It's odd, isn't it, when you hear that someone has died. There's a moment of disbelief, and in that same moment, an almost-impulse to run to that person, to get in the car or whatever it is and get to them, as if you were there, somehow they wouldn't be dead. As if there would be something you could do.

I don't usually combine my beer blogging with thoughts of passing to the great beyond. We got word tonight that one of our mutual, almost life-long friends, had passed. We knew she was ill and had been for some time. Shelley kept in touch with her, as much as anyone keeps in touch with anyone when you live a couple of hours away from one another and don't travel in the same circles any longer. It still was quite a shock. And this was someone who touched the lives of almost all of our friends and many of our family. So it was a lot of calls back and forth -- "Have you heard anything?" "How could we just be finding out now?" "Was she at home? At work? Who found her?" It's a natural human response to try to figure out and make sense of what we inherently can not understand. We question. We want to know how, and when, and who was there, and what happened.

What we do know is, is it happens all the time. Sometimes you sort of know, like with my mom, we sort of knew. She had been sick on and off for years, and she had been on a downward spiral for quite a while.  She had had a "widow maker" heart attack, survived that, was diagnosed a few years later with breast cancer, survived that, but the chemotherapy used to treat her cancer proved too cardiotoxic for her already failing heart and organs. To put it simply. So we knew it was coming. But it was the same. When she passed, there was that impulse that there should have been something we could do. But there wasn't.

And there isn't. Right? So what I think is worth exploring is, what are we doing here? What's the point of it all, not to be too precious or faux profound? We grow up (if we're lucky) and slog around for however long we get, we work, we have relationships, we live our lives. There are no points given for getting married or not, for having a great job or not, there's no prize or party or extra years given and, I think what is a tacit surprise for folks our age, there's no sense of completion. There's no, "okay, you've had a good family and a good job for 40 years, you've contributed to the joy of your fellow man, and now, you can be done". There's nothing except the knowledge that the years before you are more than likely fewer than the years behind you. So what's it all about, Alfie? ("Alfie" should always come after "What's it all about?". If you don't know why, ask your mom.)

For years, I've been reading books and listening to recordings from Abraham. Abraham is a non-physical entity channeled by a woman named Esther Hicks. Abraham, being non-physical (he says there is no death) has some thoughts on the subject that, for whatever reason, ring true for me.

"You never get it wrong, because you never get it done."  It's comforting, right? What this means to me is, there's no point in beating yourself up about all the things that didn't go the way you planned, because as long as you get up the next morning, you're not done.

And -- to me, this is a good one -- "The standard of success in life isn't the things. It isn't the money or the stuff -- it is absolutely the amount of joy you feel."

The. Amount. Of. Joy. That. You. Feel.   So -- here's to joy. I'm lucky. I found a family and a career path and a life that make it easy, most of the time, to find joy. But every time someone in my life makes the transition from this existence to the next, it's a reminder to me that there's no point in doing anything in life unless it's fun. Unless joy is the result in some way. Finding what's wrong in every situation may be easier than finding what's right, but what's right is always there. And, especially in times like these when it's so easy to find things to be unhappy about, I think our friend Trish would suggest: 

Look for the silver lining
Whenever a cloud appears in the blue
Remember, somewhere the sun is shining
And so the right thing to do is make it shine for you

A heart full of joy and gladness
Will always banish sadness and strife
So always look for the silver lining
And try to find the sunny side of life

A heart full of joy and gladness
Will always banish sadness and strife
So always look for the silver lining
And try to find the sunny side of life

Oh - and I drank a COLLECTIVE ARTS LIFE IN THE CLOUDS India Pale Ale with Mosaic and Simcoe hops while I wrote this. 

So, I haven't forgotten about how we are going to sample an American IPA and a traditional English IPA. I just haven't had time to get to the store to buy an English IPA.  Coming soon, though!

Do you reward yourself when you've had a good day, or accomplished something you've maybe been putting off? Last Saturday, I finished painting my new reading nook. I had been busy all day, and I felt I deserved a treat. Collective Arts Brewing Company Radio the Mothership was just the thing!

