Share a good place-based memory involving beer

Drinking CC Tropicalia on Tybee Island Beach, going for a swim with some great folks, on Christmas Day 2015. It was super foggy. The beach looked like the moon

 

Lying on the deck of a boat in Doubtful Sound at the Southern tip of New Zealand. Rays gliding by, dolphins, the works. Beer was Macs Gold. Absolute bliss.

 

Drinking dollar Coronas at DC Chases in Norfolk, a block away from my condo. Back when I thought I was still young.

 

Drinking cantillion in London at a bar called cask. One the first beers my now fiancee actually enjoyed and the first time I ever got to try cantillion.

 

Lagunitas Brewing, Russian River Brewing (tour by Vinnie), and Triple Rock Brewpub bus tour and beerfest, just before the AHA Conference in Oakland 2009 with Sam Calagione. Unforgettable!

 

Two Brothers Roundhouse: Had lunch and drinks with friends the day before my wedding. With friends from the west coast, midwest, south america, and namiba (hes in the peace corps) that was the first and last time since that we were all in one place together.

 

My brother and I went on an epic California trip covering San Fran, Napa Valley, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, and Big Sur. Traveling from Yosemite, we picked up a good friend of mine who flew to Fresno in order to join us in Sequoia/Kings Canyon. The first night in Kings Canyon we stayed at the John Muir Lodge and we all grabbed a beer from the market next to the lodge. I picked up a General Sherman IPA and we sat at the outdoor patio area enjoying our beers from brown paper bags.

This beer was memorable because this was the middle of the trip and after a long day of traveling from Yosemite.

 

2009 I took a 3 week vacation to ride Sky Line Drive and the Blue ridge parkway by myself on my Harley. Would up in dry town with no beer. Stayed at the Two Wheel Inn where I met up with 5 guys I never met before that rode down from Michagen who had plenty of Miller Lite. Not my favorite beer but it was one of the best nights I had on that trip. Just sitting around a bonfire with those guys drinking beers shooting the breeze like we were old high school buddies catching up on the past.

 

Throwing back some Pacifico's in Cabo San Lucas loungin' poolside with the Ball and Chain.

 

I remember our first time at Ellis Island Casino in Vegas after getting into beer. We went there to try the house beers and BBQ. While having a beer and sitting at the bar, we struck up a conversation with the man next to us. He proceeded to educate us in how to tell when someone is on speed. That led to a deeper conversation on the amount of drugs truckers (both long haul and local since he had experience in both) use while on the road. It was quite the interesting discussion. As for why we were there, the beer was good, but the BBQ was better.

 

This past October, visiting my parents in Prescott, Arizona, lunch at Park Plaza Liqour & Deli. That place has REALLY GOOOOD eats!!! And, a very, VERY, good selection of craft brew!!! Though I was not at all impressed with Four Peaks Kilt Lifter (bland), I did have my first bit of IPA/DIPA, Firestone Walker Union Jack, or Double Jack (sorry, don't recall now which one). WOW!!! VERY GOOD brew!!! Along with REALLY good food!!! Can't ask for more!!!

If you're ever in AZ and perhaps on your way to Sedona or Flagstaff, go through Prescott, stop off at Pak Plaza Liquor & Deli. I'm certain you'll enjoy!!!

Nest time I'm out there I plan on checkin' out the "local" Prescott, AZ craft breweries/brewpubs.

On another note: Superstition Meadery, in Prescott, AZ, puts out some FINE mead!!! GOOD NEWS is, their operation is growing!!!

CHEERS!!!

 

I'll share another, once again with a former girlfriend. This was 2 decades ago. We traveled to Hungary, her father's country of origin (Mom's from Belgium so there's another potential story here). We had a great first day taking in the sights of historic Budapest. When it was time for a rest in the late afternoon we found a nice cafe overlooking the Danube River. I ordered a (true German) Löwenbräu beer. That was one tasty beer with an awesome view.

 

I was 21. Drinking a North Coast old # 38 stout near the skunk train. This was 18 years ago and unfortunately the last time I was in Cali.

 

Old #38 is an under appreciated beer. I enjoy it every time I drink it.

 

It's hard to find around here. I may have only had it one other time since that day. But I enjoyed it. Cheers!

 

I come from a die-hard family of Coors Light addicts. Every time we would all go out to get beers together (generally me, my father, and my grandfather), I would always try to gently push one or both of them to expand their pallets. We all lived in Cincinnati at the time, and craft beer was really starting to take off (Mt. Carmel, MadTree, and Reingeist had all really started to thrive around this time). Anyway, I remember taking loads of ribbing and jibes every time I'd order something "fancy" or "weird".

Finally, I got tired of it and staged an intervention. I set up a tasting for my grandfather, and made sure I grabbed a bunch of my favorites. A lot of Barrel Aged stuff, some cool offering's from Triple Digit, and I even brought in some fancy singles from Adroit Theory Brewing Company.

I remember the look on his face as I finally got him to try some of these beers. He was able to speak very eloquently on all of the flavors, and the complexity of a lot of the beers. We probably drank together that night for four hours or more, and I remember that it was the first time I felt like we drank together as equals, instead of Grandfather and Grandson.

We'd go on to have several more of these impromptu tastings, generaly one a month.

My grandfather passed early last year, and the memory of that first night still stands with my as one of my favorite memories of time with him.

 

Wolfing down Carnitas at a hole in the wall in preparation for FOBAB after day drinking when I said I wasn't going to because a local tap room put on FW 19. I remember saying that if I was going to survive the night, I needed to get down one more taco even though I was stuffed.

 

When I worked at that liquor store in St. Charles. It was New Year's Eve, 2010 and we had been slammed all night long (we made $14,000 that night. The line extended around the store. We kept the ice stocked, the shelves full and the coolers bursting. At the end of the night, our manager bought us each a six pack of suds and a bottle of champagne. Something I'll never forget because just months later, the highway department began a massive road project in front of the store, killing business. I was laid off along with a couple of others. The store was sold in 2012 and is now called LOL- Lot's of Liquor.

 

Summer camping trips in the Adirondacks drinking Two Hearted while floating around on the water in my kayak "fishing," followed by spending the rest of the evening drinking by the fire staring off at the mountains.