Time To Take My Own Advice

When I wrote my last blog post, I had no idea I would later be writing about my recent break-up with Arlo. That wasn't in the plan at the time.

I didn't want this, but not every choice in my life is my own, and there's nothing I can do about it. Now it's my turn to take my own advice and make the choice to be happy, regardless of how life happens.

I could not be more grateful for my friends right now. I feel lost and lonely, but much less so with all of your comforting words and gestures. Thank you all very, very much!

My plans haven't changed since my last post. I'm still going to see Uluru and Kings Canyon, and I'm still planning to go to Darwin. I feel like going back to the States with my tail between my legs so I can find comfort in my family and friends. But my friends here are wonderful, and going home defeats the purpose of coming here to Australia in the first place. I'm here to make money, and have amazing travel experiences. If I ran back home anytime I felt defeated, I wouldn't get very far.

Life goes on, and I'm trying my best to do the same.

When It's Time, It's Time

In the world of traveling, it's difficult to do everything as planned. There are so many unexpected and constantly changing variables that make it impossible to nail down exact dates, routes, expenditures, and the like. Though I haven't done a great deal of traveling, I've already learned how important it is to be able to roll with the punches. If you're not ready to deal with things going differently than planned, then you're in for a lot of disappointment. Contentment is such a big deal when you're on the road. A vacation is something that's meant to be enjoyed, but it's also your choice to do so, and not always something that just lands in your lap. For me, this means it's my responsibility to enjoy what's going down, regardless of whether it's what I planned or not.

I started writing this particular blog post about a week ago, and even in that short amount of time, many things have changed. I started writing about how Arlo and I had decided to finish working at Glen Helen a little bit early, but now I am the only one involved in that plan. Arlo is committed to learning more in the kitchen. He really enjoys working with Mark, the head chef, and he wants to keep it up for a month or two longer than I am willing to stick around. The travel bug bites who it wishes, and we simply were not bitten together this time! We'll meet back up about a month and a half after I leave. My last day of work is Aug 22nd, only 18 days from now. My plans for after that are about as stagnant as a flag in the wind. I've got ideas, but they change every day. I definitely want to do the 3 day tour to Uluru and Kings Canyon, and maybe head up to Darwin afterwards, but I have no plans of who I will travel with and how. I guess I should probably get on that!

Two Months Of Outbackin It

 Two months have passed now since I first stepped foot on Glen Helen Resort. The busy season is here, and all of the staff are doing their best to hang in there. It's mentally and physically exhausting, but I think we're getting used to the idea of being dull boys named Jack (All work and no play makes Jack...?).

Aaaanyway, it rained tonight! I noticed in the middle of the dinner rush when I was taking some plates out to the wash room. I was first confused, and then angry, thinking I must have just been crapped on by 3-4 of those nasty piwi birds. I was amazed and grateful that it was rain, and not poop. I stared at the night sky for a few seconds, and then dove back into the dining room of hungry guests. The air was dry when I finished up for the night. I want more rain!

My free time has been filled with hours of ukulele playing and dabbling in the creation of drinking glasses from beer bottles. I haven't done much with the drinking glasses lately, though. I've learned that I really just like the 10 minutes it takes to score and break the glass, and not the 40 minutes it takes to sand down the edges of each one. Haha! I've promised myself I wouldn't break anymore until I've sanded what I have. Hence, the reason I haven't touched the project in a few days. I'll get back to it soon!

The ukulele playing is going really well. It was a great buy, and I'm so happy to be playing music again. I've been working on a Jake Shimabukuro piece, along with some Fleet Foxes stuff. I've found that most of the online ukulele tabs are chords only and very vague, so I've started tabbing out a few by myself.

I have a new baby neice, and I'm an aunt for the first time! Her name is Hannah Grace Lerch, and she's an adorable, little peanut! I am very much looking forward to meeting her as soon as I'm back in the States. =)

Life here is same-old, same-old. I've been here for two months, and have barely explored the bush beyond Glen Helen. I'm hoping to take the staff car out this Sunday and check out some of the nearby attractions. I find it funny that people ask me advice on these places every day, but I've never been to any of them. lol

The Best 4th of July There Ever Was - Aussie Style

One might think that celebrating independence from Great Britain while in one of her countries is a bit insulting or out of place. However, it seems Aussies are more excited about the excuse to light fireworks and drink beer than they are offended by my location-inappropriate celebrations. It just so happened to turn out as the best 4th of July ever!

I attribute much of its greatness to the spontaneity factor. Most of it was unplanned, and things just happened. Going to town that morning wasn't on my to-do list, but it ended up being both productive and relaxing. I didn't plan on grilling a BBQ for 60 people when I came back from town, but it was fun, and also my first time BBQing anything myself.

And though we did plan to set off fireworks that night, no one could have anticipated how awesome it would be.

 

 

Post-fireworks, we sat around the fire at Jim's place for a few more hours. "Shooting the shit" is probably one of the oldest past-times there are, and it's still one of the best.

Spontaneity FTW!

Scratch That

Alright, I take it back. I had a wonderful day in town this past Monday! We had so much time to get our stuff done AND relax! Whoever knew time could exist for both things in one day? I started it right with a proper cappuccino and banana pancakes.

It was even better than it looks. The errand running was over relatively quickly. A stop at the hardware store, the music shop, Woolworths, K-mart, and it was all painlessly done with. We had another unbeatable $7 lunch at The Rock Bar. It seems a trip to town isn't the same without chips (french fries) and a wrap or burger outside on the patio there.

I've never had egg on my burger before Australia, but it's growing on me.

We hung around for another hour and another beer before we headed off to the only real cinema for hundreds of miles to see Snow White and The Huntsman. There was a serious lack of storyline, but it was clear they spent a lot of money making it look pretty. I appreciated their efforts, and the excuse to eat a lot of popcorn and chocolate.

A stop for booze and a few more food items, a second Macker's (McDonald's) run, a stop at the petrol station to top up on fuel, and we were homeward bound.

It wasn't a bad way to spend a day.
Plus, I got to see the most ridiculous license plate ever.

They even let us know that SA (South Australia) is the sunshine state! I would love to know the story behind this one.

The Mirage Of The Day Off In Town

The rare occasion during which one not only has a day off, but also a means to make a trip to town, is deceiving in the way that it causes extreme excitement and false expectations of relaxation. Respite from the daily grind simply cannot be found during the daylight hours of a single day in Alice Springs. I have only been to town two times during my five-week stay at Glen Helen, and both times were a race to cross items and tasks off my list before it was too dark to drive home safely. I expected to come home refreshed, but instead came home feeling I needed an additional day to relax after several tedious hours of errand running.

Such is the mirage of the day off in town.

One Down, Five To Go

I'm now able to call flip flops "thongs" without smirking or thinking about underwear.  I can hear bells ringing in my sleep, and almost wake up to go get the food from underneath the heat lamp. I have a permanent calcium build up in my hair from the tap water. I can do a decent hospital fold when I make a bed. The phrase "How are you going?" doesn't sound so strange anymore. I go for days not thinking about cell phones. I've accepted the fact that my floor will always have red dirt on it, no matter how many times I sweep. I can go for an entire conversation with an Aussie without saying, "...what?". I've started internet shopping as a way of passing the time. Yes, I've officially been at Glen Helen for a month.

One down, five to go. Arlo and I are planning to be here for a full six months, provided there is work here for us to do. It's starting to get a bit busy here. The month of July is almost completely booked, so I'm trying to appreciate my free time while I have it. I haven't been to town for over two weeks. It would be nice to get away from everything for a bit, but it's just not going to happen this week. It's hard to get away from work when I live at work without a car, but if I ever had to choose a place where I had to do such a thing, Glen Helen would be it. I'm very happy to be outside so much instead of stealing glimpses of sunshine out the window from an office chair. I'm glad to be away from the bustle of civilization. I try to remind myself every day how lucky I really am.

