Yelp, Schmelp.

If you read this regularly, then you are probably wondering why I have been absent for a few weeks. If you read this regularly when you are sober, then you will realize that there has been an incredible amount of special events lately, which means that I have been all over the place day in and day out. Sorry, but I could not fine the time to say hi and update you on what is happening. Too much was happening. Hard to update happenings in the midst of happenings. But everything is normal now for a few hours, so here comes some news. Possibly exciting news, possibly not, but definitely a new and nonconstructive way for you to waste more time. I signed up for Twitter a while ago. Yes, please welcome Fred to the 21st Century. And then, before I ever sent one tweet, I got hacked. Apparently I was telling all of my Twitter followers how I made hundreds of dollars working from home, and how easy it was. Which was strange, because I don't work from home and can barely recall what home even looks like. So I canceled that. Now I am on Instagram. You can follow me at "fred_the_beer_guy" and see photos of whatever I happen to be taking pictures of at the time. I do not have any children or pets, so don't worry. You won't be subjected to that.

Why would you be interested in my pictures? Well, a few reasons. First, I go to a lot of beer places, and you seem to be interested in that. Why wait for me to return from a trip to share pictures with you? See them as they happen. Next, in case you haven't noticed, I like to explore some out-of-the-way eateries when I travel. Like the picture above of La Altena in Chattanooga. Look a little rough around the edges? It is. Maybe you would expect the place to be a little busted up inside? Maybe the booth seats are torn, but repaired with duct tape? Right and right. But if you also suspect that the food would be exceptionally killer, you would be right a third time. Trust me people, if you need a gyro sandwich in Brussels, Chinese food at 2:00 am in D.C. or a burrito in Chattanooga, I have you covered. I might take you on a turn down a street you don't normally go, but you will thank me for it later.

Another reason you might want to follow me is that I plan on sending pictures from a trip to England and Scotland that starts February 7th. We are going to be touring breweries, real ale pubs, and Scotch whiskey distilleries for ten days. Want incredible Thai food in London? I know a place. The best Thai food I have ever had, no question. (There is a place in Las Vegas that gives it a run for its money, and has a great beer selection. Talk to me before you go.) So I will periodically be sending pictures back of the cool places we go around the UK, so if that seems interesting, then follow me on Instagram. After I get back from that trip I am going to Mexico to select the perfect barrel of Herradura tequila to have bottled up for Taco Mac. You might want to see a picture or two of that process. And if I get kidnapped by a drug cartel, you can call the embassy and help broker my ransom.

But enough about that. Let's talk about this week and beer events like we normally do. Tonight you can swing by the Taco Mac in Woodstock to taste the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp beer with me. I will be there until around 7:00-ish. Depends if anyone comes by or not. Tomorrow at the same store you can meet Bob Southard, the winner of the Southern Home Brewer's Challenge, whose Chocolate Cherry Porter was made by Red Brick and is one of our beer of the month. Bob is a great guy, and if you want to pick his brain about how you can win the 2013 contest or just say "congrats" and drink a beer with him, stop by in the evening and introduce yourself.

Saturday is big. The Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting starts at 3:00 pm and goes until 6:00 pm. This event is held on the patios of Taco Mac Prado and 5 Seasons Prado. Tickets are still available for what is one of the most prestigious beer events in Atlanta. We are merely the property that shares this event. We are not the organizers. I have no motivation to tell you to get off your butt and come to the ACAT except purely out of the kindness of my heart. If you love beer and are not at this event, well...maybe you just like beer a lot. Love might be too strong a word for you where beer is concerned. Look, now you made beer cry. Are you happy?

The last thing I have to talk about now is next Wednesday, January 30th. We are doing a "Kill The Keg" night at Crabapple. The last keg of my Beer Camp beer will get tapped at 6:00 pm. Can we kill it in less than 15 minutes? That is the time to beat from when we had Beer Camp beer three years ago. I made a special Brewniversity credit for "Sierra Nevada Kill The Keg", so anyone that comes out on that one night will have access to that rare, one-time credit. You will get the beer and the unique credit, in case you have already had this beer at another store. If you haven't had the beer, you can drink tow and get one credit for the beer and another for the Kill The Keg. Come out on Wednesday and make history.

The chances to drink this beer between now and then are: Woodstock tonight, Suwanee on Monday and Virginia-Highland on Tuesday. If you are a Charlotte drinker, you have Monday and Tuesday, February 4th and 5th, and that is all folks. I will be at all of these except V-High. I have a separate thing that night that is for employees only. Sorry V-High people. Catch you next time.

I gotta run. Thanks for reading, and sorry I was AWOL for a while there. See you around.