This is likely going to be my birthday coming up in march, typically have more than a few on the occasion. Would love to have something different and special. 311 used to sing "nothing good comes easily, sometimes you gotta fight", maybe not fight but at least go to the beer store and find one super treat never mind the price.
I dig this mindset, but have SUCH a difficult time doing it, UNLESS I go to the store a little tipsy. Then I'm MUCH more open to suggestion.
A birthday AKA a round around the sun is a one a year occurrence make the best of it. I honestly don’t spend that much on beer, typically singles one near everyday for roughly 2€/bucks.
Being that I stayed in Littleton, NH (close to Feanconia), for a 5 day beercation, I’d recommend on the way back from HF if the weather is nice, to go to Willoughby Lake and sit on the secluded North beach and pop open some Alcemist or HF beer to share and enjoy time. Probably the most scenic and peaceful lake I’ve been to east of the Mississippi. Then after an hour or 2 of that, hit up Schilling in Littleton for dinner and beers. That place is amazing as well. Probably too much itinerary for one day but it’s all worth it, trust me.
My ideal beer day comes about once a month or so. I meet up with my son at Tree House Charlton. It's a great way to keep in touch, with an added bonus of amazing beer. If they have one of their imperial stouts (Double-Double Flip, Threads of Time, Moment of Mocha) on draft it's an added bonus. Not too long a meetup, usually Thursdays at four-ish to seven or so, but sometimes Saturday afternoon. Then hit the can line to stock up for the month. I'm hoping to try and top that with a long-delayed beer trip to Portland, ME sometime this summer.
Had an great, though short-lived, time In Portland, but visits to Allagash and The King's Head | Portland, ME | Reviews | BeerAdvocate made the drive up from Salem, MA well worth it.
Some pretty interesting and thought-provoking answers so far. Made me think about two perspectives. Number one would be the local perspective. Number two would be the fantasy perspective where you could teleport between places. Here they go: Local: Lunch at Duke's Upper Deck Cafe | Pittsburgh, PA | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Super solid pub-fare menu and a beer list with a guarantee of AT LEAST 3 or 4 beers that would hold my attention. Then pop over to Golden Age Beer Company | Homestead, PA | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Pint or two here. Cool environment and friendly and knowledgeable staff Once we wrap up there, we head up the hill to Save-Mor Beer & Pop Warehouse | Pittsburgh, PA | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Great selection and singles of most of the beer they have in the store. Gets a bit wonky and circuitous from here from a geographical standpoint because the next places are on the other side of the city, but eventually we make it over to Old Thunder Brewing Company | Pittsburgh, PA | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Fun place. Great beers. Best in Pittsburgh? If not, then pretty damned close. Over to probably my favorite place in the city, Burghers Brewing Co. - Millvale | Pittsburgh, PA | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Smash burgers, shoestring fries, and German beer. Yes, FUCKING, please! This is the part where I need a nap Evening at The Headkeeper | Greensburg, PA | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Probably the best food and beer options in the area that isn't really in the area. Then home for a fire and the beers I bought over the course of the day. This represents a VERY doable day in my hometown. The next post is PURE fiction, but a fun day to think about.
So, for a more relevant beer day for me, outside of missing great cask in the UK when I worked in Scotland. I use to go back and forth from Aberdeen and Houston on a semi regular basis. Now, I have been full time in Houston for a while...so... My ideal beer day in Houston...usually revolves around Sunday afternoon day drinking. First stop would be Cafe Brussels, for a big plate of mussels...and whatever Belgian taps they have available...the last time I was there was La Chouffe and their sampler mussels plate...which is awesome. They have 12 taps ranging from Chouffe, Duvel, Abbot 12, and I always come here for Orval Day as well... On Sunday afternoon, I wander downtown, as Cafe Brussels is just outside of the downtown area. I'll most certainly visit La Carafe, which is the oldest building and bar in Houston. With the best jukebox, not connected to the internet, that has everything from John Coltrane, to Edith Piaf, Bobby Blue Bland, Townes Van Zandt, Ella, Billie, Tom Waits... And I'll sit and read, usually by candle light here ha. With some Lone Pint Yellow Rose. After that, maybe wander up to Captain Fox Heart's Bad News Bar, that is hidden in another old building, there is no sign, and up the stairs next to some law offices, but that is for cocktails and various whiskeys. Or maybe a walk up to The Flying Saucer for happy hour on TX beers... Which is exactly what I did...oh a month or so ago with the pictures above ha.