And Bordom Settles In

Today marks the third week of my existence here at Glen Helen. I've settled in and things are comfortable enough to be boring. It's amazing how a place like this can offer so much and so little to do all at the same time.

I bought an ukulele (first syllable is "oo", not "yoo"!) off of ebay a few days ago, and I'm hoping it comes soon! I figured now would be a great time to learn a new instrument. I would love to have a guitar as well, but all of my purchases are preceded by thoughts of light travel. Stringed instruments generally aren't a backpacker's friend, but I'm giving it a go with a Makala Concert Size Ukulele (one step larger than the popular soprano size). I've got a list of songs to learn, and I'm itching to get started. I need something to do other than drink beer and stare at my wall!

Realistically, I've been quite busy with work, and not wall staring. I started working mornings instead of nights today, and it's very nice in comparison. I love getting work out of the way and having the rest of the day to do as I please. I'm a business-first play-last kind of person.

I keep seeing pictures of summertime activities from all of my American friends, and it's giving me a bit of that wintertime depression. It has only been getting colder here as we work our way into the Australian winter, though it's nowhere near the kind of winter we get in PA/NJ. Nonetheless, it's not summer, and I'm not happy with it. C'est la vie!

Dinner time!

The Dust Settles

Tomorrow marks the second week of being at Glen Helen. I'm not messing up as much at work, and I'm starting to understand the Aussie accent a little more. I've started to form routines, and I feel closer to being in stride with this place. Friendships are forming. I've been working overtime, and so has my liver.

The thing about settling down and feeling more comfortable is that I have more time to think. I'm not concerned as much with the culture shock anymore, and other thoughts have taken over. I've started thinking about how much I miss my home. I don't mean that in the physical sense, but rather in the life I had there. I didn't have much time to miss it before, but now I'm feeling it.

I'm making this sound much more sorrowful than it actually is. I'm having an absolute blast out here! I miss many things, but being here is worth it. I dread the day my visa runs out and I'm forced to leave this country.

Longing To Be Comfortable

Arlo and I are finally in Glen Helen. It will be our place of work, sleep, and all other ways of spending time for the next several months. Glen Helen Resort is located deep in the outback, a little less than two hours west of Alice Springs, Australia. It's basically smack dab in the middle of the country.

We've been here for a little over two days, and it has been endless amounts of learning. I've got a decent amount of experience waiting on tables and working the bar in America, but today was proof that I have much to learn in Australia. Slang and accent are two difficult obstacles when trying to understand people. Today, someone ordered "CC and dry" at the bar. I knew CC was Canadian Club, but I didn't know that Dry stands for dry ginger ale. Also, they call "jack and coke" "jacks and coke", which sounded to me like "jackson coke". It was a long seven hours of asking people to repeat themselves and asking my co-workers for help. Thankfully, they're all very friendly and patient! My deepest desire right now is just to feel comfortable, but it's really hard when I have a new place to live in, a new country with a new desert environment, and a new job with people I can barely understand. It's a lot of work, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it's worth it. Nothing good in life comes easy!

Aside from all of the verbal confusion, I love it here! We're right in the middle of a national park, and nature is everywhere. The Glen Helen Gorge and West McDonnell Ranges are literally right behind the resort, and look incredibly majestic at sunset. I'm going to upload some pictures this weekend so you can see!

I should be able to post more often now that I have the time. I'll be working quite a bit, but I literally have nowhere else to go expect the occasional trip to the town (every couple of weeks).

I'm very happy my bed is comfy! The room is in no way 5 stars, but the bed is at least a 4.

Time to sleep in it!

ChooChoo!

Ritz crackers dipped into a small vat of Nutella make for a wonderful train snack!

If only I had a small vat of Nutella instead of this half-empty 400g jar...



I guess I've got a lot of catching up to do with this blog! I thought I was going to have more time to write than I would have time on the internet, but it turns out I've had less than I've expected of both. Arlo and I spent about 10-12 hours a day exploring the city, and when we got back to the house, we chatted with our hosts until we all went to sleep. I managed to upload a bunch of pictures, but didn't have the chance to reflect on my days in Melbourne.

Right now, we're on board The Overland. It's a train that will spend the next 10 hours delivering us to the next leg of our journey, Adelaide. The view out my window right now is perfect. We're finally getting out of the city and suburbs, and into the picturesque, rolling countryside that everyone thinks of when Australia comes to mind. Many fields are filled with flocks of sheep and squared off by rows of trees. This pattern repeats and rolls over the horizon, where I assume there are more fields of sheep. I've seen a few cows and the occasional horse, but I'm sure there are more sheep packed into this country than Mexicans in a minivan.

JUST KIDDING! There are more...


No kangaroos yet.



Time has been flying by, and it's hard to keep track of the days. This is partially because I'm still a bit disoriented in this country, but also because I've been running around the city without a watch or something to keep time. I think that's probably the best way to explore, though. Time restrictions might make life easier sometimes, but they're not fun, especially when you don't need them.


Anyway, I think I'll buy a watch in Adelaide... hah

Lagged, Confused, and Excited

I'm sorry to say that I don't think I'll ever be coming back to America. It's not that I don't miss you all, or that this place is too awesome to ever leave (though it's close). The flight is just too long and terrible to endure. I may be able to make it back someday by hopping from country to country, taking little chunks at a time.

I'm half kidding.

My experience of Australia so far has been nothing short of incredible. Here are some things I noticed, and some comparisons with America/Americans...

• The people seem much nicer here. If you look confused, people will walk up to you and ask if they can help. They seem much happier than Americans. I'm sure part of that is due to the booming economy and minimum wage of about $15, but people here just don't sweat the little things.
• Prices are a little less than double what things cost in America. The Australian dollar is about six cents more than the American dollar. The only thing that's cheaper is milk. We bought 2 liters today for $2 (think a 2 liter bottle of soda). 
• The metric system is weird, and I think it's going to take me a while to get used to. 
• Cars drive on the other side of the road, like in England. Walking across the street is dangerous, as we're used to looking left and then right. Even walking is weird, because we're used to passing people on the right. 
• We're not in the same rhythm with this place yet. There are many similarities with America, but the vibe is totally different. 
• Pints are not 16oz, they're 20oz. And the other sizes you can order are schooner, pot, mid, and a few others. 
• Australian's aren't usually difficult to understand, but some of them tend to run their words together. Tonight we ordered some fried chicken, and neither of us could understand what the employee was asking us, even after he repeated himself 5 times. Finally, another employee told us he was asking if we wanted our food for here or to go. I guess I don't quite get the accent yet.
• They sell kangaroo meat in the grocery store.
• Thrift stores are called op shops (opportunity shops) or second hand shops. 
• Melbourne is locally pronounced Mel-bin, not Mel-born. 
• We're 10 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the US, so it's 12 mindnight right now for me while it's 10am for most of you. When I get to my workplace outside of Alice Springs, I think I will be 11 hours ahead instead of 10.

I've got more, but I need to figure some stuff out before tomorrow. We walked about 10 miles (or 16 kilometers!) today, and will likely do the same tomorrow.
This place is just so much fun!

This Is It

In Australia, my internet access will be a little spread out, so I won't always be able to update when I write things. This post, for example, was written before our first of three flights, but I'm in Australia right now! More on that later. But now you understand how things will pan out from here on.


A year's worth of meticulous planning, months of 60-hour work weeks, countless hours spent researching and writing emails, and several minutes of sorrowful goodbyes with family and friends have lead me to this.

The game of hurry up and wait.


I've been in the airport since 2pm now. It's 5pm. My plane leaves at 6:45pm. You do the math. I'm definitely not complaining, though. Everything has been smooth so far. Nice and boring. Lots of waiting. Normal airport stuff.


