I can't believe more than two weeks have passed since I last wrote here! My social calendar has been more than a bit full, but still, I should have carved out some time to write. My bad.
I would tell you that not much has happened during this time as an excuse, but that isn't true at all. My wife and I have bought a house in the Catalina foothills outside Tucson with great mountain views and a shorter drive to the beer store, which is important. I'm also more encouraged than ever about achieving my goal of tasting 524 different beers in a year's time.
Why is that?
Oh, well, thanks for asking, I'll be happy to tell you.
A couple of reasons actually. First, I stopped by a Total Wine store in Phoenix last weekend and discovered they had a better selection than my local store. This means I have another option besides all the other options when the choices begin running low.
Second, I'm going to be traveling to Asia and Europe on business next month for two weeks. Imagine the number of different beers I can sample over that time period that I can't get here!
It's still too early to celebrate, but I'm feeling better about my chances now than I was when I first started. Beer-wise, I'm about forty percent of the way through the quest in thirty percent of the time. I love having that cushion so that I won't be scrambling near the end. If I can cross the finish line early, that would be ideal.
Some really good beers I've sampled over the past couple of weeks include Taddy Porter from Samuel Smith, Raspberry Brown from Lost Coast, Orchard White from The Bruery, Somer Orange Honey Ale from Rogue Ales, and Santa Fe Pale Ale from Santa Fe Brewing Co. All scored very high and are definite recommendations.
The stinkers include Coney Island Albino Python from Schmaltz Brewing (style was listed as Vegetable and had a sour lemon and pepper taste) and Heineken and Beck's regular and light versions. It is a tribute to advertising that skunky, nasty beer is thought of so highly by the masses.
For my 200th rating, RateBeer presented me with a short video of Kermit the Frog singing and receiving grand applause at the finale. I'm beginning to look forward to hitting milestones just to see what surprise they have in store for me.
As an added incentive, I find that I am climbing up the ladder of raters. The number of people in the 100 Beer Club (100 ratings or more) is 3325. I am listed at 2169, a couple hundred spots higher than two weeks ago. How cool is that?
Life is good and so is beer!
Here's mud in your eye! That is courtesy of our friends across the big pond in the UK. Supposedly it's considered vulgar, but I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it has to do with what type of mud is in your eye?
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........201.....109
Remaining.....323.....256
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