Finally

I had big plans for this blog. I was going to do a second award article about the worst beers I tried last year, the coolest bottles and the best beer trips and destinations. The problem was planning it all and trying to make it perfect. The next thing I was going to write about was the top albums of 2008. I was going to post the list I came up with based on an equation I used to sort out the top albums after looking at about seven different end-of-year music lists. Then I was going to list my own favorite albums of last year and songs too. That didn't happen because in an effort to make everything perfect and finding the perfect time to blog I never got around to doing any of it. It is now almost six months since my last post and now that information is kind of pointless. I need to stop thinking and start blogging. So here is a very abbreviated version of it all.

Budweiser Clamato was the very worst thing I drank last year. If you don't know, it's a mixture of beer, tomato juice, clam juice, lime and salt. The large, 24 oz. can reads, "the perfect combination." I agree. It's the perfect combination if you want to know what it's like to vomit backwards.

The coolest bottle was almost definitely Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale. I mean, what's cooler than a 22 oz. Red bottle with skulls on it?

One of the best beer trips my then girlfriend and now fianceé went on was to the Goggle Works studio in Reading, PA. They had an exhibit about the artwork that goes into the packaging of beer. They showed the progress from sketch to actual label, or six pack carrier for some brands. For others their were original paintings that were used for labels and even some hand-carved tap handles. It might sound a little boring, but we're both graphic designers and it was very cool. Plus we ate at Canal Street Pub, one of the best places I ever had a beer. They had things I never see on tap, they had the proper glassware for just about every style of beer you could imagine and the bartender was very knowledgeable. They had Rodenbach Grand Cru on tap so I ordered it with my dinner, a sushi tuna steak salad. The bartender brought me over a glass of water halfway through, knowing what a powerfully flavored beer I was drinking. Then when it came to dessert the bartender got into a pleasant argument with me about what we should drink. We were splitting a chocolate peanut butter cake or pie and I was ordering a Youngs Double Chocolate Stout. He agreed it would go nice with the cake, but knew I had, tried both beers I was drinking that day before and he was insistent that I try something I never had before. The beer he described sounded great and I knew from the style that it too would be great with dessert, but I had to let the poor guy down. The reason I ordered the Youngs was because I had to drive and knew it was low in alcohol, and the beer he was offering had a much higher ABV. He understood but looked disappointed as he went back to the others at the bar, talking them into trying something new. We need to get back to that place. (Sidenote: we tried last month, but the bar was closed on Monday for the 4th of July holiday. We were very disappointed.)

The top 5 albums according to a combination of a bunch of different lists were:

5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

3. Lil' Wayne - The Carter III

2. TV on the Radio - Dear Science

1. Coldplay - Viva la Vida

Some of my favorites, in no particular order, were: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges, Kings of Leon - Only By The Night, The Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark, Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons and The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely.

Best song by far was Hayes Carll - "She Left Me For Jesus".

So that about does it for last year. Maybe sometime soon, I'll get to this year.

Drink it in.