Thought for the day

"He was a wise man who invented beer."

- Plato

Lost in Conversation

I have found myself of late thinking about how many times I may have taken friendships for granted.  How I may have missed an opportunity to grab a cup of coffee or sit by the firepit and just sit and visit.  Yes, life gets busy, we have a family, work and responsibilities.

Craft beer has been just the answer to that problem.  No, I'm not drowning my sorrows.  It's been the opportunity to slow down and enjoy something special, something that took time to create and something that we should take time to enjoy.

Sitting down with a friend over a finely brewed malted beverage is the opportunity to converse, to listen and to slow down.  It's just not that often these days that we separate ourselves from this hectic world and its fast pace.  From our computers, email and text.

So, to the brewers who take the time to create something special, to be savored and enjoyed, I raise my glass.  To my friends who have enjoyed a malted hopped beverage and several hours of conversation with me, I appreciate you, your time and our friendship.

A fine craft beer, like a true friendship is meant to be savored!

Cheers

Thank you Ernest Hemingway

The interesting thing about writing is the way that it evolves.  I began this journey in writing and sharing my thoughts just four months ago.  As something I've never before done, I allowed it to coax me as it may in whatever direction it chose.  In a sense, I allowed it to become it's own adventure.

It quickly became apparent that in this journey, the search for foundation and meaning were deeply rooted.  My story was my question, the matte silver keyboard, my listening ear.  My pursuit allowed me clear and concise communication, for the first time, pure, without interference.  

I began the arduous task of ridding myself of clutter and distraction, which reared its head in many forms. Visually apparent, possessions were first to go, however, it was the new-found realization of the unseen that proved to be most freeing.  To unburden oneself, is to live life more fully.

Straightaway, I've been overcome with a deeper desire for knowledge and understanding.  The answers to my questions don't lie in the arrival to any given point but in the expedition.  Those I meet and interact with on a daily basis, through situations good, bad or indifferent, have the potential for eternal effect.  That effect becomes choice.

Yes, one can begin down a given path, leaving each fork in the road to chance or be calculated, strategically mapping out every turn, however, to truly experience life, to put pen to paper we must surrender control, for we have none.

Cheers

Memorial Day

Remember the reason for the day off and for a picnic with your family.

Rarities

In the last month I've experienced some of life's rarities with my kids, not for any other reason than simplicity and a great family experience.  They also happen to go very well with a good craft beer.

So with the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, grab the cooler, the tent, some folding chairs and a raincoat and take the kids somewhere fun, even if it is the back yard.

Here are some great family activities;

Canoeing
Hiking
Playing Uno
Skipping Rocks
Bicycling
Enjoying a Firepit
Sitting on a Dock
Reading a Book
Swinging at a Park
Rock Wall Climbing
Fishing
Playing Bocce Ball
Pinecone Baseball
Legos

Be safe and have a great holiday weekend.

Cheers!

Bubbles?

To pick up the morning paper, flip on the computer or just shoot the breeze at your local watering hole, Craft Beer seems to be the topic of choice as of late.  What some may consider great news has others both hesitant and concerned.

How much is too much?  With the not too distant memory of the Dot-com crash and Real Estate bubble, you can't help but wonder if the beer industry is getting a big head (pun intended).  Venturing into restaurants and pubs as of late, talk is swirling of such and such brewery startup and looking for an aspiring brewer to pursue a new venture.

The answer.  American's consume beer and better yet, we are demanding better beer.  Craft Beer sales in the United States still accounted for only 5% of sales by volume while beer sales as a whole declined by 1.3% as reported by the Brewer's Association.

What does this mean?  There's nowhere to go but up!  In a market once dominated by mega-breweries, brewing sub-par brew, we are demanding better!  We want bigger flavor, better hops and locally owned and grown.  We want IPA's, Saisons and even Gluten Free.  There is a market and it is experiencing growth due to demand.  Want a good Craft Beer?  Hop on board and enjoy the bubbles!

