Beers Throughout the Years...

I didn't get too much sleep last night; unfortunately I'm still caught up on my ex...Anyways while I was up I started thinking about the last 5-6 years or so and I came to the conclusion that a blog about the beers throughout the years would be a cool one.  So that said let me take you back in time on a beer voyage through time...

2004 - This was the year I graduated high-school and first arrived at the University of Conn.  This was the year of the party beers.  For the sake of argument, party beers are beers who come in 30's and are still cheaper than a 12 pk of Sam Adams.  Around my dorm the big winners were Keystone Ice and Busch. Oh do I recall the nights down the hall pounding down the watery-piss flavored liquid that was labeled 'beer'.  Funny thing, I didn't think I liked beer in 2004...

2005 - This was the year I started seeing my first serious girlfriend, Kayla...it was also the year I got dumped on my ass by said first serious girlfriend...Though I would say I made a big leap forward in maturity, my taste in Beer did not...But I did take a liking to Rolling Rock during all those nights that fall and winter when I hung out with my buddy Sean. This change was perhaps a catalyst for the beer greatness yet to come...

2006 - In 2006 my taste buds discovered more mature lagers...a baby step towards the IPA's, Stouts, and numerous varieties of ales I enjoy now.  From Rolling Rock, I came to enjoy Heineken and XX.  My love for XX only flurished on my spring break trip to Cancun (so to did my love for pina coladas and Margaritas, which you can so seldom drink not in a tropical setting without getting made fun of...damnit!) as it was essentially the only beer served down there (besides corona, but seriously who the hell wants to drink that crap?).  That summer I moved into my first apartment with my ex girlfriend Elizabeth, who was 21 (I was not yet).  And so it became that I started to drink some of what I will call sophisticated Macro brews...

2007 - The sophisticated Macro brews are well essentially Sam Adams.  It's a beer that is widely distributed throughout the country and yet has far more variety and flavor than the anything else on tap at the local college bar. My first Boston Lager was heaven...and so I decided to have my ex gf buy me mix packs.  And so I discovered their Ales and darkers Stouts and Porters.  That summer I broke up with Elizabeth...but I turned 21 finally and found myself a new girlfriend - microbrews. It started with the smaller macro's - for example Sierra Nevada or Harpoon.  And then I finally came across Magic Hat.  I was originally introduced to Magic Hat by a friend who was obsessed by #9.  It was a little too girly for me, but my first sip of Circus Boy, their Hefeweizen, was indeed magical.  I proceeded to be one of few who tailgated football games with a micro, not one of the Party Beers...Then in October, I met Katie and my beer love took a seat on the backburner.

2008 - I was still head over heals for Katie for the remainder of college.  Though I didn't forget about my beer love it was not quite as important as it seemed before.  But in June I bought my first brewing book: The Joy of Home brewing by Charlie Papazian.  Then in late august we sort of separated...And so I had some more time to go discover again.  This time - Dogfish Head.  It started with the 60 min ale.  WoW! Hoppy and delicious!  Then I discovered their 90 and 120 min Ales - not only filled with a wonderful balance of hops and other flavors, but also loaded with alcohol.  The 4 pk of 90 min ales is still enough to get me kinda drunk. And into the fall I went, still at the drawing board trying to get Katie back...

2009 - By January I somehow managed to get Katie back.  Things were right again.  Yet one big fight in February broke us up again.  The distance between us was an incredible weight on our relationship (among other things) and I once again found myself wondering how I could let the perfect girl slip through my fingers.  But to keep me from getting too lonely I took up a couple of new hobbies.  Firstly I went back to playing golf - which is now one of my favorite ways to spend a beautiful day.  But more importantly I brewed my first beer - a classic American Pale Ale...Since then I have brewed or assisted in Brewing 7 batches and am in love with the hobby...I am also still in love with my ex Katie though. So "with my hands open/and my eyes open/I just keep hoping/That [her] heart opens".