If you're not familiar with Collective Arts, they are out of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, which sounds like it should be far away but actually I could drive there in about 12 hours. They make delicious beer, and each of their cans features work by a different artist. They solicit artists on their website, and if a piece of art is chosen for a can, they pay the artist for the work, they give credit to the artist on the can and anywhere else the art appears, and they DO NOT take ownership of the art - it remains the property of the artist.

From their mission statement:
Art + Brewing -- Collective Arts was founded on two beliefs. The first is that creativity fosters creativity. And the second, that creativity yields delicious pints.

I love a big IPA, so my favorites are Surround Sound Double Dry Hopped Double IPA and Radio the Mothership Imperial IPA, but their sours are excellent too, and they make an award-winning porter.
Look for them at your local beer store.

Collective Arts Beers are, in my opinion, very good.

Look! Look at this! This is beautiful fermenting beer, in a Yorkshire stone square fermenter at the Old Brewery in Tadcaster, where they brew Sam Smith beers. Everyone loves American Craft Beer, but it's so important, in my opinion, to keep alive the original, traditional styles born in Germany, the Czech Republic, the British Isles, and Belgium. The Old Brewery is OLD! They've been brewing beers since 1758, using whole cone hops, oak casks for all their naturally conditioned ales, and the same yeast strain since the 1800s. They must be doing something right. 
Next time, we'll open an old-world style Sam Smith India Ale and a new-world style American IPA, and talk about them. 

I better talk about some beer, right?

I'm really looking forward to this! I'll taste it with you when I can get my hands on some. 

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/03/dogfish-heads-latest-health-beer-is-made-with-quin.html?fbclid=IwAR3jqS-KiqnTiH6oz12FuZuCe1Zx6iv_2YYjAnqh1lnb0oSEpTCBnr5VySw

I stopped blogging in July 2012. 

I didn't think anyone was interested. I wasn't sure if what I was writing had any value. 

I had a bit of a rough few years. 

My mother died in 2010.

My partner's mother died in 2011. 

The beer business started to change. The heights I hit were crumbling. I had to figure something out. I suddenly was making dramatically less money. 

I changed jobs in 2014.

I got the teeniest little bit of cancer in 2015. 

I had surgery and radiation and I was put on an evil medication that makes me sad all the time. 

My new job changed dramatically, and my pay structure was changed. At least I was able to keep the job. 

I am still, I think, in some sort of mourning. I've been feeling for YEARS now that I just can't get it together. 

If the only constant is change, I'm a little tired of it.

I know. I know. I should exercise. I'd feel better. 

So why blog? Why now? To paraphrase every director's notes in every program of every community theater production. 

Why come back now and blog? 

Well, it's nice to have a place to discuss things. I am back selling beer again. As of the beginning of March, I am on the streets, trying to talk people into buying beer from me. Which feels GREAT. Absolutely great. I'm doing what I know how to do, what I'm good at. I'm not necessarily the best salesperson but I know about beer and I know what's good and I know how to show up. 

There are some fantastic beers out there, and I want to talk about them. There are also a lot of not-great beers out there. I won't talk about those. Those will eventually come to their own natural end. And, who am I to say what is good and what is bad? 

So we'll see where this goes. Mostly I'm going to be talking about beers, new and not-new, that, in my opinion, are good. 

Today

There's something due any day, I will know right away, soon as it shows . . . . .
I've got a feeling there's a miracle due, gonna come through, coming to meeeeeeeeeee . . . .
Could it be?  Yes, it could.  Something's coming, something good.  if I can wait . . .

Had my Michigan drinking shoes on last weekend!  It was a good thing, too, since several salesfolks from my company and I went on a whirlwind tour of four breweries in Michigan.  We left at about 10:00 am on Friday.  Several of my colleagues brought beverages for the busride.  In about three hours (we ran into some traffic), we arrived at our first stop, ARCADIA BREWING COMPANY.

Rick Suarez was nice enough to arrange a brewery tour and lunch for us.   Many of us were surprised that Arcadia was such a small brewery.  We also sampled some barrel-aged B-Craft Black.  Nice.

