Guinness - Creamy Black Gold!!

Good Morning Fellow Beer Drinkers!!!

I'm blogging today from the Coffee People kiosk in the C concourse of the Portland International Airport, utilizing their free wireless system!! Why don't all airports do this?? Prior to blogging when I was a work-aholic, I was able to catch up on many emails while waiting for my flight since I'm anal retentive and MUST be @ the airport at least 1.5hrs before my flight departs in case security has to dump the terminal and the line is Gi-normous - not that that happens all the time, but when it does, the extra time is needed.

Well, after my 3+ hr drive from Seattle to PDX last night, I was definitely ready for a brew or 2 upon arriving at the old homestead. Unbeknownst to me, my parental units decided to invite family friends over to dine in, rather than meet @ a local pub for our mini-reunion/social gathering. Needless to say, I was a bit bummed that I would not have another opportunity to quaff pints from one of my PDX favs, but Mom has always been an excellent cook (she did not fail to disappoint w/a spinach/shrimp lemon fettuccini that was scrump!) and Dad has taken a liking to the microbrews over the last few years.

So I was able to raid the fridge for a good PDX standbye - one of the last of available Winter Ales for 2006-7 - Old Ebenezer Ale from Bridgeport Brewing. I could wax poetic on this brew for pages, and pages - but I won't. I'll leave my relevant prose for the Chirstmas Season '07 in anticipation of enjoying next year's batch - and hopefully getting a few Hops & Barley Blog readers to attend their annual Ebenezer benefit for the Red Cross. It's most excellent!

Today, I'd prefer to discuss the wonder-beer that is Guinness . My pops had a couple 14+ oz cans of the creamy black gold in the beer fridge, and they went down exquisitely after dinner - and the almost entire bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir I consumed while feasting on fettuccini.....

Many moons ago, as a sophomore @ Harvey Mudd College in sunny Claremont, CA, I was introduced to a brew that was different than the MGD, PGD, PBR, Natty-Lite, Keystone, Beast & Beast Lite that I grew to love as a full-of-piss-and-vinegar frosh the previous year. It was after a short Canadian phase (Labbatt's & Moosehead), that a wise beyond his years upper classmen who remains nameless in my memory - and therefore will remain nameless in my blog - introduced me to Guinness from the keg. I can pinpoint this moment - and the many red/blue 16oz opaque party cups of this sweet nectar that followed - as the beginning of my love affair w/craft beers.

The creamy goodness that is Guinness outfits this particular beer as one of the best of all that I've consumed. It is evident in my lack of negative after effects from last night's Pinot, that the 28+ oz consumed post revelry soothed the savage hangover beast w/it's lower alcohol content - low enough to be served on tap in Salt Lake City - and the creamy texture provided by the now ubiquitous nitro-pill. It is the inclusion of this pill (originally invented by Boddington's for inclusion in their 14+ oz cans) that pushed Guinness into the stratosphere for beers available for consumption sans keg. The nitro creamyness makes Guinness the perfect "morning after" beer for a little Hair of the Dog (great PDX brewer!) to recover from the previous night's debauchary. It also makes Guinness one of my Hot Tub Beers of Choice on ski trips since the nitro-cans are barefoot friendly - and many a ski resort will send someone to the tub to remove you and your glass craft-brew bottles. And finally, the nitro tap makes Guiness the Breakfast of Champions for enjoying on the top deck of your houseboat after the first H2O ski of the day (prior to L5/S1 disc herniation, sniff, sob)!

So I leave you the faithful few Hops & Barley Blog readers with a Prost to Guinness - the creamy black gold goodness and Breakfast of Champions!!!!