Arlo, Fia (Arlo's Mom), and I got into NYC at about 7am this morning. We had a lovely breakfast, and then walked around the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was rainy/misty, and it seemed we shared the whole garden with only a few others. It was so peaceful and relaxing... the perfect morning before a long, long flight.


Waiting...

RSA and Our Itinerary

Phew! I just spent the last 3 hours completing a course for my Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate for Australia. It was set up like a power point presentation with an overly enthusiastic woman guiding me step by step, accompanied by obnoxiously upbeat music that I couldn't mute without also muting the narration.

*sigh*


But that's all water under the bridge now! That's the game for these last few days in America. Get as much water under the bridge as possible before time runs out! Yesterday I visited my Grandma, had dinner with a great friend, and spent some quality time with my Mom - all people I'm dearly sad to leave behind. My list of things to do, people to see, and food to eat shrinks gradually along with my time left before May 1st at 6:45pm. Its a sad, yet wonderful thing.


Just so you all can get an idea of where I'll be and when, here's my itinerary:

Flight #1
Qantas Airways Flight 0108
Departs: JFK     6:45 PM     Tuesday, May 1
Arrives: LAX   10:00 PM     Tuesday, May 1

1hr 50min Connection Before Flight #2

Flight #2
Qantas Airways Flight 0108
Departs: LAX     11:50 PM     Tuesday, May 1
Arrives: SYD     7:40 AM     Thursday, May 3

1hr 50min  Connection Before Flight #3


Flight #3
Qantas Airways Flight 0421
Departs: SYD     9:30 AM     Thursday, May 3
Arrives: MEL     11:05 AM     Thursday, May 3

We'll be couchsurfing in Melbourne for 4 days and 5 nights (May 3rd-May8th).
On May 8th at 8:05AM, we'll be taking the train west to Adelaide.

Train #1
Melbourne to Adelaide on The Overland
Departs: 8 May 2012 at 08:05AM
Arrives: 8 May 2012 at 05:55PM
9hrs 50mins Ride Time

We'll be couchsurfing in Adelaide for 4 days and 5 nights (May 8th-May 13th).
On May 13th at 12:20PM, we'll be taking the train north to Alice Springs.

Train #2
Adelaide to Alice Springs on The Ghan
Departs: 13 May 2012 at 12:20PM
Arrives: 14 May 2012 at 01:45PM
25hrs 25mins Ride Time

We'll be hanging out in Alice Springs until our ride comes to pick us up and take us to work at The Glen Helen Resort in the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Good Times Ahead!

A New Journey

Oh dear, it seems I've fallen off the face of the earth...

I apologize for the lack of recent updates, and also the absence of my last promised post that would recap the tour of the tours. Honestly, my heart wasn't really in it after that last one, and I'm thinking more along the lines of the fact that I'm gone - outta here - leaving the country - in less than a week! My mind is a scramble of thoughts about last minute buys, last minute get rid ofs, and how the hell I'm going to fit all I plan to take with me in this:

My travels to Portland, OR and back have taught me a lot about what I don't need. It's incredibly liberating to travel lighter physically and mentally. I'm the kind of person that has to know the location of my belongings at all times. I'm constantly checking my bag or pants pocket for my keys, money, camera, etc. This kind of subconscious behavior is good for not losing things, but it's always taxing on the mind. I don't know if having fewer things will make this better, especially because I'll be in a foreign country, but it will certainly make carrying everything around easier. The deterioration of my pack rat lifestyle is slowly reassuring me that I'll never end up on an episode of Hoarders.

And by the way, if you didn't already know, I'll be going to a place where I will see and eat plenty of these:

More later...

Tour of the Tours - Installment SixWeyerbacher Brewery - Easton, PA

Something to consider when picking a brewery to tour is its proximity to your house. I've gone to breweries as far as 5.5 hours away, and was able to make a very nice trip out of the whole thing. If you're going the distance just to see how your favorite brew is made, do some poking around on the internet and see what else you can do in town. There are several breweries along the Jersey Shore (Kane, Carton, East Coast Beer Co), but I haven't gone to any of them yet because I'd like to make a nice beach day out of it. And I want to check out Flying Fish and Triumph on a Philly trip. I love beer, but hoofing it any farther than 30-45 minutes just for a tour is a bit much. I'm not making an 11 hour round trip just for a look around and a sample of beer.

If you're too strapped for time to drop a couple hours on a brewery trip, check out your local bars and liquor stores for when they might be sampling. I was at Freebridge Wine & Spirits in Phillipsburg, NJ a few weeks ago when Flying Fish was in town. I got to sample a few beers, talk to one of the brewers, and I even got a free pint glass with my first Flying Fish pint purchase! Of course, I didn't get to see where all the magic happened, but getting to sit down and share a brew with one of the guys that makes it every day is usually not something you get on a tour.

Few are the people who are lucky enough to have a brewery in their hometown (unless you live in Portland, OR where the breweries outnumber the citizens). I boast, and count myself amongst them, as the closest brewery is only a stone's throw away - an 8 minute drive across town. Weyerbacher Brewing Co is one of the many badges worn proudly on Easton, Pa's 260 year old chest. I admit, my loyalties lie with the town across the Delaware River, but I swell with pride when my glass swells with local beer.

Weyerbacher Brewery - Easton, PA

I tried to get the above shot without Kilroy peeking from behind the tap, but I didn't want to look like a creeper taking 12 shots (pictures - not liquor, you drunk!) just to get the one I wanted in a very, very crowded room of thirsty samplers. And such is the downside to a town that highly supports its small businesses. It's like PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER, ity bity living space. I've been to this place several times, and it's always packed. I can never seem to try more than one or two samples when I visit, because it's not worth elbow wrestling the other patrons just to get to the bar. With only 3 hours for touring, sampling, and growler filling a week, (on a Saturday, no less) I don't even think there's a time to go when it would be relatively quiet. If you go and expect to get a taste from the taps, bring your elbow pads and stomping boots. It's going to be ugly!

If crowds aren't your thing, maybe you'd be glad to know that expansion is on the horizon! They're going to have 40% more physical space, an actual tasting room, and dearly needed extra hours for touring and the like. As it currently stands, the tasting room is a small section of the warehouse that has been cornered off by a few racks of beer bottles and swag. It's functional, but only barely with the big increase of visitors since they started brewing in South Side Easton in 1995.

The brewery is located on the far side of an industrial warehouse district, separated from the Lehigh River by a few blocks of houses. The feel of the place is a bit bland and seemingly non-permanent. The only decoration is the swag that's out for sale, and perhaps a banner or two. I don't think anyone really cares what the brewing area looks like, but the tasting room should look nice! And it should be a room. It looks like they quickly set up shop in a corner, and haven't made many efforts to enhance its appearance. But I guess there's no time for fashion when the business is busy tripling in size over a 7 year period. Now that their current space is maxed out, the much needed remodeling and expanding of the sampling area can take place (and perhaps more importantly, expansion means more beer!). Even though the tasting "room" isn't the best, I'm glad to know that the brewery's priority is beer and not appearance.

If you have ever sat down in the wrong classroom on the first day, and had no idea what the teacher was talking about once class started because the material was way over your head, then you would know how I felt on the Weyerbacher brewery tour. This is the AP Rocket Science class of all brewery tours. I've been on many tours, and I know a decent amount about the processes, ingredients, and such, but the things the tour guide spoke of made me wonder if I was in the wrong classroom. Beware: This is a tour for brewers, not drinkers! People on the tour with me were asking odd questions about equipment and techniques, and the tour guide gave them equally confusing, jargon-filled answers. I don't think every tour given here is like this, I think I just happened to jump in with a group where everyone happened to be a home brewer. It's a good thing I was touring a brewery, because I definitely needed a drink afterwards!

