3 Beers For Tonight

[Brewsmith]

Tonight is a night for three beers.

Today was my last day at my job. Not because I was let go, but because I have finally hit the turning part in my career. I begin student teaching on Monday so that I'll be done with my teaching credential when school gets out in June, and so I can apply for a full-time teaching job in the Fall. This means that I will be in the classroom all day, everyday from February through June, without getting paid.

So today I left a decent paying job, one with security and benefits, where I have worked since high school for 13 years. I am married and have a five-year-old son, and somehow I have to make the next four months work. Yet, there is not much else I can do to finish my teaching credential, so that I can finally get to doing what I really want to do - teach music.

So here's the plan for tonight: three beers, one each for each of the milestones that are coming together here. One for the past - the familiar and secure, one for the present - the trying times and hardship, and one for the future - the goals and dreams I've worked hard for.

I'm going to dig through what I have been saving and storing for quite some time and I'll share each one as I pull t from the fridge.

 

[philrose]

I'll join you in a toast to "goofy" decisions that we know are the right things to do.

Cheers, and good luck.

 

[Brewsmith]

First Beer

Duchesse De Bourgogne

I've had this flanders red sitting in the fridge for at least a year, just waiting for an opportunuty to be cracked open.

Aromas of sour cherries and a little vinegar. It pours a clear deep amber/ruby color with a very small, tan head. A little acidic and tart, but not puckeringly sour. Flavors are full of cherries and berries without much acetic character. Light and prickley from the carbonation, with a clean, dry finish. Well made sour beers are absolutely fantastic.

To the past - experiences and memories, and a close to one chapter.

Cheers

 

[Brewsmith]

Second Beer

Hair of the Dog - Fred

I've had this beer almost a year and a half. I brought it back with me from a trip up to Seattle over Thanksgiving of 2008. I found it in a bottle shop and had to get it.

Malty aromas with a slight caramely note. Some alcohol notes. The bottle says a Golden Special Ale, but the pour is more amber than gold with a very small head that is almost gone. Malty, slightly sweet, with a plummy, almost vinous quality. Some bitterness, but more from alcohol than hops. Some of the rye character comes through in the finish. Definitely a sipping beer. The rye adds a little more character than say a straight barleywine.

To the present - the hard times and struggles we must endure in life

Cheers

 

[philrose]

Second Beer

Hair of the Dog - Fred

I've had this beer almost a year and a half. I brought it back with me from a trip up to Seattle over Thanksgiving of 2008. I found it in a bottle shop and had to get it.

Malty aromas with a slight caramely note. Some alcohol notes. The bottle says a Golden Special Ale, but the pour is more amber than gold with a very small head that is almost gone. Malty, slightly sweet, with a plummy, almost vinous quality. Some bitterness, but more from alcohol than hops. Some of the rye character comes through in the finish. Definitely a sipping beer. The rye adds a little more character than say a straight barleywine.

To the present - the hard times and struggles we must endure in life

Cheers

There's a bottle of fred that's gotta be a double magnum or something at bottleworks in Seattle. Makes me drool. I want that bottle!

 

[Brewsmith]

Third Beer

A personal favorite

North Coast - Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

This bottle is just under a year old. I received a 4-pack as a birthday gift last April. I fell in love with this beer the first time I tried it and it is my favorite RIS

Aromas of coffee, figs and some slight flowery hops. Jet black with a creamy light brown head. Roasty, chocolaty, full and rich. Some plum and other dark fruit characters from the malt but not sweet or candy-like. A dry roast finish that's not too heavy with bittersweet chocolate notes. This is such a great beer, and I still have a couple more bottles to keep trying as it ages.

To the future - may all of our dreams and ambitions be fulfilled

Cheers

 

[Yooper]

Thank you so much for the reviews of three very different beers. I appreciate you sharing them with us, and your thoughts as well.

It's hard to take such a big step when you have a family, but you know when it's the right thing to do. Good luck to you, and the best to your family.

 

[Brewsmith]

There's a bottle of fred that's gotta be a double magnum or something at bottleworks in Seattle. Makes me drool. I want that bottle!

I bought mine from Malt and Vine in Redmond. I love that place. When I was first in there it just had the row of refrigerators and the wine against the opposite walls. I was in there over the summer and they not only had the huge bottle selection, but beers on tap as well.

 

[Brewsmith]

Thank you so much for the reviews of three very different beers. I appreciate you sharing them with us, and your thoughts as well.

It's hard to take such a big step when you have a family, but you know when it's the right thing to do. Good luck to you, and the best to your family.

Thanks. I had a few other options, but they were either 22 oz bombers, or corked 750's, and there was no way I was getting tanked by myself! I almost cracked open the 2006 Old Foghorn Barleywine. Maybe when I finish the credential.

I have to say that this is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. It's not the classes or the teaching credential process. It's the risk and unknown of it all. If I was just out of college and single it would be a completely different story, but with others that depend on me, it's a big undertaking. This is going to be an interesting four months.

 

[rwinzing]

Good luck........tough choices also means great rewards!

Cheers