Beer and Pavement

I had a couple of choices of what to do with my evening the Saturday before last. There was the rock show at an undergrad dive featuring some locals I like and an interesting interloper. Then, at the last minute, a fellow Beer Enthusiast invited me over for a tasting¹. Knowing the host and the other guy he invited, my choice was easy. (I’ll get back to this later².)

However, the choice did not sit well with me. Sure, the beer and conversation was a pretty nice way to spend a Saturday evening, but I wondered what was happening to me. I used to always go out to see rock shows, especially locals with new out-of-towners sharing the bill. Was it a case of old age sneaking up on me? Am I too old to hang out at college bars drinking bad beer³? Was I not a good friend/cyberfriend⁴ to one of the band members who’s been unsuccessfully inviting me out to shows for a while now? Was I choosing beer over rock ‘n roll? Is that even possible?

The answer is not easy. On one hand, I’m too old to rock, making me rather boring. On the other hand, I’m a jerk who all but promises show after show to demonstrate support for the local scene, but never follows through⁵. Neither answer paints me in a very good light.

Of course, I still go to rock shows. Last Monday, I did see Japandroids. I arrived way too early, opting to sneak out for a beer or two at a bar with a much better selection. I completely missed the two openers for a chance to down a good west coast IPA in a can⁶ and an expensive Saison I’ve already forgotten.

Granted, my time for such pastimes is precious these days with a nineteen-month old telling where to sit and choreographing my every dance move⁷. That child even makes me more accountable to my partner who needs a break now and again. The time for one interest is barely there, much less the time for two hobbies. Yet, I still find a way to pack in some of it.

Someone will point out that it’s about priorities, but I don’t think that’s completely accurate. For example, I was fully prepared to make my inaugural trip to Dark Lord Day this spring. Then, there was Schlafly’s Repeal Fest this past weekend. And beyond that, there were little beer trips here and there to plan and scheme⁸. I was fully prepared to make myself into a full-fledged beer tourist.

That was all before Pavement decided to play the Midwest. I bought my three-day passes to Pitchfork in Chicago along with train tickets and a hotel room. (Plus, I bought a ticket for their September gig⁹ in Kansas City.) Beer tourism was put on hold for Pavement.

So, I haven’t totally prioritized beer over music. It just happened that way on one particular weekend. My age is not the problem; lack of time is. So, that’s why I’m trying to blog about both in this space, trying to show how together, (craft) beer and Pavement can build international coalitions for peace, love, and happiness.

Or some shit like that.

…

Back to the beer.

We drank this:

The blank bottle is my homebrew, Wowee Zowee, which is a huge double IPA named for a Pavement record by the same name. I’ll post on this some more once the labels are affixed to the bottles. Just know that this beer is filthy.

Next to the homebrew is De Proef Signature Les Deux Brasseurs Ale brewed with Jason Perkins. I know, I know. It’s not the catchiest name for a beer, but it is gooooooood. Those dudes at De Proef keep tapping into the best and brightest brewers in the US for these special releases. I can’t remember exactly what it tasted like, but I remember that it’s good. I’d say you should buy any 750 mL bottles you find with the De Proef name etched on its label. For reals.

Moving right, the beer with the frog on it is a Hoppin’ Frog IPA. It’s as solid an IPA as any west coast IPA and it’s from OHIO¹⁰.

Let that sink in for a moment: a great west coast IPA from OHIO.

Then there’s The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel. Supposedly, there’s Thai basil in them thar bubbles, but we couldn’t taste ’em. It was really, really good. I need to get a hold of some more beers from The Bruery.

After that is the Mikkeller 1000 IBU. I’ve had this beer before, but it somehow tasted even better on this particular Saturday. You’d think a beer with 1000 IBU’s would be so bitter that it would teeter on the edge of undrinkable, but the malt backbone holds up well. Mikkeller is an interesting “brewery”. They’re these hipsters who travel from brewery to brewery, stirring up their magic concoctions and charging an arm and a leg for them, but somehow it’s worth it. With the rise of bourbons and vodkas made by hipsters, it seems that their true calling is in booze and not music¹¹. Just sayin’.

I know almost nothing about Southampton Cuvee Des Fleurs. It was murky and stank. That’s a good thing. It’s sort of like a garage band with a fat-ass bassline who laments everything and is really not appealing in any way…but you love them anyway.

The last is the Ken Schmidt/Maui/Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter. Yes, that is a mouthful and so was the beer. Don’t go looking for this badass porter at your local pharmacist. I’m pretty sure they’re all gone. Normally, porters are not my thing, but the coffee is so rich in this one. It must be the coconut.

In summation, the beer was good. We talked about our kids but mostly the beers. Priorities, man.

Notes:
¹A fancy term for getting together, pouring a few beers, and shooting the shit.
²Skip down (up from the footnotes) to read about the beer and to skip my mid-thirties crisis.
³I sort of outgrew this early on, aside from a few disastrously embarrassing evenings/mornings.
⁴I say this b/c we’ve struck up a good online friendship, but in our only face-to-face meeting, I ran the other direction. Of course, I was taking my daughter to the restroom to wash her up for dinner at a brewery where said-friend/cyberfriend was working, unbeknown to me.
⁵I blame this on Evites and event invitations via Facebook. It’s easy to mark “maybe” or even “yes” and then not show up. I am guilty of this over and over again.
⁶A Caldera which is always delish.
⁷Seriously. When we dance, she now tells/shows me which dance moves are appropriate when.
⁸I have been working on wine country (also plenty of beer), Portland, Colorado, and Belgium trips for a while now.
⁹On the same day as my kid’s second birthday.
¹⁰The best part is that it will soon invade my current home state, Missouri.
¹¹Sort of growing tired of hipsters branding themselves as authentic music “aficionados”. Sort of wish hipsters would leave the music blogging to those of us who “really get” music. Feeling jealous of their ability to brand their lifestyles as “music-obsessed” and “with it”.