Back at the crowded, free-for-all tasting area, I sampled two brews before pushing my way out of there. Living in the same town as Weyerbacher has allowed me to try a few of their pints at local bars that I wasn't brave enough to get a sample of at their brewery. I can't quite pin point it, but they're all kind of... yeasty? No, that's not it... it's kind of a cloudy, muddy taste. Like, in the way that both make things indiscernible. I can clearly taste the beer and what it's supposed to be, but it's not crisp to me. I feel like I can almost chew it. Maybe it's Easton's water? Who knows... maybe it's just me! But it's definitely not a bad thing, just different. It's subtle at first, but the more varieties I try, the more I feel I could cut it with a knife. It's weird, and I think I like it. More tasting research is needed before I can come to a conclusion.

Another thing about their beer - it's just too flavorful! Isn't that crazy? It's like trying to finish a big piece of very rich chocolate cake. The first three bites are to die for, but the last three bites are what kills you. No, a pint of Weyerbacher isn't 2,000 calories a pop, but the taste becomes too much after a few mouthfuls. I thought it was just Merry Monks', their Belgian style golden ale, but it's almost everything I've tried so far. I admit, it's growing on me, but it's definitely no session beer.

I'm chalking all of this up to my taste buds changing. Weyerbacher beer is definitely high up there in quality, but it just isn't balancing on my teeter-totter of a tongue right now. I used to be all about the sweeter, citrusy ales and wheat beers. I still like them, but now I'm branching out to some of the less sweet pale ales and stouts. I honestly miss Sierra, a milk stout from their Brewers' Select series, which they don't make anymore. Other than Sierra, I haven't found a Weyerbacher beer that rests well on my palate. At the same time, I also haven't tried them all. I guess my best advice for myself is to keep trying, especially since the place is so close!

I know I've said some things that might make you question my loyalty, but I really do like Weyerbacher. I like what they stand for, where they're located, how they run their business, and how creative they are with their beer. Creativity can be expensive! It takes bravery to offer something different in a failing economy where people are holding onto the things they know for dear life. The brewery's impending expansion is living proof of their success, and as consumer, I'm proud to play a part in it. Definitely check them out now, or in Oct/Nov 2012 when they're fully expanded and equipped for the big crowd they always draw.


Keep Tasting!

Tour of the Tours - Installment FiveSam Adams Brewery - Boston, MA

Many existing businesses can fall into one of two types: the private owned mom and pop shop, and the widely known commercial brand. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Mom and pop shops are cozy and personal, but sometimes have restricted hours and limited locations. Commercial business products are priced conveniently and are widely available, but the company lacks a relationship with the customer, and often takes advantage of the middle and lower classes to keep prices affordable. Mom and pop shops rely on the local community and word of mouth to support their business. Commercial businesses rely on paid advertisement through many different platforms. Breweries are no different.

The nature of breweries, however, always seems to lean toward growth, while many privately owned shops and restaurants are satisfied with staying small. Almost every brewery I've been to has either just expanded, is currently expanding, or has plans to expand. But it's not about locations, it's about output - how much beer they can make and distribute within a period of time while maintaining quality and consistency. This is how microbreweries (breweries that produce less than 15,000 barrels per year) slowly become one of the giants like Anheuser-Busch (though that destination is not always desirable). Many breweries keep their mom and pop likeness by pledging to focus on quality rather than quantity. Some are even able to achieve both. But regardless of their size and level of corporate domination, as long as they continue to produce good beer, customers will keep knocking on their door for more, and perhaps a tour!

Sam Adams Brewery - Boston, MA

The Sam Adams brand meant something quite different to me before I ventured to Boston, Mass to take their tour. My perception of their company was a product of their advertisements depicting burly, bearded men in overalls that are passionate and serious about their beer. The commercials often mention the founder and brewer, Jim Koch, who is celebrated as a pioneer of the microbrewery movement, which made me believe this brewery must be a little smaller than I thought. I'm watching all of these earth tones and crafted suds float by on my screen, and I'm feeling all cozy inside. BAM! It's that mom and pop feel, but with many times the output and availability.

It wasn't until I walked into the brewery that I realized my skewed perception was a result of expensive, well done advertisement. Their claims are all true, but the things they said with everything but words were a lie. Through their ads, they veiled their gigantic commercialism with that mom and pop feel, which was completely vacant from the reality of their brewery. It seemed their ads were reminiscent of how the brewery was years ago. But that coziness had long since been chased out by the cold wind of corporate apathy.

The brewery is smack-dab in the middle of a Boston suburb, as a grand meatball amongst the spaghetti of many one way streets. Walking up to the brewery, I realized the company has spent a lot of dough on this place. It was crowded with tourists from other states and countries, but not so much that movement was inhibited. My eyes were overwhelmed with the sight of countless banners and displays of beerchievements, history, and interactive screens that blared ads and informational blips. The amount of money they spent on making this place look nice has got to be at least six figures long. The earth tones, beards, and honest-sounding quotes weren't fooling me anymore. This place is sooooo commercial.

Luckily, my new found perception didn't change how their beer tastes, and I was still enjoying myself very much. The tour was free, but started out with a voluntary donation to a local charity. They may have a lot of money and come off a bit impersonal as a company, but they're definitely not greedy. We proceeded to a room where the guide explained the brewing ingredients, and actually had barrels full of hops and two kinds of barley to pass around for smelling/tasting. Very unique! We continued to the brewing room testing laboratory. Turns out, this brewery tour isn't even of an actual production brewery, but of the place where they invent/perfect their beers. The guide mentioned the lab workers and a bit about their processes. It was all a bit weird, but cool nonetheless. This also meant there were no bottling/canning lines to watch, and that lovely, malty scent I so look forward to was absent from the air. It was saddening, but the promise of free, delicious beer kept me interested.

The guide was friendly, funny, knowledgeable, and well rehearsed, but seemed a bit insecure when someone asked questions that were out of the ordinary. He would choke up a bit, and say "uhhhh" a lot, but he was able to get through the answer. There was also a group of incredibly obnoxious 20something women that he allowed to walk all over him in the tasting room. He wasn't the best at controlling the crowd, but such is the product of a volunteer. When he wasn't being talked over by rude women, or spooked by weird questions, he was a great tour guide (and handsome too!). 

The tasting room was furnished with several tables surrounded by chairs, and a large, ornate bar. The excitement built as we watched one of the workers fill pitcher after pitcher of beer, all for our tasting pleasure. The guide continued his spiel by teaching us how to properly taste beer. We were all given a tasting glass to keep, and were allowed to fill them family style, as we shared a pitcher or two per table. We tasted the Boston Lager, Harvest Pumpkin Ale, and Alpine Spring. I was surprised they were giving us pumpkin ale in late January, but I couldn't have been happier! I've tried probably six different pumpkin ales in my life, and this one is now my top favorite. I would accustom the experience to something like taking a giant chomp out of a pumpkin, and then that chomp magically turning into delicious beer in my mouth. It actually tastes like pumpkin instead of just a bunch of pie spices. The flavor is rich, but not overbearing. Everything is balanced and perfectly flavored. I was sad it was January and not October.

Though it wasn't actually part of the tour, we were told that if we took their free trolly to Doyle's Cafe and ordered a pint of Sam Adams, we would get to keep the beer glass. I'm a sucker for a good deal, so I indulged. The trolly was like a party bus, and the driver was hysterically funny. If you ever go on this tour, the trolly ride to Doyle's is a must!

Ok, so the brewery tour isn't at an actual production brewery, and the feel is a bit corporate, but I think they've done a good job of not forgetting their roots as a little microbrewery. They're not greedy, and they spent a lot of money on giving out free beer, free tasting glasses, and free tours of their expensive facility. I had a blast, and found a new favorite beer. A trip to Boston is not complete without a tour of the Sam Adams... uhhh... brew-atory! 

