A day spent fretting over a manuscript in need of repairs while Jennifer designed Cthulhu postcards left me wanting a brisk, bold beverage. So we ordered pizza from The New Yorker and hit Petaluma Market, where I picked up a Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale. 45 IBU? Sign me up.
Hey, baby. It’s the Fourth of July. And I love this country, in spite of a few ridiculously bad ideas (Prohibition, anyone?). After all, change is part of her Promise. So I figured a selection from 21st Amendment Brewery was in order. What better than Brew Free! or Die? Rampaging Abe Lincoln on the label may have influenced that decision.
We just got back from Janine’s house and a 2nd of July backyard barbecue, and are now settling in and watching the Giants and Tigers on TV. And I had a Shock Top earlier with my black bean burger, grilled zucchini, corn on the cob, salad, and assorted appetizers, which was a nice little summer session beer, but I wanted to wind down with something a little more aggressive. Good thing I had something from Port Brewing on hand.
“Ooh, Lucky 13’s a blonde now,” was my thought as I grabbed this off the shelf at Petaluma Market. Only tonight, as I cracked it open, did I notice the “.alt”. Usenet flashback aside, I was confused. “But… She’s a blonde,” I said. Doesn’t “.alt” code dyeblack hair and tattoos? In any case, Lucky 13 .alt is a “specially brewed Hi-Gravity Auburn offering.” Still doesn’t make sense she’s a blonde, but what the heck…
It was a hot one today: 91 degrees according to the bank’s digital thermometer downtown. At one point we wandered down to Petaluma Market pretty much as an excuse to enjoy their air conditioning. I grabbed the latest pair of Stone Imperial Russian Stouts (next week?), but wanted an IPA tonight. Then I spotted the umlaut. I’m a sucker for an umlaut.
Right now, I’m reading the first-draft manuscript of Bradley P. Beaulieu’s The Straits of Galahesh, his sequel to this year’s critically-acclaimed Russian-inspired epic fantasy novel, The Winds of Khalakovo. Even in its current rough form, this book’s awesome, and I’m really looking forward to giving you the opportunity to read The Straits of Galahesh in Spring of 2012.
Tonight, about five hundred miles south of me, my buddy Lyell’s having a Ballast Point Sculpin IPA. I know this because I glanced at Facebook earlier tonite, where Lyell had posted a photo of his own Adult Beverage. Finally, the Internet has revealed its true purpose: knowing what your buddies are drinking! I didn’t have a Sculpin on hand, but in solidarity I’ve cracked open a Ballast Point Big Eye IPA. How does it compare?
I’ve know a few people who ran off to join a sideshow, and I once flirted with learning how to breathe fire, but I’ve never quite understood the distinction between “circus folk” and “carnies,” even though Tod Browning’s Freaks and Wim Winders’s Wings of Desire are two of my all-time favorite flicks.
Jennifer’s brother Farb just passed through Petaluma, and we had a great time visiting and attending a Giants game with him and his wife. They left behind a six pack of Deschutes Brewery’s Green Lakes Organic Ale. Can’t let good beer go to waste…
We’re working our way back home after our seaside vacation, spending tonight in a La Quinta in White City, OR. Earlier this afternoon, we dropped by the Rogue Creamery in Medford, and I was in the mood for something spicy, so I picked up a Rogue Chipotle Ale.
