This being Valentine's month and all, I thought I would reminisce a little about my First Love.

For those of you, say, under 35 years old, there once was a time when good, craft-brewed beer was hard to find. You just didn't see it everywhere, with the exception maybe of a couple of establishments. And when I was 21 (1989, ouch), I wasn't yet sure I really cared or knew the difference.
College was all about the Schaefer barrels and Busch Light bar bottles. Yeah, we've all been there. Money talks. Or whispers, as the case may have been. You haven't lived until the furniture in your apartment is made out of Busch Light bar bottle cases. Ahh, sweet effervescent nostalgia. And yes, that was the last time I bought an AB product.

Then, it was all about the Rolling Rock. The "33" (how many times did you count the words on the backside of that bottle?). The green, painted-label bar bottle. Yes, I had arrived and could afford the good stuff. (What the H-E double hockey sticks is their current marketing campaign all about, anyway?). I was a little bit cooler than the poor sap who decided that Budweiser was the evolutionary path down which he should embark. A path not unlike that of the platypus - singular, lonely, one-way ticket - nowhere to branch off.

My wife and I had two parties to attend last Saturday night. A good old-fashioned doubleheader. In my baseball days, we used to have a saying the morning of a doubleheader - "It's a good day for two". Well, it was a good night for two.
The first was kids included and was a great time. Some hearty soup, chowder and chili were in the offering. Yum. And the hosts knew what they were doing with brew selection as well. Corn chowder and Gritty's Black Fly Stout was a pairing that worked well for me.
The second, and later gig was across the street at a neighbor's house. And for those of you that don't live somewhere where you socialize in your neighborhood (and actually enjoy doing it, without all of the BS that can come with neighborhoods), please accept my most heartfelt and sincere apologies. There's nothing like being with friends - good food, good drink, good music - and then walking home.
A side note on this gathering - there was live music. Talented musicians, at least two of which could really get it done with a fiddle. It was an absolute treat.