We bought some beer for the road, too, which was a good thing as it was about an hour's drive to Grand Rapids!  Got checked into the hotel and walked to Founders.
We felt pretty damn VIP-ish as we got a brewery tour from none other than Dave Engbers, one of the founders of Founders.  Pretty cool.  We then had a question-and-answer session with Dave in their super-sexy conference room.  The rest of the night is a bit of a blur, but it involved sandwiches at the Founders Tap Room and a visit to Hopcat, a great beer bar just a few blocks away.
I must confess, even though I am a professional, if I start drinking at 10:00 am, I really can't reasonably still be drinking at 7:00 pm.  I just don't have the stamina anymore.  But, got back to the hotel safe and sound and ready to begin again on Saturday!

Saturday morning began with lunch at BREWERY VIVANT!  I loved this little brewery.  We are hoping to bring them to Chicago.  Jason, the owner, gave us a tour of what we discovered was an old funeral home that they converted.  The bar is in what was the chapel, and the brewery itself is in the area where the hearses were kept.  The beers are adapted from Belgian styles, and all really awesome.  The food was great, too.  And they had a beer garden, where our team played bags most of the afternoon -- until it was time to head over to Founders fest.

Founders Fest was lovely!  Very chill, for a beer fest.  Lines were not crazy long.  Really enjoyed it.  I actually bailed out and returned to the hotel after the fantastic dinner that Glunz bought for us.  I figured I would quit while I was ahead.  And I had plenty of beer in me, no worries.
It was a wise choice!  On Sunday morning, everyone else was quite a mess, and I felt juuuuussst fine, thank you.  I was raring to go to New Holland.

I may have been the only member of our little group to still be enjoying beer on Sunday morning.
So you see, children, the moral of the story is, brewery weekends are a marathon, not a sprint.  Maybe I didn't party late into the night on Friday or Saturday, but I lived to drink beer another day.
We go to Great Lakes Burning River Fest in Cleveland next month!  I can't wait!

Hmm.  See what happens?  I don't post for a couple of months and they change the blogger stuff.  It's okay, I'll get used to it.
Tomorrow I am going on a little adventure!  We are going to Arcadia Brewery in Battle Creek, Michigan, to visit and to have a bit of lunch, and then, we are heading up to Grand Rapids!  Founders Fest!
I've never been, so I'll let you know all about it.  On the way home on Sunday, we're going to stop at New Holland.  So I'm packing my drinking shoes.  I'll talk to you all in Michigan!

TOOK IT!! I TOOK THE TEST!

I'm tired! I'm drinking a Bell's Hopslam, and might follow that up with something else from the fridge. And the spiking chemicals from the off-flavor tasting portion of the exam are playing hell with my plumbing.
What can I say? Of course, there was quite a bit of stuff on the test that I was not expecting to be on the test and I didn't study. There was a LOT of stuff I studied and knew really well and was nowhere to be found on the test. That's how tests go. It was about 140 questions: Short answer, fill in the blank, matching, and essay. Then a tasting portion which was divided into three parts. Then a draught component demo. We went over the tasting portion and I only missed one! And it was one where I wasn't sure and second guessed myself. I can safely say there were six or seven questions that I was not 100% sure of on the written portion. So, who knows?
But I have a tremendous sense of accomplishment, if for no other reason than, I have been saying for at least three years, "I'm gonna take that test". And now, I did. And if I do have to take it again, I'll know better what to expect. So, a good day. A very good day.

And read this, and this, and don't forget that, and make sure you know this . . .

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be included in the Chicago Beer Tweetup, a get-together of folks who blog and tweet about beer in Chicago. It was great to actually meet face-to-face so many people whom I previously only knew from a tiny picture. Among the folks I met was Virginia Thomas, who works for the Cicerone program. I wasted no time in asking many questions about what to study, what to expect, and for what to be prepared. She was very kind, despite the many annoying e-mails I had sent her when I was trying to sign up and pay for the exam. She rattled off a number of things I should study . . ."and read Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium, and read Garrett Oliver's Brewmaster's Table, and make sure you know your off-flavors, because you can pass the written portion, but if you don't pass the tasting portion, you fail the whole test . . . " Jesus.

