A New Kind of Trade

When you constantly talk to other bloggers you begin to learn about other interests beyond cardboard.  Just off the top of my head I know we have artists, music lovers, literature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. While we all can talk about the intricacies of 90 Donruss with ease, it is easy to see we are all much more than just cards.

Beyond cards and live sporting events it is travel and craft beer for yours truly these days.  Before my daughter was born I was knocking out books and hunting new music all the time, but certain hobbies had to be prioritized. Today if I'm not talking sports, I'm talking travel and beer. To me nothing beats exploring a new area and the food and drink it offers.  When I travel I often accumulate local beers for my tasting group in Morgantown.  It has been a fun venture that has yielded some great brews.  We call it beer evangelism.

A couple weeks back I was having two separate conversations with fellow bloggers Oscar of All Trade Bait, All the Time and Peter from Baseball Every Night. Oscar and I have talked beer for a couple of years now.  Recently he was at his local brewery and sent me a picture of the tap list. He told me to pick a couple and he would send some samples my way.  I was so excited.  It reminded me of looking at the old JCPenney catalog to make my Christmas list.  Here is what arrived at my door a few days later.

The picture is probably not doing the size of these cans justice.  The brewery calls these bad boys Grumblers. They are 32 ounces of adult beverage goodness.

 The first one up to bat was a gose named Santa Muerte.  For those not familiar with gose beers they are best described as crisp and a tad bit salty.  While it sounds weird they are often very refreshing and make for great summer beers.  This one was outstanding!

 I was most excited for this beer as "Fat Henry" is a barrel aged imperial stout.  This one was aged in a Jack Daniels barrel. The bourbon taste was prominent but not overpowering. The finish was quite smooth.

Thanks so much for the beer trade Oscar.  I look forward to sending you a well curated selection!

Next up is my pal Peter.  Both Peter and I are frequent users of the Untappd phone app that tracks all the different beer you consume. We often comment on each others beer choices.   A couple weeks back Peter and I were emailing back and forth discussing some breweries.  One such brewery was Trillium that happens to be in Peters backyard. Long story short Peter volunteered to send me a sample.

 Here is the haul from Peter!

My daughter appreciated all the bubble wrap.

 Trillium's specialty is the NE style ipa that is super hazy and utilizes a ton of hops.  The taste was very citrus forward.  It was delicious.

 Scaled up kind of looks like urine, but it tastes delicious.

Saison's are a unique in that they taste a tad bit peppery.  I like them, but they are very much an acquired taste.

The only one I have left to try is a Boston style stout.  Looking forward to it!

Big thanks to Oscar and Peter for sending me a taste of LA and Boston.  Such a fun treat to sample these small local breweries.  Keep an eye guys because I have some fun stuff in store for each of you.

Thanks for reading!