the session

Don’t forget The Session #24: A Tripel for Two on Friday. With a little prodding from Alan it would appear we are ready add a little Twitter this month.

Twittering is strictly optionally for bloggers, but this form of “micro-blogging” means beer drinkers who don’t have blog can participate.

Back to your assigment, from host David Turley:

“Beer is best when it’s shared, and a strong beer is just right for sharing. Belgian Tripels are big beers with a flavor profile that is enjoyed by both experienced and new beer fans. Be it an intimate evening, or watching a ball game on TV, a Tripel is made for sipping and sharing. For Session #24 the theme is ‘A Tripel for Two.’ What Tripel would you pick to share with that good friend, family member, or lover?”

And I’m choosing . . .

Beerme (Mike) at Beer and Firkins has posted the roundup for The Session #23, a round of looking back and forward.

And February host David Turley has picked what some of us would consider a romantic theme for #24: “A Tripel for Two.”

If you have a beer or beer-related blog, it’s easy to participate in The Session. Pick a Belgian-style Tripel to review. Tell us why it’s your pick to share with that special someone. Be sure to include a review of the beer so that others might be inspired to choose that beer for a special moment. Bonus points if the person with whom you are sharing the beer includes their review as well.

The date is Feb. 6.

Now the shameless plug. If you want to learn more about tripels you’ve got time to order and read “Brew Like a Monk.” My wife, daughter and 16 customers think it is pretty good.

This is my contribution to The Session #23. Visit Beer and Firkins for the roundup of what dozens of bloggers had to write.

The question: What will you miss about 2008 and what do you expect will excite you most in 2009?

Let’s start with the second part of the assignment. a) I don’t have a clue what beers will leave me babbling or where they will come from. b) I’d like to see 2009 be “The Year of The Session” but is that something you’re supposed to get excited about? c) I am looking forward to tasting what’s new in New Mexico when we get home.

Now back to 2008. Should we talk about moments or particular beers? You only get one “first time” with Isabelle Proximus. And when will we next hike to an overview of Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier, then refresh ourselves with Alaskan Stout?

With that in mind I made a quick list of five things that we did or drank in 2008 and surely won’t in 2009, or perhaps ever again. Not meant to be inclusive and certainly not ordered.

– Opened a 1968 bottle of Thomas Hardy’s Ale. That’s the cork on the left, leaving the impression the beer was in a hurry to come out and meet us.

– Slept in the Bell’s Brewery parking lot. We were sober, sleeping in our beds away from home (the RV), and John Mallett offered us the place to park. Impossible to resist.

– Drank Zoigl beers on Reunification Day in Germany, the only day each year all the Neuhaus house breweries serve their beer.

– Discovered the keller beer Back Street Brewing in San Diego served during the Craft Brewers Conference in April.

– Opened the bottle of Cantillon’s Rosé de Gambrinus we hauled through 13 countries. When we bought the beer at the brewery in September they suggested we let it condition as long as possible, until the last night of our trip, making it the last beer we had in Europe. It got warm in the car and it got cold. No other bottle will taste exactly the same.

Beer and Firkins has announced the topic for The Session #23 (Jan. 2) and it doesn’t exactly fit into a short headline:

What will you miss about 2008 (feel free to list your tasting notes, if that item is a particular beer) and what do you expect will excite you most in 2009, in the “Beer World”? Again, if that is a beer, what about it is special and worthy of being excited about?)

I’m posting this as we prepare to head off to the somewhat snowy Franconia countryside. Yesterday I finished my last interviews, for the wheat beer book and a magazine story I’m working on. Seven notebooks are full, so no taking of notes today.

But I know I’m sure going to miss the swath of beer drinking land between Bamberg and Prague. Maybe that’s what I’ll write about. I promise not too be long and to include something about actually drinking specific beers. This topic leaves room, you’ll note, for a simple drinking note or two.

21st Amendment has posted the roundup for Session #22: “What Does Repeal Mean to Me?”

If you are working on a term paper about beer blogging and want examples of the diversity of the beer blogosphere I’d suggest starting with December Session posts.

We’re only talking about a few dozen of the hundreds of beer blogs operating, but a pretty interesting tip of the iceberg.