So what am I doing? Reading Great Beers of Belgium. It's a very easy and entertaining read, and it's great to finally be forced to make time for these books that I've long been meaning to get to.

Also this year! I'm gonna drink all this beer I've been keeping. I have an awful lot of beer in my house, and after the Anchor Christmas Vertical debacle of last December (which is another story), I am drinking and enjoying all of it before it goes bad.

Tonight I'm enjoying a Heartwood Symposium, a collaboration beer from several different brewers, brewed in celebration of the Craft Brewers' Conference in 2010. G'Night! Back to reading!

Yes, I'm studying, stop nagging me

Yes, yes, I have been studying! I've begun reviewing the BJCP style definitions in-depth and re-reading Tasting Beer, by Randy Mosher. There's lots more to come. I feel somewhat confident, in that I still have a little over two weeks and several days and evenings just to devote to it.

Mostly, I am really, really excited to finally be taking the test. After many instance of telling myself I was going to do it, I'm finally doing it.

Here's some nice pictures from Salzburg.

See, I told you I was serious

Gettin' some studying in, after finishing up some e-mails. Tonight, I am reviewing the steps of the brewing process so I can explain them in a clear and concise way. Anyone who reads my blog knows that concise-ness is not my strong suit. Also, reviewing Cask Ales and Bottle Fermentation.

Had lunch at Publican Quality Meats today! Delicious. Resisted the temptation to have a Thornbridge Jaipur IPA with lunch.

I'm gonna get back to my studying. Maybe start re-reading "Tasting Beer" by Randy Mosher.

Here's a couple pictures from Austria! A street in Salzburg, looking up into the Alps; and the restaurant Wilder Mann, where we had lunch the first day. We do a lot of eating and drinking on these trips! This trip to Austria will always mean a lot to me, it was my very first time in Europe.

It's a new year of new beginnings

It's been over a year. Who knew? 2011 was truly a year that was the best of times and the worst of times. Much of the year was spent helping care for my second mom, Bettye Ruth Segraves, who passed, sadly, in August. Some of the year was spent winning fantastic trips through work -- to San Francisco and Anchor Brewing; Fort Bragg and North Coast Brewing; Denver and Boulder, Colorado and the GABF; and, probably most exciting, to SALZBURG, AUSTRIA, the Stiegl Brewery. The year ranged from amazing to horrible to fraught to joyful, sometimes all in the same day.

Through it all, I thought, "I should blog about this" and didn't. Honestly, when I had any down time, all I wanted to do was cry and sleep.

But, now I need support and focus, and the best way I can think of to focus is to "go public" and be accountable. I registered to take the Certified Cicerone exam on March 8. Less than a month away! I'm usually a good student, and since I've been planning to take the exam for more than a year, I decided now's the time.

SO! Tonight I've started studying. I will study for at least an hour a night (or day on weekends) and check in here to verify that I've done it.

And, while I'm at it, I'll share some pictures I took last year. I appreciate anyone who might still be interested in this, and anyone new who wants to read a little about beer, and Chicago, and drinking beer in Chicago.

L'Chaim! Tonight is the first night of Chanukah, and tonight Chicago has the pleasure of hosting Jeremy Cowan, head Jew and maestro of schtick at Shmaltz Brewing. Tonight, Hopleaf was one of 88 chosen bars across the country pouring all seven Jewbelation beers, as well as the Vertical Jewbelation, a blend of all seven recipes then barrel aged. The Jewbelation beers, from 8 to 14, are notable not only for being delicious, but also for each being brewed with their number value of malts, hops, adjuncts and ABV. So . . . yeah, this year's Jewbelation, 14, has 14 malts, 14 hops, 14 adjuncts and . . . aaaaaaaaaaah. 14% ABV. One of those beers that is PERFECT if you only want one, or maybe two if you're not driving.

My friend Jeremy also has a book recently published!! Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah. Pick it up on Amazon or on Shmaltz.com. Here's some words from Jeremy about Jewbe 14 . . .

HAPPY CHANUKAH!!!!!

