Why I like beer bars and other things that have the word beer in them that I similarly like

From an early age, what are we conditioned to do when we meet a new person? I can't begin to tell you the number of times I was chided by my parents to, "Tell him/her your name!" and to "Put out your hand!" Where you don't seem to do this really is in the service industry. I mean sure your waiter/waitress/server person at restaurants usually says, "I'm Bartholomew and I'll be taking care of you tonight" but you don't really say that to say, your dry cleaner, barber, or postal worker. I mean, I guess I don't, but I might try that soon. I've got a new thing where I introduce myself to bartenders at beer bars before I order. Now first let me stop and clarify, what do I mean by "beer bars." Well, if you don't know, I'd be surprised if you're reading this blog. I guess I mean anywhere craft beer is sold. My definition of craft beer is pretty broad, maybe broader than most people's. Craft beer, to me, is anything that isn't in the macrolager style and anything that isn't directly produced by Bud/Miller/Coors (BMC). Anyway. Introducing myself to bartenders (beertenders?) I think it goes well. There are few things in life I take as seriously as beer, and why wouldn't you want to develop a rapport with the person who will be slinging your craft suds for whatever drinking session you're on? I started this when Churchkey opened up, mostly because they introduced themselves first. It's a small thing, I guess, but beer really is a social hobby. You share beer with friends. Talk about it with friends. Network through beer. Meet new people. Talk to them about it. And so on and so forth. Beertenders who you get to know may be more inclined to tell you what deals they've got going on right now, what beers taste off, what beers have been really popular, and hell, may even throw a free pint your way. It's not something I expect by any means, but it's happened enough to know that building that relationship can help. Anyway, introduce yourself to your next beertender. See how it goes.

On a completely different note, I've decided to take the plunge and start homebrewing. I bought some equipment (I'm going with the 6 gallon plastic bucket with an airlock for a fermenter). I also have a 5 gallon Poland Spring jug that I will try to fit a bung and airlock into for a second fermenter (if I could get two batches from two fermenters a month I wouldn't hardly have to buy beer ever again). I'm basically using Charlie Papazian's seminal The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (3rd Edition) as my reference. I like his philosophy about not stressing out. It's important. We'll see if I feel that way once I actually start doing it. I know that all-malt brewing is the best way to start for a n00b like me, but honestly, I'm in this to win this. I'm not in this to make some watered down ale that is less appealing to me than whatever BMC is slinging this month. I want something I will be satisfied drinking. And if I don't get that, then I will try again, but I'm not going to shoot low and play it safe. My first brew will (hopefully) be a very hoppy red ale. I'm using Stering hops to bitter and Glacier and Cascade to finish. If it tastes anything like Rogue's St. Rogue Dry-Hopped Red or Green Flash's Hop Head Red, I'll be ecstatic.

I'll update when the equipment comes and I try it out. I may even take pictures. We'll see.

Anyway, I guess I'll get to bed. Cheers.

A little on what I know and what I don't

It's difficult to simultaneously know a whole lot and painfully little about beer. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and all that. Sure I can name a lot of breweries, I've tried a lot of beers and beer styles, and I know what kinds of beers I generally like and dislike and can articulate why, generally. I still don't really understand the beermaking process though. On a very basic level I do, and I guess this could easily be remedied by a little homebrewing, but the process is, as I understand it, kind of like the board game Othello: "a minute to learn, a lifetime to master." I also am working on refining my palette. I get the big picture; i.e. I can taste the degree to which a beer is hopped, generally what flavors those hops elicit. I can taste whether a beer is particularly malty or not. Bitter or sweet or dry. Fine. But I have issues with the small stuff. Last night I had a Yakima Twilight from Victory Brewing last night at RFD in Chinatown. Tons of hops in that beer, but then I was able to detect anise on the back palette too. I was pretty proud that I was able to detect (and identify, which I guess is the hardest part for me) that even though anise is a very strong flavor. I guess it's small steps, and as I learn to identify flavors I'll hopefully be able to continually identify them.

This rambled a little bit. It's hard for me to articulate what I want to about beer. I guess it'll come in time.

Ideas for next time: the beer review process.

Welcome!

If you're here, you probably think this is an unsightly piece of shit, and you are so right. I'll be working on constructing this and making it presentable over the next week or so.

What can you expect to see here? Well, after some prodding from friends I decided to try to write this. Who am I? I'm a 22 year old recent college grad living in Washington, D.C. A little over a year ago I was getting into arguments about whether or not Keystone Light was better than Natty Light, and more egregiously I was convinced that all beer tasted the same. Now, a year older, and a little bit wiser, I'm diving head first into the craft beer movement and all its wonders. I'm trying to learn more about beer (and of course trying new beers) every day. I've come a long way in a year, but I've got a whole hell of a lot still to learn. This blog is dedicated to that learning process. I want to share the resources I'm using to learn more. Tell funny stories about how I got to where I am now. Describe my favorite beer dispensaries. Review new beers. Pass along beer news. All things that will get more info about the craft beer movement out there to as many people as possible. I hope you'll stick around and check back in, it should be a wild ride (or stumble, depending on how ambitious I get).