One Year Later

A year ago I started photographing every beer I drank. It was a simple project aimed at documenting beers so I could remember the good ones and more likely the terrible ones. My friend Carlos said I should start a blog, so I did. I drank more beer, and I lurked on message boards. I tracked down good beer,highly regarded beer, and weird beer.

And then we went to Europe and everything got more serious. We visitedbreweries. We toured labyrinthine pubs. I drank three new beers a day. It was amazing. And we visited Brasserie Cantillon, the most amazing place on our trip. If one place convinced me that beer is worth the trouble, it was Cantillon. They still make beer the old way; and I wanted to know more about it. I started reading books about beer soon after. I love drinking a beer and explaining it’s origins to my table mates. I’m not sure if they appreciate it. When we came home, I kept trying to find new and interesting and delicious beers. And we started the Oregon IPA Invitational, a competition to find the best IPA made here. I even tried my hand at brewing — with mixed results.

So what next? I don’t post every beer I drink any more, but I do carry a note book with me everywhere. I haven’t visited even half of the breweries in our fair city. I want to branch out and learn more about other beverages. I want someone to teach me how to appreciate wine and whiskey. I want someone to explain why it’s sometimes whiskey and other times it’s whisky. As much as I love beer, you can’t drink it at nine a.m. So maybe I should look into Portland’s other favorite beverage, coffee.

We’ll see what happens. Thanks for reading and have another great year of delicious beverages.