Cheers

What is with that ring?

NY Times

I'm not a huge fan of reposting as I want to share my personal experience in my words.  However, this was a great recent article in the NY Times on Craft Beer in Bend, OR.

When the economic analysts write the final memo on how this Cascadian playground got its buzz back, they might not title it “How Beer Saved Bend.”

They will probably feel it is important to give appropriate credit to the tech start-ups, the stock market resurgence and the fact that before, during and after the recession, this place never stopped being a beautiful delusion of high desert, vivid skies and ski-perfect peaks. They will probably also note that full recovery was a long way off: unemployment was still in double digits, construction jobs were mostly gone, the real estate rush was not what it had been.

But anyone who cares more about a good story than an authoritatively accurate one will know better than to get knotted up in such nuance. Besides, who can economically analyze anything when one hand is holding a cold one and the other the handlebars?

“Oh, that’s Boneyard! That’s Boneyard!” yelled the big boys on the big bike, all 12 of them. “Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!”

They were aboard the Cycle Pub, which is just what it sounds like, and if it is possible to slur pedaling, they were doing it. Their destination was Boneyard Brewery, one of the more recent breakthrough breweries in this little city so gloriously deep in the cups that a genuine economic analyst really was prompted to pore over the data.

What it showed was this: While places like Seattle and Denver and Brooklyn and Delaware can claim impressive craft brewing scenes, and a weirdly large number of people nationwide now speak of hop fetishes and beer crushes, Bend is a per capita powerhouse. With 80,000 people surrounded by not much of anything — with no Interstate and the closest major city 160 miles away across steep and snowy mountains — beer has had room to make a difference.

And it has.

“Deschutes County breweries and brew pubs reported 450 jobs in 2010,” Carolyn B. Eagan, a state economist, wrote last fall. “That is 15 percent of all of the brewing employment in the state. For a county that had 4 percent (one of every 25 jobs) of the state’s total employment that year, one out of seven jobs in Oregon brewing is quite impressive.”

Just four or five years ago, Bend was a New West boomtown, one of the fastest growing municipalities in the United States, luring Californians and others rich with real estate equity to buy relatively inexpensive homes here. Then it all fell apart. The housing market collapsed, employment plummeted. People who had been wealthy enough to live off investments and rental income no longer could.

Beer endured.

“What we did for so long was just take advantage of the land we have,” Ms. Eagan said in an interview, noting that, although Bend is slowly growing, people are not flocking here the way they once were. “Well, you can’t export land, but you sure can export beer.”

Of course, much of the appeal of beer in Bend is being here to drink it. Eric King, the city manager, said that since last year the city has collected more in hotel taxes than surrounding Deschutes County, where people might stay to ski or bike.

“Now we’re sort of seeing this shift of people coming to Bend as an urban environment and coming here specifically for beer,” Mr. King said.

Gary Fish founded Deschutes Brewery with a single brew pub in 1988, a few booms and busts back. Bend was a struggling timber town, “a desolate place,” he recalled.

Over the years, Mr. Fish became increasingly involved with local business leaders, joining and then helping lead Chamber of Commerce and economic development groups. He also fostered what became something of a salon for aspiring brewers, who in turn went on to found breweries of their own.

Bend had become a Black Mountain, a Silicon Valley, a Napa. Spinoff ventures emerged: the Cycle Pub, which has expanded to other cities; an Ale Trail through town; Silipints, a company that makes silicone beer glasses.

“You have to thank Gary Fish for kind of creating that culture,” said Larry Sidor, a former brew master at Deschutes who left last year to open a brewery of his own this summer, CRUX Fermentation Project. “It’s been kind of a training ground, a spawning ground for the craft movement.”
Purists worry that the culture is being diluted, of course. Some even fear a “beer bubble.”

