Well we made it back from Panama City in one piece. It was nice to relax with some old friends, drink a god-awful amount of beer, and just watch the waves roll in. People say there a lot of rednecks there. I didn't really see any. Sandbillies? Now those I saw. My god, is that what crystal meth does to people? There is this "brand new" field of medicine that apparently has yet to hit the Florida panhandle. It's called dentistry.No, seriously, we had a great time. There was one bar we hit called Spinnaker's. They have a great concept. In each area of this cavernous bar on the beach, they have different types of music and dancing for different tastes. Great idea, right. No. Picture the hip-hop crowd in one room, the Latino crowd in another, and then the sandbillies in another, all decked out for the weekend. Then crank up the music, get them all drunk, and wait for the magic to happen. You might as well just stay at home, stab yourself and call your own ambulance. Save a lot of money that way.
Luckily there was Schooner's. This beachside bar had much more charm. Open air seating everywhere, ocean views, some guitar strumming guy, the whole package. Apparently they are short on sodas though. If you order a Seven and Seven, you get whiskey. Vodka tonic? All vodka. Can of Budweiser? I swear the bartender was trying to pour liquor into that too. Take is easy, Shawn. Not everybody is trying to come down from an all-week meth bender. Some of us just want to have a drink and look at the water. Good grouper sandwich though. And the She-crab soup? I think my friend wanted to make love to it.
Late night we found a cozy little place called Patches Pub. What a place. I was the youngest guy in the place by 20 years (I turn 39 this year). Those people loved us! We came in around closing time and livened that joint for real. You really get the feeling that no new customers had set foot in Patches for a long, long time. Now if want to do some shots at Patches, they bring out a tray of plastic cups of multi-colored Jello shots. Layer after layer of them, and they are made with wine-based liqueur (Wild Irish Rose?). Allegedly their license is only for beer and wine. I just think old folks like Jello. Nothing wrong with that. Plus they know if they let these grannies and codgers loose on a bunch of hard liquor, they might start making out or something gross like that. Anyway, 4 or 5 Jello shots later (What? They grow on you! I like green.), it was closing time.
So far my one friend (name omitted to protect the guilty) had managed to stay completely upright. This may not seem like a big deal, but the last time we took him out of town, well, see April's posting about a trip to Athens. Somehow in the middle of the night he walked right past the bathroom, made a right and....Woops! There's stairs right there buddy! Wipe out. Luckily there were only about 3 stairs this time, and a recliner broke part of the fall. This drop was only about one tenth the height of the last one, so he's making progress. Next time we go out of town I assume he'll just fall on level ground. Then after that he will bump into chairs, then walls, eventually working his way towards remaining completely upright the whole time.
Anyway, I'm ready for some beer events. How about you? Here is what I have coming up:
- Tomorrow we have a cask of Left Hand Jackman's Pale Ale to tap at Metropolis. I will be on hand, naturally. My equillibrium-challenged friend will not however. What a great way to end the week: Fresh hand-drawn American ale. Tap time is 6 pm.
- On Wednesday, August 26th Paul Phillipon will be in town for special appearance. Paul is the brewer and president of Duck Rabbit Brewing Co. in NC. He will be bringing some new beers that he is working on, a cask of something, etc. The details are still getting fleshed out. The event will be in the northern part of the metro area, and I will fill you in as we get closer. Stay tuned.
- Mall of GA will be getting a cask of Highland Kashmir IPA this month as well. This beer is not common in these parts, especially cask-conditioned. The date is still coming into focus. I'll keep you informed once I know something.
- Lastly, if anybody is interested in going to Athens this month, Saturday the 22nd would be a good day. That is Terrapin's "Back To School Bash". For those who may have missed it, read an April post about how awesome Terrapin events are. This one should be outstanding. Hot, probably, but worth it. My buddy should be up to just bumping into furniture by then. Leave the first aid kit in the car.
- We will also be doing a small run of Red Brick Keller beer. Keller is the German word for cellar, and it pretty much refers to old-world taste and serving methods. Expect beer engines to be pouring the Keller-Oktoberfest this month. Sooner that later on these kegs.
