It's not me. No. It was Stan's post about the limited utility of the concept of a "rare" beer and I suggested "special" is about as dopey. Then Mr. Beaumont did the right thing and announced that in honour of Stan's observation he was going to open a bottle he saved for some special day. He opened a Stone 13th anniversary. Apparently, Tuesday 28 July 2009 is a special day. It is. It is. It's just that no one knew how special it would be.
Me, I picked to open something that might have lasted longer or could be given to a hop head friend, Sierra Nevada 2009 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale. Picked a stout 24 oz. bottle for under five bucks at Tully's in Maine the other week. The goblet, carefully picked, is a 1960s style stemmed and dimpled US lager glass with lobsters and curvy lady divers on it heralding Old Orchard Beach Maine, in red ink. Yowza. Nice maltiness with marmalade, orange fluid and a lighter finish after spicy weedy hops. Not too big but certainly beefy. The bottle even says "2d release". I would have sworn it was the 7th. Does that mean second this year, as in this is 2009(b), or just that there was a 2008 edition. These questions haunt me. Plenty of BAer love.
Otherwise, all in all, very Tuesday-esque. And this Tuesday I raise my chalice particularly to the passing of Lew's pal Gary, an intense and happy beer fan who passed away far too young. And unlike the slightly picky Beaumont (how ever will the man put on that weight) I had mine with handfuls of multi-coloured Goldfish crackers (the sort that they don't let you buy in Canada) that had been spilled on the chesterfield as that was the nearest thing the kids left around the house for me to nibble upon.
Comments
John Thomas Hoffoss - July 29, 2009 9:53 AM
I think we all tend to look at those "specials" and build up what that special occasion should be: your child's college graduation, promotion to president of your company [from the mailroom], election as POTUS. The thing is that when these occasions arise, we forget about the stash! Or we look at it and think, "nah, this still isn't special enough, I'll just wait."
As a remedy to this situation, the wine columns in the Wall Street Journal have discussed for years the concept of OTBN, or "open that bottle night", a random declaration of "enough is enough!" I will be looking for a harvest ale to try myself, though I may just have to make my own!
brodie - July 29, 2009 11:04 AM
Darn, being one of your "hop head friends" I was looking forward to my chances in that give away!
Shamas - July 29, 2009 11:28 AM
I believe it is the 2nd annual edition of the *Southern Hemisphere* Harvest Ale, although there have been other Harvest Ales from SN dating back some years.
Alan - July 29, 2009 11:32 AM
I have others, Brodie. Long weekend coming...
Roger - July 29, 2009 11:38 AM
Funny, I picked up a bottle of that in Ohio, along with some other "specials". I'm informed a picture of me in the store made its way to MoB mailing list. I was saving it for a rainy day, and hey look, whaddya know.
No goldfish around; I'll be pairing it with Nutri-Os instead.
My cousin has a similar beer glass, advertising something in Wildwood. I often wonder if Ontario liquor advertising laws were such that there's very little brewerania from the pre-stubby days.
Bailey - July 30, 2009 4:55 PM
John said: "The thing is that when these occasions arise, we forget about the stash! Or we look at it and think, "nah, this still isn't special enough, I'll just wait."
Or, worse, the special occasion comes round, you open the bottle, and every last drop sprays all over the kitchen floor. This seems to be especially true of Belgian beer.