“They’re trying to make it Beer City, U.S.A.,” said Rob Leonig, a regular customer stopping at Boneyard on a Friday afternoon. “There’s always other breweries opening up, and I’m worried at some point somebody’s going to start making some junk.”

Then Mr. Leonig handed over his growler bottles for a refill.

“But I do love beer,” he said.

Wild at Heart.......

As simple as the title of the book was, it resonated with me, and still does.  As men, we desire to live the desires and dreams of our hearts from the time we were boys.  We want to live a life of risk and adventure.  We want to be a hero and we want to be a warrior.

“Don’t climb on that, don’t break anything, don’t be so aggressive, don’t be so noisy, don’t be so messy, don’t make such crazy risks. But God’s design–which he placed in boys as the picture of himself–is a resounding yes. Be fierce, be wild, be passionate.”  
John Eldredge, Wild at Heart

The stage was set by Tobin for Mancation 2012, Bend, Oregon.  I've planned and coordinated trips in the past, Seahawk games, Mariner games, skiing, etc., but haven't truly experienced that "Wild at Heart" mentality as I did this weekend since I was a young boy on camping trips.

Waking up in Central Oregon this past Saturday morning, that inner desire was purely evident.  The 11 men present wanted to be messy and noisy, we wanted to be aggressive and we would climb on that because we are men.  We were competitive, we shared stories, we traded stacks of poker chips and we drank great beer (and some of the "Root" version).

We lived what we often subdue!  We must allow ourselves to be the men we were designed to be and not the emasculated version society imposes on us, for at the end of the day, after mountain biking, fly fishing, rock climbing and poker, there wasn't a man in the room that wasn't on the phone with his wife and kids.

Live life, be a man!

Cheers

Glassy, early morning on the Deschutes

In Awe!!

Rock Climbing above Benham Falls

Kayaks on the Deschutes

Part of our "Motley Crue"

The Circle of Life

If you'd asked me a year ago what I'd be doing right now, I'm sure I would have guessed, living part-time in McCall, marketing craft beer and growing out my hair.  In fact, I would go so far as to say I'd probably have guessed driving an '86 Saab wagon and wearing a Kavu hat and a pair of Teva's.

Sure I would have and there's no sarcasm in that answer!  If I just throw in, the transition to a primarily organic diet, the addition of some Tibetan prayer flags and occasional documentary viewings, I've become a granola!?!

All joking aside, I didn't anticipate being here and I couldn't be happier.  As a young boy, I grew up in the outdoors, lived on the farm, set siphon tubes, rode horses, went camping and fishing, but somehow, I lost track of those simple things.  I got distracted by stuff!

Yes, I've written about it before, it's just interesting to revisit from time to time.  Life has a way of circling you back to your roots, to what shaped you, if you allow it too.

Cheers

Friday Post

I was unaware that my early morning post yesterday had not published pre drive to Bend.

I'll save it for Monday.  Have a great weekend!

The Road Goes On Forever.....

"Do you mind driving back and forth to McCall several times a week, isn't that like a hundred miles each way?"  I've been asked the question numerous times.

I worked in an office for seventeen years.  I sat behind a desk, entombed within the taupe walls of a commercial building and encased in glass.  I rolled back and forth across muted gray carpet in my high-back chair and stared at outdoor landscapes  on my computer screen.  What do you think?

The melting late season snow releases some of the most powerful whitewater in the Northwest, crashing and breaking over perfectly placed boulders.  Deer and moose graze on fresh sprouting greenery in shaded canyon openings.  A bald eagle dives at a calm spot in the river to return, clutching a rainbow trout.

Previously unaware that they traveled this far inland, 30 to 40 pelicans feed on fish at the base of the dam, just outside of Cascade.  A fox and her pups, play in a meadow in the cool evening air.  Two cedar adirondack chairs sit, side by side, on the sandy bank of the Payette, just before Smith's Ferry.

No, I'd rather be stuck in an office on the phone!

