IT WAS A DRINKY OLD TIME, FRIENDS! Fine beer, fine food and fine friends. And then more beer. Folks gathered at our house around half past twelve and we set out on the (slightly longer than I had said it was) walk to the lovely Red Carpet Liquors. There we came upon several tents, tables laden with krauts---er, kraut---and brauts and potatoes and... why... there was another tent... a tent where upwards of 15 kinds of BEER were available!

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Friends, it was a lovely time. A tasty time! A Belgian Beer tasting time! Sergeant Stout, Admiral Ale and Brigadier Bock gathered around with 'ol Captain Beer and we strode over to the superlative Red Carpet Liquors---one of Mrs. Beer's and my favorite haunts!---and reveled in good beer, wisdom and revelry! Yes we... we reveled in revelry. Well, see here, smartass! We did: What tales have I to tell! I mean... what tales have I to tell? Why don't you read on!?!?

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Guys: I am not sure what to make of this. I gave my IPA a taste just before bottling. It was both hoppy and reasonably bitter, almost to a point of harshness. Completely understandable--after all, this was a very young IPA. Fast forward to last night. It's been in the bottles for a week, and I began thinking about how the flavor is refining. My wife suggested I open one; after all, I have 50 left. Impatient as always, I quit brooding over the issue and stuck one in the fridge. A couple hours later, I opened it, and was delighted at the sound of gas escaping as I used my favorite wall-mounted bottle opener. It whispered to me, "Psst! I have bubbles!" as the cap came off. At least it carbonated, so I had surpassed the Sarge's carbonation issue. The good half of the story ends right about there.

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