I know this is a blog about beer, not people. And, typically I would be disinclined to stray away from the topic of the malty, hoppy goodness that is the nectar of life. However, there is one person who is so singularly fascinating that I would be utterly remiss in not sharing him with you and the world.
His name is Kyle; he is my number one fan - think
Misery -, his passion is beer.
He and I are so remarkably in-tune when it comes to our tastes in beer it borders on supranormal. Actually, there's not much that we
do agree on other than that beer is über yummly.
Take, for example,
A Little Sumpin Wild by Lagunitas. Kyle is not overly fond of Lagunitas nor is he a fan of A Little Sumpin Wild. To quote him, "
Am NOT a fan of wild at all." I, on the other hand, love Lagunitas beer and I adore A Little Sumpin Wild.
And then there's
Via Cordis by Two Roads. We both agreed that it had definite hefeweizen characteristics. However, he tasted malt whereas I didn't get that at all. I thought it was more of a hefeweizen meets saison with a touch of lemon and spices.
And then the
firkin of Sour Cherry and Mosaic dry hopped Honeyspot Road at Two Roads last night. Despite that it was a casked beer he expected more of sour type brew. It was exactly what I expected and more.
There are more examples of our sometimes diametrically oppositional taste buds, but you get my point.
That's the great thing about beer. There are so many different varieties and styles that there is something for every palette. What I find most interesting is that two people can taste the exact same beer and have a completely different experience.
Anyhoo, back to Kyle . . .
I met him at
Two Roads Brewery one Friday night not so long ago where we chatted over a couple glasses of casked
Jalapeno Pils.
A week or so later I was at my favorite beer store when I spied a young man of almost 30 years of age and unusual stature by a kiosk offering samples of Oskar Blues beer. Not only was he hogging the attention of the Oskar Blues representative but was also blocking all access to the tasty samples that beckoned. That person was none other than Kyle. I never did get to taste any of that beer.
During the course of a conversation at Two Roads we were discussing what rare and unusual beers we each had stashed. I had stuff he hadn't tried and he had stuff that I coveted. So, we decided to make a trade - an
Alaskan Smoked Porter for a can of his
Heady Topper. A trade that is still a point of contention to this very day.
Read the Heady Topper post for more details.
Kyle is a good guy but he's somewhat delusional. He
thinks the wire brush of facial hair he's sporting is as soft the down on a baby's bottom. When in fact, I still have abrasions from the briefest contact from posing for a picture with him last night.
He also seems to think he has cute feet.
No man has cute feet and I am under the firm opinion that not only should men NOT where flip flops but should also keep those puppies completely concealed. Ew.
One thing that we sorta kinda agree on is that neither one of us is a beer snob. We both will slam back the the occasional macro-brew because there is a time and place for every type of beer and sometimes you just want to knock a few back and catch a good buzz.
However, he seems to think just because Coors Light comes in a chemically reactive can that turns the mountains blue when the beer gets cold that it's superior to Keystone Light. Yeah, well, Kyle guess what? I took the tour of the Coors brewery in Boulder Colorado and you won't believe what the tour guide told me. He said it's the same beer packaged in different cans and sold at a different price point. So, your stinkin' Coors Light isn't better than my crappy Keystone Light. It's just more expensive. So stick that in your glass and drink it!
I'm just bustin' chops, cuz that's the way I roll.
Kyle's a cool guy and a good sport. He might even be moderately cute. And, he can take a good ribbing. Kyle knows and has good taste in beer. I actually do enjoy discussing beer with him and sharing ideas about styles and characteristics.