on THE TAPHANDLE

I started dropping hints to the wife that maybe we needed to turn part of our laundry room in our basement into a beer and wine cellar. I thought it would be a nice place to build a stock of various brews and vintages for entertaining as well as our own consumption. Then I stumbled upon our "starter" stock.

Sometime during the summer, I misplaced a half-case of beer. The wife assured me that it had been consumed during our Independence Day picnic and bocce ball tournament. That seemed like a reasonable explanation until I found the missing beer in the clutter of our basement pantry.

Now I have the most variety of beer in the house that I have ever had at one time, which is nice because I am almost guaranteed to find a match for any dish the wife cooks. (And, no, I am not being sexist in that statement—the wife expresses herself through the culinary arts, and spends a lot of time cooking.)

The current stock of beer includes:

1. Pumpkin Ale by Buffalo Bill's Brewery, Hayward CA


2. Red Menace Big Amber Ale by Hale's Ales, Seattle WA


3. Twilight Seasonal Ale by Deschutes Brewery, Bend OR


4. Buzzsaw Brown Ale by Deschutes Brewery, Bend OR


5. Alaskan Winter Ale by Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau AK


6. Okto Festival Ale by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, Portland OR


7. Steam Pumper IPA by Fire Station 5 Brewing Company, Portland OR


8. Fire Rock Pale Ale by Kona Brewing Company, Kona HI


9. Guinness Draught by St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland
   

So, I guess the dream has somewhat come true. I just need to ensure that supply keeps up with demand!