Cheers

On a Whim

Approaching life through the eyes of a child is just not something we as grown, working, providing adults do.  We have a status quo.  We can't be so spontaneous, dream big or go and play on a whim.

It was the first canoeing of the year and the kids couldn't wait until daylight the next day.  All common sense said, wait until tomorrow, it's too much work, it's too late to go down to the lake.  Staring up at me with big brown eyes, excited to do something they'd never done before, they said, "Dad, please let us go on the canoe, please."

Reluctant, and for no good reason, I obliged.  I went on a whim, I was spontaneous and we went canoeing at sunset.  Of course they/we had a great time, but as in most cases, the one who learned the valuable lesson, was me.

View life through the eyes of a child.  Approach life with wonder and amazement.  We lose that perfect awareness the older we get. 

Cheers 

Stumped

Do you ever shut down?  I'm there.  The words aren't flowing, the thoughts and the meaning that I know are there somewhere just aren't as apparent.  I'm just here this morning.  I've delayed this post about as long as I can, looking for the important topic.

Craft Beer just isn't going to do it today.  Maybe it's just a day to ponder, to reflect upon a culmination of the past weeks happenings, conversations or thoughts.

The reality is, it's not a bad thing.  I just haven't had this kind of writer's block before.  I am quite certain I've not shared every thought or experience that I have to share either.  So, here it is.  Todays post is this, "I'm stumped, but, I'm honest."

Cheers

Do wiener dogs have knees?

There are a handful of questions in life that just don't have a good answer.  It doesn't, however, mean that they aren't good questions.  A good question is designed to have us consider the idea.

Now, obviously, I'm not seriously asking if wiener dogs have knees and I will have a point to the topic.  So, the questions is posed.  What is it that you discuss?  Whether with a cup of coffee and a colleague, a few pints and some friends or the opposite end of a phone call, conversation and discussion is eminent.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

There is a progression, conversation generally has a tendency to go in the wrong direction.  None of us are above it.  Have you ever considered your general topic of discussion?  Does it lean in one direction or another?  Do you challenge yourself to engage in topics of edification and building up, in ideas to further your intellect?

Plain and simple, "People have a tendency to talk about people."  The "why" is a good question.   Remember, whomever is a gossip to you, will be a gossip of you!

Cheers, to the quest for ideas!

A Tribute to Mothers

Yes, it's sappy!  It Mother's Day!

This life affords us many things, both needs and wants, necessary and frivolous.  As we grow into adults our lives are shaped into the people we become by many avenues.  Yes, ultimately our choice as we act an react, but shaped in part due to strong influence.

Not entirely sure how to put this little tribute together for Mother's Day, I've jotted some thoughts down in a "poem-esque" (absolutely just created that word) fashion.

Mother;
Childhood nurturer,
bedtime story extraordinaire,
nurse of bruises and bumps,
teacher through giving of time.
Full-time home janitorial service,
short-order cook and
scheduling director.
Author of fun!
Friend,
listener,
consoler,
biggest fan!

Cheers to my beautiful wife who is a wonderful mom to our children and to my mother.  You've both had a strong influence my life.  Even if you don't like the title of my blog, mom!

Happy Mother's Day

Community

I just wasn't happy with todays piece.  I know what I wanted to say and when I read what I'd written, it didn't convey my thoughts appropriately.  Too many questions?  Not enough personal experience?  Maybe both.

The topic of community is the direction I wanted to go.  It's grown in both awareness and importance with me as I've spent time in McCall, Bend and in my hometown.  We hear of the word in such comments as, "community events" or "getting together to help out our community" but often it refers to the place we live.

Community is that group of people that surrounds us everyday, whether we think of it that way or not.  It's those that we allow, maybe unknowingly, to have an effect on our lives through day to day events.

