place to get your haircut, you’re talking $30 to $40 bucks. When you are paycheck to paycheck, that is too much.
Too much because $40 is three live drinking sessions at a bar for me. I can stretch three, maybe even four, visits to a bar with $40. That’s much better than a haircut. So it’s long hair for me until further notice.
Cheers!
-Mike