Here is the list of Chosen Bars that will be pouring all 8 Jewbelation beers this holiday.
Please check with the specific bars to find out when they are tapping each keg. L'Chaim!

NEW YORK

AMITY HALL: 80 W. 3rd St., New York, NY
BARCADE: 388 Union Ave., Brooklyn, NY
BLIND TIGER: 281 Bleecker St., New York, NY
GEORGE KEELEY'S: 485 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY
GINGERMAN: 11 East 36th St., New York, NY
IDLE HANDS: 25 Ave. B, New York, NY
RATTLE N HUM: 14 E. 33rd St., New York, NY
WHOLE FOODS BOWERY: 95 E. Houston St., New York, NY

MR. BEERY'S: 4019 Hempstead Turnpike, Bethpage, NY
DECICCOS FOOD MARKET: 21 Center St., Ardsley, NY
TJ FINLEY'S: 42 E. Main St., Bay Shore, NY

CALIFORNIA (Northern)

BARCLAY'S: 5940 College Avenue, Oakland, CA
BEER REVOLUTION: 464 3rd St., Oakland, CA
CHURCH KEY: 1402 Grant Ave., San Francisco, CA
THE DAVIS GRADUATE: 805 Russell Blvd., Davis, CA
EUREKA BURGER: 7775 N. Palm Ave., Fresno, CA
PARISH PUBLICK HOUSE: 841 Almar Ave., Santa Cruz, CA
TORONADO: 547 Haight St., San Francisco, CA

CALIFORNIA (Southern)

BLUE PALMS BREWHOUSE: 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
HAMILTON'S TAVERN: 521 30th St., San Diego, CA
HAVEN GASTROPUB: 190 S. Glassell St., Orange, CA
STUFFED SANDWICH: 1145 E. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel, CA
VERDUGO BAR: 3408 Verdugo Rd., Los Angeles, CA

ALABAMA

J CLYDE: 1312 Cobb Lane South, Birmingham, AL

ARIZONA

1702 TUCSON: 1702 E. Speedway Blvd., Tucson, AZ
PAPAGO BREWING CO.: 7107 E. McDowell Rd., Scottsdale, AZ

COLORADO

FALLING ROCK: 1919 Blake St., Denver, CO
OSKAR BLUES: 303 Main St., Lyons, Colorado
TRINITY BREWING CO: 1466 Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO

FLORIDA

BRASS TAP: 2000 Piazza Ave., Wesley Chapel, FL
BROKEN BARREL: 4700 Babcock St. NE, Palm Bay, FL
DUNDERBAK'S: 14929 Bruce B Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL
DUNEDIN HOUSE OF BEER: 927 Broadway #A, Dunedin, FL
FERMENTATION LOUNGE: 113 All Saints St., Tallahassee, FL
KICKBACKS: 910 King St., Jacksonville, FL
REDLIGHT, REDLIGHT: 745 Bennett Rd., Orlando, FL
WORLD OF BEER - MELBOURNE: 2290 Town Center Ave., Melbourne, FL
WORLD OF BEER - UCF: 3402 Technological Ave., Orlando, FL

GEORGIA

BRICK STORE: 125 E. Court Sq., Decatur, GA
LEON'S FULL SERVICE: 131 E. Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur, GA
MIDWAY PUB: 552 Flat Shoals Ave. Southeast, Atlanta, GA
ORMSBY'S: 1170 Howell Mill Rd. Northwest, Atlanta, GA
THE PORTER: 1156 Euclid Ave., Atlanta, GA
TACO MAC - CRABAPPLE: 685 Crossville Rd., Roswell, GA
TACO MAC - KENNESAW: 600 Chastain Rd. NW, Kennesaw, GA
TACO MAC - MALL OF GA: 3250 Woodward Crossing Blvd., Buford, GA
TACO MAC - NEWNAN: 301 Newnan Crossing Byp, Newnan, GA
TRAPPEZE PUB: 269 W Washington St., Athens, GA
WILD WING CAFE: 2145 Roswell Rd., Marietta, GA
YOUNG AUGUSTINE'S: 327 Memorial Dr., Atlanta, GA/
STEINBECKS: 659 East Lake Dr., Decatur, GA

