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Saturday, January 3, 2009

2009, off to a great start



The best part of going on vacation is trying new things. For me, that is a very meaningful action. While on such vacations, I tend to do things that I wouldn’t normally do, ever. Most of these things will remain a secret. And it isn't illegal if it happened in international waters. Anyway, one of the things I love to do is look for different beer. There is a wide world of beer out there, and I am constantly searching for it.
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This year, my vacation was a simple one to California. This wasn't my first time there, so I have tried most of the microbrews available in the “Golden State”. I like some more than others and go out of my way to drink a beer or three while I am there. But this year, was a little different. While I did get the chance to drive around and drink a few local brews, I didn't get to try anything new. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to add to my list.
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Then I had a brittiant idea. BevMo.
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Yes, there are BevMos in California. And I have a GPS. As luck would have it, there was a BevMo a mere 4.1 miles down the road. Why haven’t I ever thought of this before? Who cares, I thought of it now.
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I love the BevMo. It is so cool. I am in there at least once or twice a week. I am on a first name basis with the people who work at the one by my home. But I have been a little bored with the lack of variety available lately. I have tried most of the breweries. I look forward to the changing seasonal beers to add some spice into my beer life. But even that gets old after the 6th different Pumpkin Ale, or Spiced Christmas Ale.
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After the 6.4 mile drive to the BevMo (freaking GPS directions) I walked in to the BevMo. I knew this was going to be good. I noticed right away that the beer selection was much larger than I was used to. Then I noticed that the beer selection was much different. I started with a hand held carrier. But I could only carry four 6-packs with it. This was going to call for a cart. Before I knew it, I had 8 (eight) different six-packs in my cart and I was only in the second row of five. I was in big trouble.
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It was so hard to make up my mind. I must have pacing up and down each row five or six times. I came looking for Russian River (not available in my home state), but left empty handed. Instead, I was lucky enough to find some of the beers atop my wanted list.
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Fuller’s 2007 Vintage Ale.
The 10th Anniversary Limited Edition bottle conditioned ale. If you follow my blog, you know that Fullers’s is one of my favorites. I bought all 3 bottles they had. I’m not sure when I will drink any of them. But I do plan on keeping them around for a while.
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Hofbrau original
Everyone has a “Happy Place”. My Happy Place is a booth at the Hofbrauhaus beir hall, in Munich Germany. It wasn’t the best beer I had in Munich, but it sure was one of the most memorable. To this day, I find myself longing for the Hofbrauhaus nearly every time I have a beer. I dream of the Oom-pah band, the pretzen girl, and the litre of golden Pils. This was a huge score for me. You see, Hofbrauh beer is not available in my home state. So to find this beer was close to a religious experience for me. I would have bought more if my wife wasn’t there.
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Hofbrau Dunkel
How could I pass this up? My love runs deep.
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Hofbrau Hefe Weisse
I think you understand why after reading the previous selections.
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Fuller’s Porter
Are you noticing the trend yet? Fuller’s offers three different ales at home, but the Porter isn’t one of them. There is no way I could have left with out it. Now if I can only find a bottle of the Brewer’s Reserve. That would be sweet.
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There were so many more. I was like a kid in a candy store. It wasn’t possible for me to buy everything I wanted. But I am happy with my choices. I will go back, soon. And this time, I will bring more money.
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-Prost!

2 comments:

Brian P said...

Sounds like 2009 is starting the right way. I am looking forward to reading the blog in 09. Have a great New Year.

Rory and Tom said...

Sounds like an excellent purchase! Just got the 2008 vintage ale over here, not tried it yet though. Also drinking plenty of london porter, good to know we are both enjoying some great beer