In keeping with that I'm delighted to report a departure from IPAs! Too bitter. I'm much happier and hopeful these days. I want a beer that is lighter and reflective of my new outlook on life, but still has a strong personality. An afternoon/late morning (Manchester United) beer you can drink without guilt, something that'll make me sit still when there's a Mariners game on. And what I've been craving is AMBER ALE (which so should've been my stage name).
On my quest to find the perfect amber ale I think we need to start with a beer very close to my heart...and childhood house...Redhook ESB (5.8% ABV / 28 IBU)
I grew up in the shadow of this brewery. Twice. I'm an Air Force B.R.A.T. (Born Raised And Transferred...no, not really). The most difficult question I face is, 'Where are you from?' 'Um...???' Cricket. Cricket. 'Everywhere? Nowhere? Got another question for me?' We did 2 stints in Seattle, Washington, the second being when my family retired and settled there.
Changing schools halfway through high school SUCKED (but it wasn't as bad as having to change dance studios, though that certainly prepared me for what I was about to face in the strip club and chorus girl dressing rooms of NYC. Bring it bitches). I remember the first day of school eating my lunch in a bathroom stall...like Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls.
Whenever I drive past my old high school my stomach hurts. My chest hurts. When I'm out and about I hope to Goddessoursallah (God/Goddess/Source/Allah...run 'em together and it sounds like a dinosaur, right?) I never run into anyone from high school. I didn't go to any of my reunions. I lost track of the few friends I did have.
Elementary school was awesome, though. Kids are so much kinder before puberty. Girls are the friendlies. Boys are the enemy. And tetherball is the great leveler.
A while ago, I was parked outside of my old elementary school. It was August so school hadn't started yet. I was baked to the gills and mourning my childhood, having had a colossal fight with my mom the night before. Yoda was wandering around sans leash. There was a new fence around the playground, so I couldn't get to the old tree I used to play on. A nice looking guy in his mid 40s came out of the building. "Is that a corgi?" Yoda will always believe he's a rock star. "Yes," I said wiping my tears. "Sorry. A little emotional today. I used to be a student here." I mentioned my first grade teacher. "She just retired." "No!" "Yes. Would you like to come inside for a tour? Usually no dogs are allowed, but this is a corgi. I love corgis." Enchanting little dwarves. Oh I can say dwarf.
It was surreal, seeing the high tech renovations that had been made, remembering what it used to be, watching Yoda run up and down the hallways...hey...he's the closest thing to a kid I'll ever have. "It's always nice to get a visit from our alums, find out what they're doing now..." I wanted to say, "I'm an adult entertainer," but I went with something less shocking. After our tour I thanked him, put an exhausted corgi in the car, and continued revisiting the ghosts of my childhood.
What a wonderful place it was to live and go to school. The child part of my childhood was actually really happy. Fun fact: Kevin Spacey's parents rented our house between Seattle stints 1 and 2. His mom would always send updates of his theater career in NYC, before The Usual Suspects. At 16, I wrote him a letter asking if it was better to go to a regular university drama program or a performing arts school in NYC. He didn't respond. To be fair, I never respond to anything. Stoner.
Redhook is 5 minutes away. I'd been there countless times, but had never taken the tour until that visit. So glad I finally did. They have a massive brewery (all their beer is brewed and bottled on site) and restaurant in Woodinville, WA (which I nominate for alcohol capital of the Pacific Northwest). Tours are $5, you get a souvenir glass, a 5+ beer tasting (wish I'd known that before I'd downed a pint at the bar), and a tour guide who won't stop practicing his mediocre stand-up comedy on you. Afterwards, I highly recommend you stay and enjoy their delicious pub grub and spacious outdoor patio, though I prefer to sit indoors at the bar. A good bartender can make any date feel like a threesome.
Every time I visit my folks I'll make it a point to go to Redhook. As I crack one open right now I'm transported to Safeco Field, or Ivar's Fish and Chips, or water skiing on Lake Washington.
I don't say go home. It isn't my home. It's where I spent 5 years of my childhood. After 17 years in NYC and 3 in LA, I still didn't no where to call home...until I ended up here. Oregon has grabbed a hold of me like the tentacles of the Sarlacc. I've never felt more at home in my life. The weather. The trees. The air. The people. The water. The wine. The weed...I feel like a salmon coming home to spawn and die...except for the spawning part. These are crazy eggs. The world does not need more crazy people.
Speaking of, it's so nice to be able to say I have an aunt, uncle or cousin in EVERY city in Oregon...Eugene, yes. Bend, yes. Corvallis, yes. Salem, yes. Portland, yes. Roseburg, yes. Coos Bay, yes. North Bend, yes. Medford, yes. Grant's Pass...um...wait a minute...no one I can think of. Almost every city in Oregon. Both of my parents were Ducks (University of Oregon...not actual ducks...I haven't completely lost my mind). My family roots run deep here. The land I'm on goes back to my great great grandparents.
Today when people ask me where I'm from, I cannot tell you how healing it is to finally have an answer.
I'm from Oregon.
Now hand me that awesome beer from Washington.
Blue Tint Cerakote & Gynoug in Texas
ReplyDeleteIn the year 2019 we have the release of Blue Tint titanium shaver Cerakote. Tint infiniti pro rainbow titanium flat iron Cerakote® Gynoug in Texas titanium solvent trap monocore (Texas, ecosport titanium USA). babyliss pro nano titanium curling iron