I was drawn to the Craft Beer Industry as a whole due to this very topic.  I enjoy the sense of openness, sharing, collaboration, warm-welcome and candor that comes in this industry.  There is certainly a desire to make money and to support one's family, however, each knows that as a community working together, the industry as a whole is better.  That is what makes everyone in this industry successful.

Who is your community?

Cheers

Celebrate Artisans

Most of us have a nagging fear of the unknown.  We've been taught, subtly, only to reach for what we can grasp, what is traditional and what we see right in front of us, day after day.  Most of us are inherently risk adverse, we feel uneasy at the thought of branching out.

Our country was not built on comfort.  We were born of passion and vision.  We are risk takers armed with fortitude and determination.  It should be of no surprise that the Craft Beer Revolution is American born.

America's Craft Brewer's are artisans.  There is no canvas, no brushes or paint, the Craft Brewer's medium, is beer.  They purpose ingredients, grown on our soil in hopes of delivering their masterpiece.

Join in the opportunity to celebrate and support our local brewers, visionaries and the American product that is Craft Beer.  Celebrate the success of this grass roots movement.  Celebrate American Craft Beer Week.

Cheers

Idaho Craft Beer Schedule of Events

Payette Brewing Co. schedule of events for American Craft Beer Week

American Craft Beer Week, May 14th - 20th

Whisper

She leaned in and whispered quietly in my ear, "Daddy, I like you better now that you don't work so much."  The words of a child carry more weight than that of any Wall Street Executive, at least, they should.  Their words are true and they are unblemished by the many clutter we, as adults, fill our lives with everyday.

She doesn't care about my 401k, if we own or rent a house, if the lawn is a few days past due for a mowing or I have an important business call I need to take during family time.  She just wants my availability.  She wants time, all kids do, and up until now, she hadn't vocalized it so clearly.

It's not always as simple as Daddy, I want you or Mommy, I need you.  It may be a look or it may be the 7th time today they've asked you to play legos or go to the park.  Children desire to be with their parents, until, one day, they don't.  As the cliched statement goes, "that day will come all too soon."

This weekend, I didn't work so much.  I played, I listened, I enjoyed and I grew, yet again.  It's amazing what your children say if you allow them to whisper quietly in your ear!

Cheers

Short, sweet and to the point

"Few things give depth of meaning to life like that of a true friend.  Someone who knows you, better than you know yourself.  A friend can see a situation from the outside, in.  A friend can remove your barriers, observe your personal debris and still decide to stay.  Of thousands of acquaintances, you must work diligently to live a life with but a few friends."

- Aaron Fulcher

Yes, I've decided to tag that one myself.  It's unlike a majority of the topics I've written on and yet, potentially, one of the most impactful in my life.

Cheers, to those who know me and still return the call.

Cheers......to me, hah!

As is common with time at the cabin, I run into just that, time.  Looking back over 3 months of personal content that I have written, I am thankful, encouraged and excited.

First, I'm thankful for the opportunity that I have given myself.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I'm thankful that I allowed myself the opportunity for this journey, these experiences and a trip down the road less traveled.  And, just so it doesn't go without say, I'm thankful for my wife's consent.

Second, I'm encouraged that an average individual like myself can share my thoughts, the lessons I'm learning and a few of my favorite craft beers with each of you.  I'm encouraged as I read and see firsthand, the life changes and transformation that has taken place in my life in just a short period of time.  If this stubborn, bull-headed man can change, there's hope!

Finally, I'm excited for what's to come.  The upcoming jobs and projects confirm that I've made the right decision.  I'm excited that a passion can create a niche market and from that, spawn a new career.  I'm excited, that there is life outside of an office and behind a desk.

And, I'm excited…………to have a pipe and a pint of Black Happy, ABA from Salmon River.

Cheers to the most difficult decision I've made!  Hey, you've got to give yourself kudos every now and then.  Be your own biggest fan, just, not too big!

The Trade

As the cabin nears completion, it's changed, I've changed.  Sure, the changes are for the good of the modern world, but they lack the simplicity that called me here for the first month and a half of my departure from corporate life.

