Whew!

First morning I biked to work - took me a tad over 15 minutes, but I was biking pretty hard. A little bit hot when I got here, but not too bad really. I may try to do it more, but give myself a little more cool down time when I get here - I kind of did it on a whim this morning and didn't leave myself much cushion....about 3 1/4 miles.

Try microbrews in the water bottles.... it should help.... Although I guess I will probably have to ship them out to you first

P.S. I went to the Brew fest 3x last weekend.... Bridgeport Hop Czar (an Imperial IPA) was damn good, so was this Ginger Ale (which is more like a beer with a refreshing gingery after taste than a pop as you might think) on and the Hop Head Red was damn good too (it was like a red combined with an IPA... mmmmmm I had a lot.... mmmmmm)

My favorite was the Pliny the Elder from Russian River.

Sweet malts that are quickly overtaken by a grassy hop flavor and bitterness.
The hops are very robust and complex with tastes of citrus and pine as well.
The bitterness builds to a very pleasant level, far less than I expected from the aroma.
And it finishes incredibly clean.

Yum!

Each pint reminds me that Pliny quoted Virgil just before he died at Pompey with "fortune favors the bold"
Some say he actually said "fortune favors the Brave"
Either way, it didn't work out so well that time .

Oh-- did I mention I walked into my local pub and it's now on tap?

Now I can have it every day.

I cant believe I manage to schedule my out of town vacation every year on the weekends of the brew fests. seriously. I think I have only been able to go once in all my years here.

I am buying my 2009 calendar now and plotting them out.

Pliney and the Ginger Ale sound great.... I have a hard time steering away from Widmer Drop Top Amber, however. It makes me happy.

I'll take a case of the Imperial IPA.

Its a brand new one....

http://blog.oregonlive.com/thebeerhere/2008/07/bps_hop_czar_impy_ipa_on_shelv.html

(Fitting that was my 100th post...)

The new addition to the Pilot community, aka... my 2 week old son kept me away from the brewfest this year sadly. I am jealous. Guess I will have to wait for the Pilot Club for my obligatory summertime beer in a tent experience

congrats!!

Thanks Rochin, being a parent is already a rewarding experience, and I know it will just get better. Cant wait to break out the soccer ball when he gets big enough.