And it was St. Patrick's Day. And oatmeal stout was had at the brew pub and it was good. And there was planning for the 2010 version of this and that was good, too.

But after the taxi after the folks half my age decided to take off into the night and do what people half my age do, I needed something interesting, tart even. On the nose, pale ale and brett - funky pale stone fruit. Aged straw ale under a loose whipped egg white head. In the mouth, I am happy. Not unlike the Allagash Confluence 2009 of the other night except my shirt is not in the wash from the explosive opening and there is a bigger body presence, again, not like my shirt that immediately went in the wash. It's like a slightly chalky pale malt husky thing added to a Orval-esque feel. Maybe 80% Orval meets 20% biere de garde. Very interesting and worthwhile.

Stats. I love that bottles come with stats. Batch #3. 6.5%. Bottled November 2008 and bought at Galeville for $11.79 in Jaanuary 2010. Pretty good provenance. And big BAer respect.