Try Something New!

Sitting in a restaurant bar in Florida in 2002 I decided to become an accountant. It wasn’t something I ever considered or even thought about before. I was on a break from my waitressing shift at said restaurant bar and was trying to figure out if I would have enough money to pay bills that month. Because my mind looks at things in such a mathematical way and the fact that I am a Virgo (read: extremely organized) I had a whole spreadsheet worked out to figure out my bills. The regulars all knew that I was trying to figure out just what direction to go in my schooling at the time and one suggested, “Why not do what you’re doing now? Why not go into accounting?” After thinking about crazy things like a dolphin trainer (I get queasy looking at blood so I could never go through vet school) and a boat mechanic (I’m not really all that strong and I get sea sick) I thought that accounting seemed like an actual possibility.

I am sure by this time you are asking yourself, “Ok, I thought this was a beer blog. Why is she rambling on about being an accountant?” Well stay with me all my tangents have points.

So here I am sitting in a bar in Lovell, Maine eight years later trying various types of beers and taking notes on what I was tasting. (Once again I remind you of my Virgo-ness) I take notes on the beers I try so I can add them to my beer journal. I started the journal only about a month or two ago so that I could remember how I liked each beer so I know which I want to try again. The gentleman sitting next to me asked me what I was doing. I explained to him about my journal and he said you should make a blog. At first I completely dismissed it but he kept talking about it and then my husband, Porter, joined in and asked, “Why not?” Why was I so against writing a blog? Well I simply had never thought that anyone else may want to know what I thought about the beer I tasted. (You may not but at least I will have a digital way to keep track of my likes and dislikes.) After talking about it for awhile I decided to go with it. (Connection between the two stories coming) So much like back in 2002 I have let people in bars help decide my next move in life. (See!) The results of my 2002 decision have worked out nicely. I met my husband the first day of my internship. I am no longer an accountant but it did help propel me into my current career.(The career change is a whole different tangent.) Hopefully the results of this blog will be nice as well.

After much thinking about how my blog would be structured, I have decided to give myself a mission: At least one new beer a week. (Although it will probably be more than that; who are we kidding anyways?) I am reasonably new (only in the last 2 years really) to trying different kinds of beer. It wasn’t too long ago I was still drinking “chick” beer on occasion. (You know that fake lemonade stuff. I now find it quite repulsive.) I now try beer flights while in the bar (It allows me to try something new and those paddles are pretty fun too) and we have this really great beer store right close by in Portland so variety should be rather easy to come by. As I am a chatty one I will also discuss and give recommendations on bars. Porter and I also have just started homebrewing and that can be quite an adventure in itself.

This first review is on the bar in Lovell, Ebenezer’s. It was just named the #1 beer bar on the planet. A good number of the beers that show up on here will be from there I hope as I love this bar. (I think that is the name of a country song. Who am I kidding, I know it is.) They have 35 taps and over 800 different bottled beers. I can’t wait to check out the basement. The owner is super nice and seems to really love his job. It is always nice to feel like the owner can understand my passion. While I did try a number of new beers, I didn’t have any guidelines for my notes. According to The complete Joy of Home Brewing 3rd Edition (written by Charlie Papzian) there are a number of things to look at and think about during tasting beer: appearance, aroma and taste, which includes bitterness, sweetness, sourness and saltiness. I also thing mouth feel is important. (You know, how light or heavy it feels in your mouth.) My first beer review will be next week and continue with a new entry at least once a week, although if it is a vacation week, you should expect more. (Vacation = more opportunities to try new beers)

If you made it to the bottom of this post I thank you for sticking with me. I think that this is going to be a fun journey. I hope my reviews and comments will help get you out there and try different kinds of beer. And I would love to know your favorite beers so I can give them a try as well.

Remember: Don’t be afraid to try something new. You just might like it.

Katy Too