ILLINOIS

HOP LEAF: 5148 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL
RADIO MARIA: 119 N. Walnut St., Champaign, IL
SMALL BAR: 1415 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL
SMALL BAR: 2049 W. Division St., Chicago, IL

INDIANA

NEW ALBANIAN PUBLIC HOUSE: 3312 Plaza Dr., New Albany, IN

LOUISIANA

AVENUE PUB: 1732 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA
BARLEY OAK: 2101 Lakeshore Drive, Mandeville, LA

MARYLAND

MAX'S: 737 S. Broadway, Baltimore, MD
VICTORIA GASTRO PUB: 8201 Snowden River Parkway, Columbia, MD

MASSACHUSETTS

THE AMESBURY ALEHOUSE: 33 Main St., Amesbury, MA
CAMBRIDGE COMMONS: 1667 Mass Ave., Cambridge, MA

MICHIGAN

HOP CAT: 25 Ionia Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, MI

MISSOURI

BROADWAY BREWERY: 816 E. Broadway, Columbia, MO

MONTANA

THE RHINO: 158 Ryman St., Missoula, MT

NEBRASKA

CRESCENT MOON: 3578 Farnam St., Omaha, NE

NORTH CAROLINA

FLYING SAUCER CHARLOTTE: 9605 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
FLYING SAUCER RALIEGH: 328 W. Morgan St., Raleigh, NC
THIRSTY MONK SOUTH: 20 Gala Drive #101, Asheville, NC

OREGON

THE BIER STEIN: 345 E 11th Ave., Eugene, OR
GREEN DRAGON: 928 SE 9th Ave., Portland, OR

PENNSYLVANIA

BOCKTOWN BAR & GRILL: 690 Chauvet Dr., Robinson Township, PA
FAT HEADS SALOON: 1805 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA
P.O.P.E.: 1501 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA

SOUTH CAROLINA

BARLEYS GREENVILLE: 25 W. Washington St., Greenville, SC
CLOSED FOR BUSINESS: 453 King St., Charleston, SC
FLYING SAUCER COLUMBIA: 931 Senate St., Columbia, SC

TENNESSEE

FLYING SAUCER NASHVILLE: 111 10th Ave., Nashville, TN

VIRGINIA

BEER RUN: 156 Carlton Rd., Charlottesville, VA
CHURCH KEY: 1337 14th St. NW, Washington, DC
FIREWORKS PIZZA: 2350 Clardndon Blvd., Arlington, VA
MEKONG: 6004 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA
WHOLE FOODS SHORT PUMP: 11173 W. Broad St., Glen Allen, VA

WASHINGTON

THE RED HOT: 2914 6th Ave., Tacoma, WA
BROUWER'S CAFE: 400 N 35th St., Seattle, WA

WISCONSIN

MADURO: 117 East Main St., Madison, WI
SUGAR MAPLE: 441 E. Lincoln Ave., Milwaukee, WI

Shmaltz Brewing Company is Dedicated to Crafting Delicious Beer and Delicious Shtick... L'Chaim!

Thank goodness, they are remaking FOOTLOOSE

I mean, really. So many unanswered questions from the Kevin Bacon version. Mmmmm. Bacon. AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaannnyway . . . I have a new friend named Nina (Hi Nina!). I was having a drink at Emerald Loop with some old friends, and met Nina, who reads this little bloggy rant that I do. So excited was I that someone other than, oh, ME, reads this thing, I thought I should offer up some updates on what has been quite a big week in beer!

Last Sunday was the premiere of BREWMASTERS, the new reality show which follows my friend Sam Calagione, founder and main man of Dogfish Head Brewing. It's on the Discovery Channel. The first show featured the story behind BITCHES' BREW, a beer brewed to celebrate the anniversary of the release of Miles Davis' album of the same name. It is a really delicious stout, and we just got some more cases in! If you saw the show and want the beer, ask your better beer store. If they don't have it, they can get it.