Happy Touring!


Next Up: Weyerbacher Brewery - Easton, PA

Tour of the Tours - Installment FourRiver Horse Brewery - Lambertville, NJ

I think it's safe to say that in any classroom situation, the teacher/professor can either make or break the class. Profs that teach subjects you hate, but they themselves are absurdly awesome, create a classroom atmosphere you can't help but love. The same can be said for tour guides giving brewery tours. Even if you don't like beer, the tour guide has the ability to make it an awesome experience for beer lovers and haters alike.

Tour guides are always the unknown in the touring equation. You know there's going to be beer, and you can probably find a bunch of pictures of their brewery online, but the tour guide is almost always a surprise. Some breweries, like Yuengling, don't really need a great tour guide. The place sells itself. But others (remember Brooklyn Brewery?) need a guide that can convince a crowd of 100 tipsy, elbow-bumpin hipsters that they're having a great time, even without any free samples. The job is tough, and the crowds are thirsty, but put the right man or woman on the job, and the result will be customers that swear by the beer they've just tasted.

Unfortunately, giving free beer away can be costly for a brewery, so most rely on volunteers that may or may not be all that great at the tour giving gig. I've experienced situations where I thought they should be paying the guide a salary, and where I thought they would be better off letting the beer sell itself instead of having some boring, soft-spoken clown babbling on and on about things they don't fully understand. I'm no expert by any means, and I'm not saying I could do a better job than the worst of them, but it doesn't take an expert to know when someone is talking out of their ass! Needless to say, mediocre tour experiences result in the beer or brewery atmosphere needing to be really amazing for me to feel like I had a good time. And even though I'm not paying for the experience, it's in the brewery's best interest for me to enjoy myself so I continue to buy their beer. Tour guides, in a way, are the company's way of making a sales pitch to the public. A bad pitch won't kill sales, but it definitely doesn't help them. If you're going to make a sales pitch, make it a damn good one, or don't make it at all. No one wants their company to be remembered as mediocre.

River Horse Brewery - Lambertville, NJ

Lets get some of this terminology out of the way. For those of you that don't know, "river horse" is another name for a hippopotamus. And the name is fitting because the brewery is wedged between the Delaware river and the canal (though there aren't any hippos around). The two bodies of water make a nice cradle for this rather small place at the end of a quiet street. The brewery carries the quaintness of the town, and makes for a lovely stop on an afternoon jaunt. Even the interior is very fitting. The decor is tasteful and even a bit classy. The size of the tasting room, however, is very tiny. Twenty people in there would make a can of sardines feel more spacious. On this particular Sunday, it was full, but not cramped. And luckily so, as the rest of the brewery offered a similar amount of standing space. If there was one thing I could say about this brewery, it would be that they did not waste any room! They spoke of expansion within their current space (additional fermentation tanks), but they clearly need a few more rooms or buildings! I suppose such a thing would be difficult when you're the oreo cream of a canal-river sandwich. 

Having arrived several minutes before the next tour, we decided to grab a few tastes first (more on those later). The tour was ready go before we were, so we quickly sloshed down our beer and shuffled after the tail end of the beer-enthusiast train. Our tour guide, a middle-aged, timid man who seemed a bit out of his element, lead us from room to room and explained all of the regular processes you hear on every brewery tour. He gave us the lowdown on River Horse history, and explained what an IPA is. (India Pale Ale - originally dubbed as such during the 1700's for it's popularity in India. The higher hop and alcohol content kept the beer fresh on it's trip from England to India, while other beers would spoil and go flat.) He spoke slowly and took great pauses between sentences. It wasn't anything drastic or incredibly awkward, but it definitely induced several yawns. I couldn't help but stare at the remaining two ounces of beer left in the glass he was walking around with, wondering if he was ever going to drink it. There were more than enough opportunities and moments minutes of silence to knock them back. I was more interested in those two ounces than in what he was saying, not because I don't like it when people don't finish their beer, but because of the way he was dishing out the information... boooooooorrrringgggggggggg. He did his job, and knew a whole lot about the ins and outs of the brewery and brewing processes. But above all else, 

I was ready to lean back 

against a pallet 

of grain 

and 

catch 

a 

few...

Zzzzzzz.....

But maybe my expectations are just too high. Here I am, getting this free tour and usually free beer, and I'm also expecting to be entertained. A bit too much? I don't know. I just want to be excited about their beer! That's really hard to do when the tour guide's demeanor better lends itself to calming sugar-filled children with ADHD to sleep. I know he was a volunteer, and I know you can't pick the people that work for free, but tour giving is a pumped, caffeine-injected, people-person's world. Get me excited about buying your product or I'll buy something else!

The best part about my last statement is that it's not entirely true. If your beer is good, I'll buy it anyway. But every time I do, I'll remember the tour I took and wish it was more interesting! And then I'll think about tours that actually were interesting. And then I'll smile and buy some of their beer, too. Aaaannnd...

BEER!

That caught your attention, didn't it? Let's talk more about beer, and less about sleep-inducing tour guides. $1 got us 4 different 4oz samples. The two most notable were the Oatmeal Milk Stout, and Hop-A-Lot-A-Mus (double IPA). When I think milk stout, I think River Horse, and also about that adorable, little hippo with utters pictured on the side of the six pack. The beer and the box art are equally fantastic. This near-black stout is smooth and creamy, and has a bit of milk sweetness to it while being all malty-oatsy on my tongue. If there was ever a cow that ate oatmeal and drank beer all day, this is what the milk would taste like. Mmmmmm... ooooooooooooooo!

Hop-A-Lot-A-Mus is unlike any beer I've ever tried. I mean this in the way that I have never been so repulsed by the amount of hops in a particular beer ever before. By now, you should know that I'm no hophead, but this might have enough bitterness to scare away the lesser devout hop lover. It may have been that the flavor profiles were given to us in reverse order (in my opinion, it should go by color from light to dark - similar to tasting white wine before red). We had the sweeter, darker beer first, and this lighter, intensely hoppy beer last. I couldn't even finish the little, 4oz sample. I honestly almost got sick, and for this, I salute River Horse. Such an abominably hops-crammed beer has probably made several hop enthusiasts happier than a tot on Christmas morn'. I, however, will stick with my oatmeal milk stout! 

They also have a beer called Hop Hazard. I've always made it a point to try IPAs when I go on tours, but given the history, I don't think I'd ever put myself through the trouble with this one!

It was a good time, and they really do have some tasty beer. A little improvement on the tour-giver, and they've got gold! Better yet, tastier beer! (Good times make beer taste better!) They're small, they've got heart, and they have my dollar. If you love hops, you're now bound to stop by and try this Hop-A-Lot-A-Mus nonsense. Just grab a cup of coffee before you go in case you take the tour. ;)

Hoppy Touring!

Next Up: Sam Adams Brewery - Boston, MA

Tour of the Tours - Installment ThreeYuengling Brewery - Pottsville, PA

Keeping with the flow of offering tips before sips, here are a few about what to expect on an average tour...

There are several things consistent through just about every brewery tour I've taken. They're going to discuss the four essential ingredients for making beer, the two main types of beer and what makes them different, and how various kinds of yeasts eat the sugars in the wort. They'll point to their fermentation tanks and make exaggerated hand gestures to illustrate the aforementioned facts and processes. And at some point, you'll probably wish you were getting some hands on experience with beer consumption rather than beer production. But you need not fret! Most tours are less than a half hour long, so the highly desired tasting is never too far from taste-bud ecstasy.

The best and most memorable tours are those that have what others do not. While most tours have a guide that is frothing at the mouth with brewery know-how, only one has bragging rights to say they're America's oldest brewery. If there's one thing you could add to a tour to make it better and more interesting, it's history. And Yuengling has more history than a world civilizations text book (ok... maybe not quite!). Breweries are not unlike a finely aged wine or cheese. Treated properly, they only get better as they get older.

