I attended a great picnic and concert the other day and sat in the shade
of a huge beech tree and enjoyed summer heat and good music with family
and friends. An idyllic day. What made it best was the food, naturally.
An old friend of the family and famous go-to girl for great dishes at
any party, Trish, came through again with coolers packed with hoagies,
sliced cantaloupe, pasta salad, and fresh baked cookies to name a few.
She and hubby, Allen, also had a cooler full of beer, as did I and many
others parked together around the trunk of our tree near the blankets
and to the side of our camper chairs. My cooler was full of Yuengling
and Corona, old stand-bys. But the interesting thing with Allen's
cooler- no beer was the same!
A few days ago he went to a beer swap. 24 people got together and each
one brought a case of interesting beer, either import, different
flavors, unique ingredients, whatever. They all took one from each case
and wound up with a case of onesies with really cool beers. I sampled a
beer made with real ginger from Colorado, an English ale from its
namesake country, a sparkling ale from Michigan. I saw some hoppy little
numbers from all over the states as well as some dark Guinness-like
stouts. The beer was from all over the world. I want to get in on a beer
swap! It's a great idea because you try so many unique things but don't
get saddled with an entire case if it winds up being gross.
Unfortunately one of the Mexican beers in a clear glass bottle had
skunked, or spoiled, and we had to throw it away. It's also a clever
idea to try something you might not ordinarily pick up or buy, and it's
a great party idea. Share the wealth with other beer lovers, open a few
at the party and take the rest home. What a great idea! Having that many
different beers at this picnic also worked as a great conversation
starter as we all poured little samples for other people and discussed
the flavors and quirky labels of each one. I've attended similar ideas
with wine parties where you bring several bottles and trade, but those
are more expensive to contribute to, and you often end up with just one
bottle of wine rather than a case of beer. It would be fun to try a beer
swap with a few friends too, and get one six-pack rather than an entire
case. My experienced beer-swapper said it's important to set a price
range and make sure everyone sticks to it so no one feels jipped after
the swap. Cheers!
