My Craft Beer Renaissance
I’ve been drinking a lot of craft beers of late. In part because vodka waters just go down to gosh darn quickly. The other reason is I was fortune enough to meet some of the people behind Two Girls One Pint. Now if you’ve been on the interwebs for the past I don’t know umpteen years you’re probably familiar with…peculiar video from whence they got their name. But all that aside, they’re super cool ladies who are also insanely passionate and knowledgeable about craft beer. So they got together and started producing videos of their travels to some exceptional breweries and festivals from around the country. In addition to getting one on one interviews with brewmasters and owners alike, they also offer helpful information for the novices just weening themselves from Budweisers and Millers of the world, and exploring the depths that America’s craft beer culture has to offer.
So yeah, I’d definitely recommend checking them out. You never know they might even influence or accentuate your upcoming travel plans.
Cheers!
Double vodka water
I was in Chicago recently and had a great time. It was my first trip to the windy city and I’m hoping it won’t be my last. Coming from the NYC scene I assumed going in that I’d be hamstrung by the 2am curfew that bars outside of the city are rumored to have.
After beginning the night with a yummy dinner and my signature Stoli and water, the nights drinking was a go. I had my first of several Goose Island Matildas, one of the advantages of being in Goose Islands backyard.
Now many think it’s a bad idea to mix different alcohol types throughout the night, but that’s never been my style. After visiting a super loud place downtown, we went to this nice quiet wine bar call Bin 36. Now I’m not really into your normal reds and whites when it comes to vino, but I’ll have a sparkling wine any day or night. There’s just something about the light crisp notes and the feel of the bubbles on your tongue. We even came back the following night and our server from the previous evening not only remembered us, but even brought out a delicious sparkler for us to taste.
The night eventually ended in a surreal encounter with a couple of Irish blokes on holiday from the states. Aside from the fact they were already quite intoxicated and had been drinking for hours on end when we met them, they were housing double vodka red bulls with a speed I’d never witnessed before. What made the night amazing, was getting to talk about all my favorite British programs like Peep Show, Skins (seasons 1 and 2) and IT Crowd with someone that actually knew what I was going on about.
Aside from the fact we were going strong around 2:30am (that’s when my friend dragged me out of there to ensure we got back to the burbs safely,) I even joined in their double vodka fun by having my first double vodka water. Being as intoxicated as I was, the burn of the well vodka wasn’t terrible, but the next day my throat was reeling from it, though my head was okie dokie when I awoke around 10am. Obviously next time I’ll have to go with a double stoli for that water combo, but great first visit regardless =)
-booze traveler
