It seems like a month ago I was MCing for my cousin's wedding, but really it was only a week ago. After that, some more family events, trying to organise a home brew and a bucks party for my brothers weeding in a month, and even with a week of work that had one day off for a horse race, I still feel like I am in recovery mode from it all.
Heading to Mountain Goat last night, it only took two beers, but had the wind down I needed. While a week previously I was wearing a silly hat and talking to a room of a hundred people, last night I sat in a room full of hundreds of people, and didn't speak to any of them, apart from the bar staff to order my beer. And the beers I went for were to two highest alcohol beers I could get from the bar. It was funny though, while I have had the Bock and Double Hightail a few times now, last night I found myself quite sensitive to the texture of the beers, and in both cases, wishing they were less carbonated. I know I am normally susceptible to texture, but especially with the Double Hightail, I wished I was drinking it from a handpump to make it warmer and with less carbonation. It took me an hour and a half to drink them both, but with each sip the alcohol in them continued to relax me, and by the end was pretty content to just have the two, and just look up and seeing the cobwebs in the brewery's roofspace.
Ok, so in general I am a pretty quiet person, but last night and at the Two Birds Brewing Launch of their Golden Ale the night before, I found myself gravitating even more to a quite corner of the bar just to chill out and appreciate a couple of beers. For me it is a bit different from Situation 1, where there is more of a physical desire for refreshment from a beer, and is better if the beer is not too high in alcohol so you can drink it quickly. Even from the bushwalking in Situation 3, there is a real group environment seeing you feel that sense of physical isolation. With this it is more of a desire to just relax within yourself, think of all you have done, and then slowly let those thoughts leave you as the beer takes its effect.
Still (or especially), being within myself, I knew when I had had enough, and even the temptation of seeing Moon Dog's Pumpkin Porter wasn't enough to make me want another beer.
I really appreciate having had the bushwalk a couple of weeks ago, and if I thought it had been a month since last week, it felt even longer since I had been on the Great Ocean Walk. Anyway, I have had my little moment last night, and seeing it will be a month til things can settle down again, I may be having more moments like these. For today though I will be heading over to Stass' to trial some brews for my bother's wedding, and hopefully have a taste of the coffee beer we will be going up against Team Harrod in for our upcoming contest.
Cheers,
Beef
PS: I guess I should note that yesterday was also the 2nd anniversary of beerdakari, so I guess a little bit of contentment last night can be put towards that (maybe this situational drinking post is also a long 2 year wind down). Now I am really looking forward to that beer with Stass today. So after 222 posts (Richie Benaud's favourite number), a big thanks to all those that have made up the 5,500 views of the site, and those that have added their own two cents to my rambling thoughts and tastes on beer.
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