Yuengling Brewery - Pottsville, PA

Having survived the prohibition era, 183 years of existence, and five generations of family ownership/operation among many other achievements, it's not surprising that Yuengling continues to grow as a staple beer on the East Coast of the US. I love trying new beer, and don't often buy the same beer twice. But Yuengling lager is definitely an exception. Businesses like this don't survive so many hardships and rough times without good reason.

There is a quaint little nook up on the hillside of Pottsville, PA that the Yuengling brewery likes to call home. Driving to the brewery, you might think you've taken a wrong turn into a residential area, but you're actually in the right place. Something as simple as walking in and finding where the tour starts is almost impossible without the signs that tell you where to go.
It's obvious there has been addition after addition to the building, which effectively created a maze of rooms for confusing guests into thinking they should have made that left turn at Albuquerque. But alas, the sound of voices and that wafting, beckoning scent lead me to the right place.

The tour started seconds after we arrived. About 30 of us were lead single file through each floor of the almost ancient brewery. Each wall, window, and piece of equipment or art had it's own unique story. The room with the fermentation tanks and mash tuns has a beautiful stained glass ceiling, and also murals that further illustrate the history of day to day operations. We snaked between tight spaces from room to room until we arrived outside. Lucky for us, they were bottling on this particular Monday. The tour guide said they mostly can at this location, so it was certainly a rare treat.

Walking into the bottling/canning room was almost my favorite part of the tour (free beer is always #1). If I could have drank in the air, I would have. It was a luscious smack in the face of buttery, malty, bliss I've only ever known to belong to Yuengling. I would have paid to stay in that room for the remainder of the day. Beyond the smell, watching the equipment do its thing was entrancing. The flow of our single file through the building was lost to the hypnotizing machinery and stunning scent of beer. People pushed past those snapping pics with their iphones and then found themselves being passed by once their own gaze was caught. The game of leap frog ended once the tour guide coaxed us from our dreamlike state with rumors of an underground cave.

Going down there was like the fellowship of the ring was being lead through the depths of Moria (minus the orcs and other baddies, of course). It was a real, honest-to-goodness, water-dripping-down-from-the-ceiling rock cave! Some of the brick still exists from when it was walled off during the prohibition. Pretty dang neat!

We surfaced shortly after our venture to the center of the earth to enjoy the fruits of so many years of labor.  But before I go into the beer, I'll say a few things about the lovely tour guide. She was great, and took care of the crowd like a mom does her brood of children (but not in the wiping-dirt-off-our-cheeks-with-her-spit kind of way). She kindly watched after us to make sure we didn't get lost, and taught us everything we needed to know about life at the brewery. She was funny, and incredibly knowledgeable of the business. She was clearly not someone hired from the outside just to babysit the tour guests. The brewery itself was so captivating that we probably could have had a poor tour guide and still had a great time. But her expertise was all the more helpful. Plus, she's the one that gave us free beer!

The sampling room (pictured above) was called the Rathskellar, and has been serving up fine brews since 1936. The walls and shelves are lined with an entire evolution of bottles and historic decorations. It even holds a cuckoo clock in homage to the German heritage of the Yuengling family. I was excited to enjoy a beer here as so many did before me. I didn't bother trying the lager, as it is a taste very familiar to my palate. Instead, I tried the porter and Lord Chesterfield Ale. The porter is really what you could expect from just about any porter, but with that buttery, Yuengling-y taste that comes from their signature use of corn grits. The Lord Chesterfield Ale is probably their hoppiest (really not THAT hoppy, though), and just plain delicious. Most of their offerings taste like different permutations of their lager, but the Chesterfield Ale really stands out on its own. Arlo and I even bought two Chesterfield Society mugs to enjoy at home!

If the tour wasn't enough history for you, you can gander through the gift shop/museum. It's the perfect place for any history buff, even if beer isn't your cup of tea. Those that enjoy both, as I do, are in for a big treat! Of all the brewery tours I've been on, this was my absolute favorite. Maybe I just lucked out with the fact that they were bottling, we had a great tour guide, and it wasn't too crowded. Or perhaps it's just the fact that so many years of existence and history make for a good time, anytime. Either way, I urge you: if you ever visit a brewery, make it this one! Disappointment is nearly impossible.

Here's to another 180 years of great beer!



Next Up: River Horse Brewery - Lambertville, NJ

Tour of the Tours - Installment TwoBrooklyn Brewery - Brooklyn, NY

Let me preface this with a few tidbits of brewery touring advice...

The time and day during which you decide to tour is crucial to how much you will enjoy it. For some breweries, you don't have any other options apart from the three hours they're open for touring on Saturdays. Others, you can pick any day of the week within a 10 hour window. In my experience, the fewer people on the tour, the better. Consider the tour as having a classroom atmosphere, but with alcohol. The smaller the teacher to student ratio, the less you will have to struggle to hear the guide, the fewer people you will tipsily bump into, and the more you will learn before the alcohol permeating your blood cells renders you slightly brainless. But really, you're going for a tasting, not a binge (unless you're at Harpoon), so it shouldn't get that far. ;) If you're concerned about it being too crowded, call ahead and ask about the best, quietest time to tour. And don't worry, I've never seen any brewery run out of booze because the crowd was too big! If your schedule allows it, try to go on a weekday when they're bottling/canning. It's nice to walk around the machinery and look at all the doo-dads and idle whirly-woos, but to see them in action is a mesmerizing, nose-tantalizing experience!

So there's your cheat sheet, people! Use it, or earn a failing grade as I did when I visited Brooklyn Brewery. Don't misinterpret me, the brewery was great, but it was my lack of the knowledge outlined in the previous paragraph that made the experience a bit hectic.

Brooklyn Brewery - Brooklyn, NY

Pictured above is the master brewer on site at BB. She is the brains behind all brews that come out of this location, including their latest pale ale, Hair of the Cat...

Ok, ok, all joking aside, isn't she a cutie!? This little kitty perched herself atop the swag booth, high above the masses of intoxicated hipsters, like a lone survivor in the zombie apocalypse. There was no way she was coming down to accept any pets from the mob, but she gladly posed for our pictures from her secure location. Note: drunk people love cute animals.

What? Beer? This is about beer? Oh... yes! Let's take it from the top. It was a chilly Saturday in Brooklyn, NY. Arlo and I decided it was best to go on one of the earlier tours, so as to avoid the crowd. Apparently, we weren't the only ones with this thought in mind, and spent a half hour digging our chins deep in our coats while we stood in line outside.

It. Was. Mobbed.

For those of you that don't know, Brooklyn is quickly becoming a hipster capital. And hipsters absolutely love beer. Hipsters also love supporting the local economy. Aaaaand they love being thrifty. I think you're starting to understand where I'm going with this. Beer + Local + Free Tour = perfect Saturday afternoon for every hipster within a 200 mile radius. As if standing in line just to enter the building wasn't enough, we then had to stand in line to buy tokens, after which we had to stand in line to use the tokens to buy beer. It was a zoo. The volume of sound inside was high above the level of a noisy bar, and rivaled that of a rock concert. Communication was by hand signals and lip reading only. The place was big, but simply not big enough to hold the capacity of people that swelled and swilled inside. Every time I tried to move from one place to another, people eyed me as I passed, as if to say, "I swear to God, if you bump my elbow and my beer goes everywhere, you're going to die." It was not the friendliest environment.

