The Beer Road

Look.  I sort of left without saying anything.  And I think I owe this to you.

How do I say this?  

I’ve (long since) moved on without you.  

I’m sorry, but there was just so much better beer for me out there.  No, I’m not going to name names….well, ok…there’s this one brewery in Richmond.  They do this Lockout Series – it’s really…good…stuff.  Oh, I guess I shouldn’t say things like that.  

And yeah, I guess it’s pretty serious.  I mean, you know how this sort of thing goes, right?

I suppose I should also give that t-shirt back to you.  You know, the one that I used to wear all the time – what did it say?  It had the name of the county where you were from, and it said “More breweries than stoplights”.  I loved that shirt.  It made me think about how when I first met you, you seemed so down to earth.  But you’ve become just like all the rest since that big payout.  Bright lights, big city sort of thing, I guess. Truth is, I haven’t worn that shirt in years.  I may have even washed the car with it once or twice…sorry.  

I’ll never forget getting a little “lost” in those light wisps of smoke in your Scottish ale, and how easy it was to get along with your Vienna lager in almost any situation.  There was even that one time I enjoyed the IPA.  Sure, maybe it was the time or the place, but it actually tasted pretty darn good.  No, really, I’m not just saying that.

I can’t hold it against you, really.  I know many are saying you’re heading towards bigger and better things.  It’s just that you’ve started hanging out with the wrong crowd is all.  I’m not comfortable with them, even though every time they drink a beer, fireworks, rock bands, beaches, bonfires, or some other fabulous time just seems to happen out of nowhere.  Everyone seems to be having a good time, but there’s something about it all that seems put on just for show.  

You used to love to say that you were part of the Virginia ‘heartland’.  And like so many others who all seem as if they were so grounded in this craft beer community, I don’t feel like that matters any more.  I think I get it now.  Just like that t-shirt, it was all a marketing gimmick.  I shouldn’t get so caught up in breweries that so closely align themselves with where they’re from.  It’s silly, I guess.  I’ve always wanted to cheer on the local places, but “local” seems as if it’s something to leverage nowadays, and nothing more.

I’ll send back that t-shirt eventually.  Oh, and I’ve got another one from that brewery in Asheville that I think you know.  For what it’s worth, they burned me too.  

Pretty soon, it’ll be too chilly to wash the car anyhow.

~ by thebeerroad on August 8, 2017.

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