Today is BLACK FRIDAY. Black Friday is the unofficial kickoff day of the (White) Christmas season. No more racial profiling in our holiday season! But I digress. Today also marked the release of BOURBON COUNTY STOUT RARE, or RARE BOURBON COUNTY STOUT, from Goose Island, not just Bourbon Barrel aged, but also aged for two years in 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle casks. What's the diff? Generally, the older the casks, the smoother, less biting, more candy-and-vanilla notes come out in the bourbon. Pappy Van Winkle is known for being exceptionally smooth. So, today at Binny's on Marcey Street, they sold through 120 cases of Rare Bourbon County Stout, 20 cases of Vanilla BCS and 20 cases of Coffee BCS. The Rare costs $40-something a bottle, but that won't stop me from buying one. For tonight, though, I'm content with ending the night with just a plain ol' bottle of 2010 Bourbon County. Thank you again to friends old and new. Happy day after Thanksgiving; I am still totally thankful.

LAST WEEK WAS MY BIRTHDAY!

What the heck! It just took me about a half hour to re-set my password to get onto this site, so I could compose this important message for those that read this. OOoooh, I'm sleepy. Big deal, right? We're all sleepy, we are none of us getting as much sleep as we'd like. And before we know it, it'll be time for the last season of OPRAH.

I was in Mexico for my birthday. The only beer at the resort was Dos Equis. So, the Saturday we got back, we went to Hopleaf for my annual birthday sandwich. Cashew butter and fig jam. Yeah!

Tonight -- Drank some Dogfish Head beers out of the crisper. Fall seasonal beers are starting to become available. Great Lakes Oktoberfest, Three Floyds Munsterfest and Moloko Milk Stout, and Dogfish Punkin should all be at your local liquor mart. Go get some fresh beer! Let us know what's your favorite!

New beers from Three Floyds! Always a reason to celebrate. Available RIGHT NOW from Galleria Liquors and most of your better beer emporiums: BLACKHEART -- their English-style IPA, brewed with English malts, hops and yeast. Piney, citrusy, very astringrent. A strong sweet malt bill balanced by loads of English hops. AND -- very limited availability but MAY be available at LUSH WINE AND SPIRITS -- ARCTIC PANZER WOLF. According to Three Floyds: “A dry and stupendously hopped medium bodied Imperial IPA brewed with Canadian two-row malt, dextrose sugar and lots of American hops. Arctic Panzer Wolf has superior aromas of marmalade, white wine, pine and apricot all mixed with an intense American hop bitterness.” Supposedly, the Arctic Panzer Wolf will be available in 22 ounce bottles from time to time throughout the year, much as my personal favorite, DREADNAUGHT, is available. Run to the store and buy these now! Oh, and I think BLACKHEART is on draught now at The Paramount Room at 415 North Milwaukee!

Pictures from World Beer Cup Dinner -- A.K.A. Beer Prom

I was privileged to attend the World Beer Cup dinner at the Sheraton Hotel, the closing event of the Craft Brewers' Conference and, by all reports, the largest beer dinner EVER. It was SO awesome, it was so awesome it was stupid! Here's some pictures.

Happy EASTER and Craft Brewers' Conference

By now, I imagine most people who read my blog know my mom passed on March 13. I've just been a little unmotivated to do anything over the minimum since that day. Can't explain it. Then came Easter on April 5th and the week after that was the CRAFT BREWERS' CONFERENCE in Chicago! I have to say, that was a pretty amazing week. So much to do! I got to meet one of my idols, Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing; I was able to spend some time with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and my pal Doug Moody of North Coast Brewing. I had a fantastic dinner at N9NE Restaurant, paired with North Coast beers. We drank New Holland Envious at the Green Mill. At least two events every night! Totally distracting for me, and really fun. I will collect pictures and post here!

The night before Easter, we decorated eggs at John and Tom's house. And, of course, I brought along some of my favorite bottles, such as Dogfish Head Red and White, Three Floyds Rabid Rabbit, Coney Island Human Blockhead, and many others.

Thanks to all for your patience and love during my Mom's illness and passage. Of course I thought I would be just fine, but it has been harder than I imagined. Good friends and good beer always help.