Once precious beer was in hand, we decided to wait in line (this place loves lines) for the tour. Thirty minutes later, and we were off to check out some of the quieter rooms of the facility - something my ears were dearly looking forward to. After all 100 of us (oh my god) walked 50 paces into the main room of the brewery, I quickly realized this is where we would stay for the next 15-20 minutes while the tour guide talked... and that was it. Normally, the tour is actually a tour, but this wasn't possible with such a large crowd. I was fairly disappointed at first. But the absolute saving grace of all of this was the tour guide himself. He was hilarious! He gave the normal brewery speech about how beer is made with water, hops, yeast, malt, blahblahblah, all the while sneaking in subtle quips. My favorite part was his story about the brewery's history with the mafia. It was crazy enough to be true! It's not easy to manage such a large crowd, let alone an intoxicated one, but he did so with finesse, and only using his words! He was, by far, my favorite guide out of all the tours I'll cover in this blog.

Braaaaiinnnnnssssss.... err, Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr! Sadly, there was no time or room for tasting samples. =( I got to try two different beers, but that was it. The reason I wanted to go to Brooklyn Brewery in the first place was to try their black chocolate stout from the tap. Really, if all else failed, but I still got my draft chocolate stout, then it was a great day. To my dismay, as we creeped forward in line to get our beer, I realized they did not have the chocolate stout listed at all. After asking, they said they could open a bottle of the choco-brew for me. Though I was really looking forward to a draft, I was delighted to have it at all! I didn't even take a sip until I was on the other, less headache inducing side of the building where I could stand elbow to elbow with the other quiet-seekers and enjoy it.

I had a draft of this decadence at Pearly Bakers in Easton, PA a few weeks prior the tour, and was amazed at the flavor complexities. The smell was definitely chocolaty with hints of vanilla. The front of the taste was not overly bitter or sweet. It was not chalky. It walked the fence between dessert and beer without falling into either one. It was something I imagined would be sampled in the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory for adults. It was a bit creamy, but not too heavy - almost similar to a Guinness. The back half of the taste is my favorite part. It's literally like you just took a bite out of a chocolate bar. I did a double take, or a double sip, and my taste buds were telling the truth. This was truly divine. Unlike many other chocolate stouts, and despite the name "black chocolate stout", the chocolate quality was not too dark (I don't like really dark chocolate). After just one pint, it was my absolute favorite stout ever.

Unfortunately, after my second taste at the chocolate stout mecca, I began to question my previous evaluation of it's heavenly status. There was no balance, and it was a bit too chocolaty. I don't know. Things were just different between us, and I wondered if it would ever be the same again. I chalked the whole experience up to a bad bottle. These things do happen. It's always good to try a beer twice (or three times) to rule out the possibility of such an unfortunate occasion. *sigh*

I also tried BLAST!, their year-round, double, imperial IPA. They state on their site that this beer is "ludicrously hoppy", so you would think I would hate it. But it's really not that bad. The 9.0% ABV along with the tropical fruitiness on the front of the palate is a nice touch, but it's the back of the taste that rears it's ugly, hoppy head with every sip. I half love and half hate this beer, but it's good enough to enjoy a pint every now and then.

This particular visit to Brooklyn Brewery really left me wanting. I didn't have the experience or the balanced, chocolaty beer I so desired, and I didn't get to sample their other offerings. But I can't blame the brewery for it's popularity. Good beer is good beer! A less crowded experience would have proven much more satisfying. Again, the biggest plus for the whole event was the tour guide. He really saved the day. Oh, and the kitty. She was perfect!

If you ever decide to go here for a tour or even just a pint, I highly recommend calling ahead to avoid the lines and giant clusterfluffle that I endured. It's a nice place, the beer is good, and the staff is very knowledgeable/friendly/funny as hell. But no one likes to spend their free time waiting while there is so much beer to be had!

Tour wisely, my friends!


Next Up: Yuengling Brewery - Pottsville, PA

Tour of the Tours - Brewery Tours!

I love touring breweries. I think the whole process is fascinating. The stories behind the businesses and the buildings that hold them are super interesting, and the free beer at the end is not only the cherry on top, but also the three scoops of ice cream beneath it.

So come along with me as I tell tales of frothy glory and demystify the workings of six different breweries I've visited over the past few months.
They are...

• Yuengling - Pottsville, PA
• Harpoon - Boston, MA
• Sam Adams - Boston, MA
• River Horse - Lambertville, NJ
• Weyerbacher - Easton, PA
• Brooklyn - Brooklyn, NY

Their stories will be told over six different installments, and in no specific order.
I will judge them on three subjects:

• Brewery Atmosphere - general feel of the brewery, brewery location

• Tour Guide / Presentation - effectiveness/likeability/entertainment value of the tour guide, layout and execution of the tour

• Beer - self explanatory

Before I delve into the suds, let me first tell you about my personal taste. I'll start by saying I am not crazy about very hoppy beer. I don't like IPA's. I think that sort of hop flavor makes the brew unbalanced, as it dominates all other flavors in the beer. I enjoy variety as opposed to being faithful to one beer (I'm kind of lying... I like yuengling lager). Belgian beer is my favorite, particularly sour beer. The absolute best sour beer I've ever had was at Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple, IN. This place also happens to be my favorite restaurant ever, but that's another blog. I enjoy fruity beer, so long as it's refreshing and not overpowering (prefect example is McMenamin's raspberry ale, Ruby). I love trying unusual flavors like Rogue's Maple Bacon Donut or Wells Banana Bread. Oatmeal/milk/chocolate stouts are delicious. Lambic's are tasty, though not very beer-like.
I think you get the idea.

Tour of the Tours - Installment One

Harpoon Brewery - Boston, MA

Harpoon Brewery, my most recent visit, lies on the east side of Boston, right next to the ocean. The atmosphere of this place is bright and decorated. Aside from the wall of very old and rare beer cans, this single beer tasting/merch room has large windows on 3 of the 4 walls. It seems they went through an extensive list of possible business merchandise items ever, slapped their logo on every single one, and put it up for sale. This list ranges from hoodies to snowboards to growler koozies. The overall feel was exciting, though a bit commercialized. The room was small, but not cramped. I liked it.

Brewery tours were $5, and included a tasting glass to take home + beer samples (and of course, the tour!). Our tour was lead by two female tour guides, one of which was one of the dullest I've seen, and the other, one of the best. The better of the two was snarky and cracked some pretty funny jokes. She was a go-getter, and knew every answer to our questions. The other was a bit shy and lacked confidence. She knew the material, but simply wasn't a people-person. The two guides tag-teamed the tour by trading presentations back and forth while we walked through the warehouse, eliminating the time it normally took for a guide to push through the crowed and walk to the next destination on the tour. It was the smoothest presentation of all the breweries I've toured. And also, it was the only tour I've taken where they gave us beer samples throughout, and let us sample from the fermentation tank. The time spent actually touring before returning to the tasting room was about 15-20 short, but information packed minutes. Aside from the one lame guide, the tour was flawless and well thought out.

Ohhhh the beer. At the end of the tour, they brought us back to the tasting room and allowed us to have as many samples as we could wash down in the 15 minutes before the next tour. Needless to say, it ended the like this:

Anyway, they had about 12 beers on tap. Harpoon's pride and joy is their IPA, which you know I hate. But luckily, they offered many other, more tasteful choices to imbibe. I particularly enjoy their series of beer known as UFO (UnFiltered Offerings), in which "the unfiltered yeast remains in suspension, giving this style its signature cloudy color and a soft mouthfeel" (yeah, I stole that from their site). I thought the UFO Raspberry was pretty yummy. But their chocolate stout needed some work. It was definitely chocolate, but it was chalky, overly sweet, and just not something I would ever want. Don't worry chocolate stout lovers, you'll learn about a better offering down the road of this here tour of the tours. The best part, aside from the unlimited beer during a limited time, was the price of the beer. 6 packs were about $6-$7, pretty good right? Well 64 oz. growlers filled with beer were only $9.49, and that includes the price of the growler! ONLY NINE DOLLARS AND FORTY-NINE CENTS!! That means if I work at my job for an hour, I could get a full growler of beer and still have money left for some muchies! It's such a shame I don't live closer, or I would have taken them up on this steal. Really though, if we bought it, Arlo would have only wanted a sip, and I would have ended up drinking the remaining 62 ounces by myself to avoid wasting it. I didn't want to spend my last night in Boston with my face over a toilet. All in all, the variety that Harpoon has to offer is wide enough for any palate (they even have their own hard cider), and it's sold at an unbeatable price. It's really a winning situation. Some may complain that they charge $5 for their tour while other breweries offer tours for free, but it's totally worth your lunch money. If you insist on being so stingy, skip the tour and pick up a growler! This place is a must-visit if you're ever in Boston. It was an afternoon well spent!