Candlelight has since been replaced by a fully operational light switch, the army cots in the bedrooms have been stowed to make room for the beds and an LED display now sits in the living room, staring back at me.

Tonight, I'll return to what welcomed me some 4 and 1/2 months ago.  The warm glow of the open fireplace and only the sound of the crackle fill the air.  No lights, just a candle, my computer and a pint of my old favorite, Salmon River Brewery, Chunder Stout.

It's been quite a journey thus far.  I've traded my suit and tie for a flannel shirt and ball cap.  My wing-tip shoes for a weathered pair of Redwing boots, my briefcase for a backpack and an office for the outdoors.  But most importantly, I've traded my distractions for my family and my stress for freedom.

Life is a gift and I have no regrets!

Cheers

The IPA

What is it that constitutes a great IPA?  In recent weeks and months I've had the opportunity to share a pint with friends and acquaintances and there has been one constent, a good 50% - 75% are in the dark about IPA's.  I'm not speaking of Black IPA's, I'm talking about a misconception of the India Pale Ale.

The most common thing I've heard is that IPA's are too hoppy.  Let's first understand that there are many different types of hops.  A hoppy beer can mean one of two things, first the hops used may be bittering hops, used specifically to give the beer a slightly bitter taste.  Second, hoppy can be defined as smooth and aromatic, giving a floral, grassy, citrusy or earthy flavor to a good beer.

If your making the jump from the macro breweries (Miller/Coors, etc.) to a micro-brewed craft beer the first thing you need to know is, unlike "the big boys", microbreweries tend to use high-quality hops and in much larger quantity as well.

Thoroughly confused and with no desire to try an IPA, I accidentally had a hoppy beer about three years ago.  I wandered into a tasting room in Denver, Colorado and tasted pure, smooth, aromatic, hoppy beer.  From that point on, I understood that quality makes all the difference in the world.  The IPA has become my achilles heal and so, I will share a list that I recommend for tasting.  Don't just poor a pint and try to power it down.  Sit down with a friend or colleague and "taste" the way a good hoppy beer should.

Great Divide, Hercules, Double IPA  (The Beer that introduced me to IPA's)
Odell Brewing, Myrcenary, Double IPA
GoodLife, Mountain Rescue Pale Ale
Ninkasi, Tricerahops
Boneyard, Hop Venom
Sockeye Brewery, Dagger Falls IPA
Bear Republic, Racer 5
Pyramid Breweries, Discord, Black IPA
Deschutes, Hop Henge IPA
Dogfish Head, 90 Minute IPA
Avery, India Pale Ale
Great Divide, Titan, IPA
Laurelwood, Workhorse IPA
Lagunitas, Hop Stoopid
AleSmith, IPA
Russian River, Pliney the Elder

Go enjoy Hoppy Hour!
Cheers

New Brewery in.........

Some important news of note for you craft beer enthusiasts as Meridian will get it's first locally owned and operated Microwbrewery.  Enter, Slanted Rock Brewery, which will be located at the High Desert Marketplace in Meridian.  Yes, the news is a little dated, however, I'm attempting to get more info than just reported by the Idaho Statesman.

Slanted Rock Brewery plans to open in the fall, they currently have plans only for a tasting room (no kitchen) and a 15 Barrel Brewing System, which will follow the same business model as both Payette Brewing Company and Crooked Fence Brewing.  This will certainly keep the valley's Food Trucks hopping, no pun intended.

The new brewery, owned by Bob and Alesa Lonseth will serve four staple brews initially.  A Kolsch, an IPA, Imperial IPA and a Scottish Red Ale will adorn the tap handles in the new Meridian Tasting Room.  Being natives of Meridian, it is reported that they both wanted to operate in their community and support their local economy.

Cheers to Bob and Alesa on their new venture and many successes in the future.