"i like beer....

...it makes me a jolly good fellow". Problem has been, though, that for the last 10 years or so, alcohol doesn't like me. I don't mean in the way that it doesn't like Nick Nolte,  Kid Rock, or this guy:

but I mean that I have developed an allergic reaction to it. At first I thought it was the hops, since I had been inclined to drink beer that was 'hoppy'. So I switched to wine. This tied in with a trip I took to Sonoma Valley, CA back in 1999 or somewhere around there. But wine caused me to break out in hives from the shoulders up, too. And HOT? yep. without looking I could tell you where the hives were. no itching, just heat.

So i backed off. There was one occasion that i recall where i tested my antibodies on a bottle (yes, bottle. dumb.) of cabernet. It was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved. (my continued deep apologies to the fam....).

So i just stopped. Honestly, though, I missed the flavors. I was (mostly) just a one beer guy. I had 'earned' the badge of "beer snob", and I wore it proudly.

Ffwd a few years, and I am reading running blogs. Seems that there are quite a few fellow snobs out here in runner-blog-land. I have found a niche, and I like it here. But I haven't tried the beers, mostly suggested and reviewed by Jamoosh over at Last Mile Lounge.

Until about a week ago. I had had a tough week working in the back yard, trying desperately to create a vacation spot to rival any of the Gulf Coast's attractions  nice yard for our kids and the daycare kids. So I decided that I would try a beer. And if I got hives, well, I would self medicate with Benadryl and take a nap. No biggie, right? Right.

On my way home from errands, I went to try to find me some Dog Fish. And I did. I thought that it would be an appropriate way to test out my new bottle opener, seen here:

 My snobbery has left me with a few steadfast rules. Here is an important one: Don't drink beer that comes in either a can or a twist-off bottle. I must admit that I was a bit nervous that Dogfish might, just might, break that rule, inwhich i would never get to taste it. Lo, this was not the case, and the opener functioned VERY well. Here is an attempt at a one handed action shot with my cell phone:

My father once occupied an office at a top secret location (Red House), and on the wall behind him he had a bumper sticker that read: "Don't eat yellow snow, don't drink yellow beer". Sage advice. The Dogfish I chose was the 90 Minute India Pale Ale. After I poured it, I was very, very happy to see that two bases were covered and that I could get on with enjoying the beverage.

So I did. Lemme say that i was NOT disappointed at all. True to IPA form, there is a wonderful hoppiness to this beer. It dances around the palate, but only lingers on the tongue long enough to make you want to take another drink. No aftertaste. Smooth going down. I could have stood to drink another, but then again, it has been so long since I have had a drink, I don't think that I would have stood for much longer after consuming a second. I only bought one, so the temptation didn't even exist. Huzzah! for planning ahead.

In other news, I received some comments outside of the blog regarding my saying sayonara to juneathon. I greatly appreciate the feedback, and will continue to blog as i am able to exercise. lifting shovels full of dirt and such is considered a workout. don't think so? feel free to stop on by. I have extra shovels.....

peace out! geno