Next Up: Brooklyn Brewery - Brooklyn, NY

Basement Music

As an adventurous young child, it was my mission to explore every inch of my house, from the kitchen cupboards to the bathroom closet to the dank basement. All of it had to be discovered.

"Don't go near the stairs." is what my parents used to tell me. Even as a little girl, I understood they told me this because they didn't want me to fall down them. But I would still sit on the top stair, peering down as best I could and listening to my mom doing the laundry. I don't know why it was fascinating at the time. I think the fact that it was dark and cool made it seem inviting. The fact that I was doing what I wasn't supposed to added to the allure. On summer days, the cool air would wisp past my face with hints of fresh linen and good laundry smells. It just felt like the place to be.

It reminds me of how my corgi loves to lay in the doorway between the kitchen and the front room. It's like she doesn't want to miss anything. She wants to make sure that if there's something going on, she's part of it. There's something about being in a central area between two or more commonplaces that makes you feel informed and involved. I think that's why people like living in cities... but my city was the place between the basement and the rest of the house.

Though the top of the basement stairs at my house was a favorite, the most intriguing place was my grandparent's basement, or at least the top of the stairs leading to it. It was absolutely off limits with or without adult supervision, and it was full of interesting, old stuff. My grandfather was very fond of electronics, and also a bit of a pack rat. He was always tinkering and giving my parents the best tips on how to extend battery life. He rigged the basement lights and radio to turn on together with the flip of a switch. I always knew when someone was down there because I could hear the music from almost anywhere in the house. But the music that came from the basement radio wasn't anything familiar from the 80s or 90s. It was so foreign, I simply dubbed it "basement music". It was much later that I discovered it was swing music from the days of my grandparent's youth, the 1940s.

Now, whenever I hear swing, I think of sitting at the top of the stairs, cool air and fresh scent wafting up, and the woosh-woosh-woosh sound of the washer dancing along with the basement music.

Nothing ever seemed more inviting.

Cat Food & Cookies

As children, we are taught the dos and don'ts of life as we begin to explore the new and interesting world set before us. As soon as we become mobile, the world is our playground. And, unfortunately, playgrounds come with rules.

Do brush your teeth.
Don't touch the hot stove.
Do use your please and thank yous. 
Don't pick your nose.
Do eat your vegetables.
Don't go near the stairs.

And yet, we've probably all done the opposite during our early childhood.
Why?
Insatiable curiosity.

And also because we were lazy, impolite, booger-munching monsters that DID NOT consider plants as food.
We were.

Now we're educated adults that understand veggies carry helpful vitamins and boogers are packed with germs. The tangible world has been explored, and we've learned meow mix actually doesn't taste that great.
Curiosity, in this sense, has been sated.

As a boring adult, I look back and wish to be submerged in a world where everything is new once more.
Don't we all?


I mean, burning my hand on the stove was incredibly painful. But before I seared my skin on those bright orange coils, the possibilities were endless. Perhaps, upon my touch, a pretty rainbow would appear with my little ponies dancing about. Or maybe it would grant me the ability to outsmart my older brother.

Not knowing was absolutely enthralling.


And now that I know, it's not nearly as fun.

It seems our whole lives, we thirst for knowledge.
We learn and experience and dabble.

Perhaps this is the reason for death.
When we know so much, the world becomes disinteresting.
So much knowledge leads to so much logic.
Outcomes become too predictable.
Life around us gets increasingly boring with age.

Wonder is lost.








And yet, in knowing this, or at least thinking I do, I say,

"To Hell With Logic!!!".

Was it logical to get a boyfriend at home right before I moved off to college?
Was it logical to move to Portland, OR for 9 months with pennies in my pocket?
Was it logical to plan a year + trip to Australia instead of finishing college?

I could go on, but the obvious answer is NO!


But these are the best decisions I've made in my life!
Why?
Because meow mix may be gross,
but those cookies in the cookie jar are DELICIOUS!
I wouldn't have known the outcome of any of these things
unless I gave into curiosity.
Logic tells me to stick with what I know, but curiosity tells me to touch the stove, taste the red goop they call ketchup, and move to the other side of the country.

There are so many lovely things in life that I'll never know unless I continue to explore with a child-like curiosity. Yes, I'm going to get burned. Yes, I'm going to be uncomfortably unemployed and homeless. But I'll also meet lifelong friends, sample thrilling flavors and textures, and discover buried treasure. I might even find rainbows with dancing ponies.


Or maybe even the ability to fly...

Thrifty Finds

As promised, I present today's bounty...

I visited 4 thrift stores, and bought 10 things:

I got the boys two stuffed animals, and a nice blue sled for Arlo and I!

We tested the sled (as in we both sat in it on the floor), and we both fit! 

I think we're too late for this snow, but we'll be ready for the next!

The alligator was clearly the popular choice.

A bottle opener and a cheese/fruit knife peeler thing!

We were tired of using the hinge on the can opener.

(For opening bottles, not cutting cheese!)

Three books (from left to right): 

1. The Pacific Crest Trail by Nat Geo from the 70s. Arlo plans to

hike the length of it someday, so I thought he might enjoy this!

2. Another Nat Geo book, but this one is about the Sierra Navadas.

It has a lot of pretty pictures. I like Nat Geo books.

3. Enduring Patagonia - to balance out the purchase of two picture books.

I don't know anything about it yet, but I'll be sure to share what I find later.

 

2 shirts for Arlo, one of which is not pictured because he was 

sleeping in it when I took these. The shirt not shown says 

"Easton Farmer's Market". Seems to never have been worn! =)

Total Spent: $22.21

And so I would say my finds for today would rate as very good. The pick of the day would definitely be the $10 sled (though the boys may argue it was the alligator). I looked it up, and it's a Pelican Mega Snow Runner - $25 on Amazon. Not bad! Looking forward to the next snow!!!

Amazombieeeeeeeee Pirates!

This whole night shift thing is really turning me into a restless disaster. On my three days (nights?) off, I end up with this 8 hour block of time during which I can do almost nothing but sit at a computer or eat food. No one is awake, and no stores are open (except for Giant, which is nice, but one can only go food shopping so many times). I sit itching, writing to do lists, and planning out the few hours of daylight I have the next day. I sleep at odd hours - 3 hours here, 5 hours there. Nothing is allotted for a certain purpose. There is no lunch or dinner time, and no bedtime. There are the couple hours of fading daylight after I wake up, in which I cram whatever I can, and then a gradual shift into hours and hours of structureless dark.  Such is the life of a night shifter, an amazombie.

But I'm fighting it. I've already had about 3 hours of sleep tonight (this morning?), and I plan on sleeping for a few more after I finish writing this here blog post. THEN! It's thrifting time. Every so often I hit up the local thrift stores for treasure. This is really about two things: the hunt, and the booty. I've gotten much better at not buying things unless I need them, or really, truly like them a lot. But any treasure hunter will tell you the best time to buy something is when you see it. Balance is key to avoid hoarding everything you see.

I'm actually looking for a few things this time: a tripod, digital photography books, and travel books. I'll be sure to post my bounty later!

Arrrrr! Brainss!!