Dumb Silence

Haven't posted anything since the packaging missive - mother-in-law is visiting from out of town. I have a collection of beers from a Montana brewer to review, as well as something I picked up on Camp Pendleton several months ago (no, not the clap) - probably ought to jump straight to that, lest it spoil, eh? There's also a bottle or two of something from a brewer who used to brew in Breckenridge, Colorado and some sorghum beer made by our friends at Budweiser. Suppose I ought to get off my duff but it's difficult rolling out the beer tasting apparati when the strongest thing your mother-in-law has seen you drink is black coffee! (Oh, don't judge me! You don't know me!)

Maybe a post regarding the phenomenon of the "beer fridge" that is seen in so many sitcoms and beer commercials. Is it real, or is it myth? I don't have one, but probably should. Problem is, where I live, the climate runs in the 105 degree range part of the year and seems to verge on the fringe of 400 degrees in the hottest, nastiest parts of July and August. A beer fridge in the garage would run constantly under those conditions and given the electricity consumption required, the cops would probably descend on my place thinking I'm running a grow house.

I'll finesse my beer-tasting notes and post the blank form here for future reference and include some blue collar tasting notes, too. Above all, this is for the regular joe beer drinker and even more than that, it's for me...it's therapy. Cheap therapy, one six-pack at a time!

I'll leave you with an image from happier times......oh, a Shiner and a Smile. Sure I got a Shiner, but you should see the other guy!

Waxing Nostalgic Re: Packaging Evolution

I've been a legal beer drinker since the early 1980s. I'm not so long in the tooth that I can say I've quaffed hot beer from a stoneware stein under a tree on a regular basis and liked it, but I have been sampling the barley pop long enough to have seen the evolution of beer packaging and labeling.

As a beer novice, my over the counter beer of choice was Miller High Life. (Always in bottles. Never, ever in cans!) I didn't come onto the beer scene when it was known as High Life by Miller but after I learned that's what it was originally called, I made a point of ordering "High Life" when I went out and I'd often have a chuckle when the waiter or waitress would ask for clarification. In the 1980s Miller six-packs were contained in a cardboard type box with a sloping top. The box was predominantly brown and when emptied, could be folded into a nifty ball cap.

In the army I was without wheels and the distance from my barracks to the nearest convenience store was just short enough that every Friday after retreat formation, I'd saunter over and buy a bag of ice and a 12-pack of Miller High Life. The ice and beer were hauled back to the barracks where a metal trash can, lined with the shopping bag (waste nothing), served as a beer cooler for the evening and usually into the next day. I'll have to see if I can't dig out some of photos from that era - not that you give a rat's ass.

Anyway, I've seen beer packaging trends wax and wane in the twenty-five years or so that I've been (legally) drinking beer. I remember when A1 beer came out with cans that had famous figures from Arizona history - wish I'd saved a few of those. I'm astonished at the gimmicks that seem to have taken hold. Coors - another over the counter favorite frankly - has that goofy label that changes color when the beer is cold. Hey, if you're too drunk to know if your beer is cold or not - you probably shouldn't be drinking, and you definitely shouldn't be driving. Dumbass. I want a beer bottle with a built in breathalizer in the neck, or a breath mint in the bottom.

I think what I need to do is build a couple of plywood boxes in the crawlspace above my garage and start saving beer bottles and packages. Worth a tidy dime some day. Probably send this grandkid of mine to college. Oh, come on! Some of you are probably already doing that - don't bullshit me!

WELCOME!

First and foremost: this is not a beer reference site. This site is more for my own use than yours. If you don't like my beer rant blog, go out and create one of your own, I'm sure it will be better and that you'll love it a lot.

Second: don't expect frequent new posts here. I'm a beer drinker for crying out loud! How can I possibly make daily posts and meet my daily quota of brew consumption? Besides, I'm an old guy and beer drinking typically makes me sleepy before it makes me drunk, so I sleep more than I drink and I sleep more than I post lately.

When I find good beers, I'll rave about them. When I find bad beers, I'll rant about them. When I find interesting beer websites, I'll post links here. Mostly, I'll just ramble on about some obscure beer-related topic now and then.

Finally, if you feel like leaving some nice friendly chit chat in the way of a comment, please do so. If you feel like making an ass out of yourself, go visit some other blog, I'm the only one gonna make an ass of himself here.