The Tour Begins!

• I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.

- Frank Sinatra

So tonight I started my world tour of beers at the Winking Lizard. I plunked down my $20 and looked at the list of about 200 or so beers to choose my first one. So difficult to choose, should I go for a draft or a bottle? So many choices.....

Then I saw it, a beer I heard about from a guy I met at the Portland airport who I struck up a conversation with about beer when he saw me reading The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian. We started talking about homebrewing and that led to what beers we enjoyed. I saw one of his recommendations to me on Winking Lizards list... Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. This is a good beer! It has a nice red color to it, smooth mouthfeel with a bit of bitterness at the end but enjoyable. I'm starting to enjoy the bittern flavor of the hops. As I continued to peruse the list of beers I noticed the ABV on this one is 9%....and I'm drinking it on an empty stomach...

Dogfish Head 90 Minutes IPA

Needless to say I didn't drive home. I finished my first of 100 beers on the tour and again returned to reading the list and trying to figure out what I wanted to try next. I ended up going with New Belgian's Fat Tire, an amber ale. If you have read any of my earlier posts you may remember that I had previously tried Snapshot by New Belgian, a wheat beer, and wasn't all that impressed. This one was a different story. It has a fantastic medium body to it. No bitterness whatsoever. It was very refreshing and I could see drinking this one on a hot summer day. It also came in a fantastic glass, you may see it again.

Fat Tire by New Belgian

 So the tour has started and by the end of the year I need to have gone through 100 of the 200+ choices to earn my jacket. There is a halfway gift of a hat and a stretch goal at 150 of a hooded sweatshirt, that's my ultimate goal. I will have to return to the Lizard shortly to try the glass of the month, with the purchase of the beer you get not only the glass but a t-shirt! 

I will also come home with the list of beers available for the month to scan and post. I'm looking for suggestions to drink, what are your favorites? After I post this month's list let me know what your recommendations are. Until next time....