What Beer Are You Drinking Now? #3094

Nice Ardbeg mug. Cheers!

 

Budweiser

 

Hello, and a Happy Saturday to all you BA and WBAYDN folks! My name is Nathan (or Nate, if you prefer), and I wanted to log in under @scream’s account to share some thoughts with you. You all knew him as @scream, a guy who loved his Voodoo Ranger, had an acerbic wit (one of his favorite new beer names was Permanent Funeral) but kind heart, and loved being a part of and interacting with your community. I knew him as all that and so much more, but mostly I knew him as Dad. And he was an amazing one, to be sure.

My dad loved good beer for as long as I can remember. About my earliest memory of that was him homebrewing in the kitchen when I was much, much younger. Under 10 for sure. He’d mash in, and the smell of stewing grains would fill the house. And I HATED it. With every ounce of my being, I hated it. I’d either close the door to my room, or escape outside. Strange how things work out, and now that smell is such a part of my daily routine that I barely notice it anymore. He loved making English-style beers, especially ESBs and IPAs. My parents went to England for one of their anniversaries, and all that really was, was a beercation. They loved every second of it, and always wanted to go back and do it again, although they never got the chance. Never really cared too much for German beer, despite being stationed in Germany as a 1st Lieutenant Field Engineer. Although there were some cases of Bitburger that came with us on fly-in fishing trips to Canada. Belgians other than barrel-aged quads were out of the question. Hoppy and big, barrel-aged beers were what he ended up enjoying the most, other than a few select English ones (Bateman’s was his favorite). And, a direct quote here, “Keep that fruit outta my beer!”

It took me a good, long while to reach his level of beer sophistication. He was a foodie all along, and passed that along to me, intentionally or not. Naturally, I had my domestic lager phase in college, but as I got older and my palette matured, having a beer with my dad became one of my favorite things. We’d search out whatever we could find, and share it with one another. I almost always brought beer when I went home to visit, and I almost always left having tried something I had never had before. There were so many nights we’d sit in the basement trying a few new beers, or revisiting some old favorites, and listening to music. He was an avid music trader as well for many years, and he had an amazing collection of great tunes. I’d say I’ll remember those nights as clear as a bell for the rest of my days, but truth be told, some of them were always fuzzy to begin with. What I can say for certain is that I will always remember them fondly.

There are so many memories I have of sharing beer with my dad. I’ve already mentioned the basement hangouts. I didn’t make it to Central Waters with him very often, but it was always fun when I did. Talking about what was coming out soon, about which he was pretty much always better-informed than me. He always looked forward to Waldo’s coming out. And Mother-Of-All-Storms was one he tried to track down whenever we could. We’d both been to The Pelican Brewery, although not together. If you ever have the chance to go, do it! You won’t find a better setting. The 3 Sheeps taproom became a staple for us. But my favorite place to share a beer with my dad was in Fort Bragg, CA. We would stay in a little hotel that looked right out onto the ocean, the beach was literally right out the back window. And North Coast was less than a mile away. As time went on, we couldn’t walk there anymore, but we could still go enjoy some Old Rasputin on cask (he LOVED beer from a beer engine). And then some other beers we couldn’t get anywhere in Wisconsin back at the hotel before switching to rye (for him), bourbon (for me), wine with dinner, and then inevitably back to beer. Having a beer with my dad and watching the ocean waves crash in ….I’ll miss that.

Some of you I know, and others I’ve only encountered recently when looking at his account. And that was such a surprise! I knew my dad was active on the BA site, but I had no idea HOW active. Holy cow! But I’m glad he was so involved. As the years wore on and his health declined, his quality of life went with it. Being a part of this community was one of the few things that he still drew a lot of enjoyment from, and I thank you all from the very bottom of my heart for providing that for him. Those of you that traded with him or just sent him beer, thank you for that too! I looked at all his beer check-ins, and there are plenty there where I know neither he nor I picked it up at a store. Thank you as well for all the kind words and thoughts after learning of his passing, they are greatly appreciated.

There’s so much more I could say, but I think maybe it’s time to wrap it up for now, with a couple of notes. I have my Voodoo Ranger ready, and will be logged in to hoist one or two (maybe even three, possibly more) with you. Feel free to say hi, ask questions, or just hang out. At some point in the coming months, I’m thinking June, I’ll be hosting an event of sorts at the 3 Sheeps taproom in Sheboygan, WI, for any BA folks who’d like to come and raise a beer to @scream. I’ll post details in a thread once I’ve got it worked out. I’m also hoping to brew a beer in his memory, that we would likely tap that weekend as well. “Old Curmudgeon” seemed like a good name for it, but alas, already taken. Although he’d probably get a kick out of a Cease and Desist in his memory.

Thank you all again for being such a wonderful community for my dad to be a part of. For being fellow beer lovers. For being good people. For being friends. To @scream, your friend, and my dad. He was a helluva guy.

I wrote the above a few days ago, but would like to add another note. The tributes, toasts, and all the good vibes are so amazing and wonderful. Thank you all so, so much. What an incredible community. Cheers to each and every one of you!

 

Oh, and I know there was talk of a last message from my dad. It was just to me, and, for those you that knew him, this will come as no surprise, an email entitled (no joke) "for when I croak!" that was login and password info

 

To @scream, cheers!

 

I actually enjoyed the Voodoo Ranger enough to have another, with lunch...


Chicken Tortilla-ish soup, though sometimes you forget a major ingredient and improvise. So we’ll call it a Hispanic-Asian fusion dish, maybe

Edit: holy shit, I think New Belgium met yearly sales goals already.

 

One of the few IPAs I really like. Here's to you, Scream!

Scream for me, Long Beach!

 

Cheers to @scream - The Don!
He was always one to post kind thoughts here. Mad respect!

 

I don’t know if I’ll be able to check in later with a beer, so I just wanted to pay my respects to @scream now. I loved that he was a big part of WBAYDN? and his interactions with old goat @vabeerguy . Cheers, everyone.

 

It's Voodoo Ranger time! I am so glad that @scream's son Nate is able to join us today!

 

Very well done Nate! One more for @scream before I go mow grass with a tear in my eye.

 

Nathan thanks for sharing so much about your dad, that was incredible!

 

Tree House - On The Fly DIPA.

The description says this is hopped similarly to Very Hazy and has a similar malt bill to Very Green, and I can definitely taste both. The thinner body of VG with a bit of the dank citrus from that, and then the peachiness of VH. Glad I grabbed this.

 

Hoppy Saturday

 

Remembering @scream......

 

And to you and yours, sir. Condolences, and thank you for sharing.

 

Another Voodoo in honor of @scream. Cheers all!

 

Thanks for sharing that. All the best to you and your family.

 

I'm a huge Justified fan, and one of the best shows I ever saw was Dave Alvin with my dad at Fitzgerald's in Chicago. He opened with that song. I still have that show *courtesy of my dad) floating around somewhere, Thanks for posting that!