Rules, rules, rules. Silly to make them in a work of pure fiction, but in this narrative, I can teleport between any place that I want, but not time travel or extend the 24 hour day. Got it? Here we go. Breakie @ Fallow - Restaurant London - Creative Cooking Sustainable Thinking Mostly because I follow the lads on social and I've always wanted to go. "Full English and a pint of Guinness, please." Then over to a local pub for a few. Three Crowns is right down the road, and seems to fit the bill. Light lunch at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Chico, CA | Beers | BeerAdvocate. What fantasy would be complete without the undisputed grandpappy of the American hop obsession? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. More hoppy beer should be consumed, you say? "Jeeves, Plzensy Prozdroj for a Pilsner Urquell, post haste!" Plzeňský Prazdroj | Plzeň, Czechia | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Then off on a whirlwind tour of nostalgia with short trips to Brasserie d'Orval, Brasserie Cantillon for Iris, Birra Baladin for Nora, and Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg for Samiclaus. Yeah, SO many Trappists and other monastic breweries I'd be missing along with ones that I'm in love with like: Brasserie de la Senne | Brussels, Belgium | Beers | BeerAdvocate Klosterbrauerei Andechs | Andechs, Germany | Beers | BeerAdvocate Gueuzerie Tilquin | Rebecq-Rognon, Belgium | Beers | BeerAdvocate And SO many others that there's just not time to mention. No time for a nap in my fantasy trip as it's hedging into mid-afternoon by this time. Off to collect bottles for later tonight at: Hill Farmstead Brewery | Greensboro Bend, VT | Beers | BeerAdvocate Jester King Brewery | Austin, TX | Beers | BeerAdvocate Then off to second lunch at Kansas City Style BBQ Restaurant | Nationwide Delivery | Jack Stack BBQ and a short trip to Boulevard Brewing Co. | Kansas City, MO | Beers | BeerAdvocate for more beers for later in the night. Right about this time it'd be nearing early evening and I'd be getting weary of teleportation and would need to chill. Next to last stop. Probably my favorite brewery. von Trapp Brewing | Stowe, VT | Reviews | BeerAdvocate Time to sit back, relax, and drink wonderful German/Austrian beer in one of the most convivial spaces that I've ever been in. Some German food when I'm ready, then off to find a scenic, peaceful place to enjoy the beers I've collected. This might do:
I don't think it's hyperbole to say I've gotten to live out my ideal beer day a few times in the U.K., including my first proper pint on my first day in London in 2018: At the Earl of Lonsdale in Notting Hill, London Obviously, an ideal beer day could (and arguably should) encompass all day — or as much of the day as your liver can handle. But I honestly enjoy 2-3 pints at the pub after a day of golf or sightseeing so much that I feel like I might take that over a longer run of beers. Regardless, my ideal beer day would have to involve cask ale. Short of enjoying cask ale, I'll take a couple few hours at Equal Parts here in Houston and a few pints off their side-pour contraption ... that's a close second.
Wake up early Sunday, get some nice coffee and pastries in me and head to the flea market. A few hours of wheelin and dealing gets me to whatever bar looks interesting and has food. Order a draft Mahou and some grub. Wander around Madrid the rest of the day grabbing a beer and some food as we go. Take a nap for a few hours, shower and head out for food and drinks wherever we end up walking into. This will include close friends as well. Get home late, sleep and repeat a few more times, minus the flea unless we are there for another week. Great way to have fun and explore. Prefer this to be Mid October. Enjoy
I have two ideal beer days. #1. College football Saturday. Park the car at 7am for a noon kick. Grill some food and have some beers in the warm fall sun before kickoff #2. A fall Sunday afternoon in the French quarter sipping beers. Not getting blasted just a good buzz.
For me they just happen. I mean "ideal beer days". If I'm totally free of obligations and needy people the chances are higher. A stream of conscious type of day. The plan is to have no plans. Like, what do ya feel like doing? kinda vibe and you just end up somewhere. A number of yrs ago I was in NOLA for a few days. One bright morning I hit the streets and at about 10:30 am wandered into a bar where live music was pouring out. I ordered a bottle of SNPA, sat down, and I was served 4 bottles. I then realized it was the bar's happy hour = 4 for 1 beer prices. What an ideal beer day! I lost track of all the bars we hit. I'm usually a more than one beer kinda guy anyways, so...
I don't drink an enormous amount, one or two glasses at most per day (and then some days off). But my ideal: À la mort subite in Brussels, sitting near the open doors, any one of their beers on tap. A nice sunny not too hot spring day. All is good.
Waiting to boards a 10hr international flight and scoring two of these free at the airline lounge I slept well
