Sunday, January 9, 2011

This Guy Has A Gigantic Drinking Problem

I went to see the Salvador Dalí exhibit at the High Museum on Saturday. It is pretty awe inspiring to be in the presence of such amazing and unique works of priceless art. I am not very knowledgeable about art in general, but when you see original works, as opposed to pictures or reproductions of them, up close and personal, it is pretty impressive. And when you think about the brain of the person who created them, well, we’ll never see another person like that ever again. I can definitely say that I am glad I went. Unfortunately, like apparently the rest of the city, I waited until the last minute. I got there when it opened at 10 am, and there was already a line. Regardless, it was worth it, especially since two of the really huge paintings had not been viewed publicly or in the U.S. since the late 50’s. I had never even seen a picture of The Madonna of Port Lligat or Santiago el Grande. One belongs to a museum in Canada and another to a private collection. So take my advice if you are smart, the next time something comes to town that you really want to see, don’t procrastinate like everyone else.

When I was leaving I saw one lady getting huffy with the museum staff about the wait times to get inside. Listen lady, the museum has had this thing since August. It isn’t their fault that nobody decided to go until it was almost over. I am sure the wait was non-existent in September. What is wrong with people? Why did she think that ruining someone else’s day with her bitchy attitude would accomplish anything? Or are some people just so selfish that they don’t care about anyone other than themselves, and if they are not happy, then goddamn it, you aren’t going to be either? If you are miserable, please keep it to yourself. Strangers don’t care, and your friends and family already know it. But hey, if I had a face like hers, I guess I would be pissed off about it too.

Are you ready for the Lost Abbey and Port Brewing launch at Kennesaw on Thursday? I know that I am. These are some seriously good beers, and there are going to be a good amount of them. If you want to know exactly what we are going to have, you’ll have to show up. At last count there were going to be about eight different beers, all draft, and then a few super-special bottles showed up just for the event. I will get it all sorted out this week, but I doubt that I will have time to post them here before Thursday. The owner/brew master and his right-hand man will be there from 7 to 9 pm. We will be saving anything in short supply until then, but you can get the draft beers after 5 pm.

I have some casks of Peak Organic Spring Simcoe coming at the end of the month. As soon as I have an ETA I will set up some dates and locations for these. Same story with some firkins coming from Fuller’s. Those are looking more like early to mid-February. Speaking of February, I will be going on a beer trip to Germany and Amsterdam for 10 days in February. I just got a new Flip camera to take video of some of the key spots we stop, so look for videos to be posted here once I figure out the whole situation with doing that. I am looking forward to this trip, as you can imagine. We will be seeing some of the greatest and most historic breweries in Germany. The short detour to Amsterdam is really just for sight-seeing, but we will get a tour of Heineken while we are there and explore the pub culture extensively.

If you need an idea for Valentine’s Day, we have you covered. Do you need a romantic dinner for two, but still want to drink good beer? Done. But your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/booty call doesn’t drink beer? No problem. Deckard’s is doing a three-course, fixed price menu over the Valentine’s Day weekend for $35.00 per person (plus tax and gratuity). For another $10.00 per person you can add pairings of Ommegang beers, or wines from Deckard’s collection, to each course. The special menu and pairings will be available on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. You will need to make reservations (404-941-3520), but you already knew that, it’s Valentine’s Day. There’s nothing romantic about waiting for a table. So yes, finally, someone thought about the beer drinkers on a holiday where you have been being ignored for centuries. No more! Enjoy.

That’s it for now. You folks have a great week, and I will get you all of the details on these events as soon as I can. Since I was not allowed to take pictures at the Dalí exhibit on Saturday, I took my own surrealist picture for you. This is clearly the hand of a giant holding a can of Budweiser. That’s right, I know a giant. And he likes Budweiser. What’s so hard to understand about that?