Nailed It!

Our family went out to dinner to celebrate our 6 year old's accomplishment. He finished his phonics level 1. Because I'm the one roughing it out with him, I needed it too. My favorite book out of the 14 other literary wonders was Dog Bug, a short book about a bug in a cup that turns out to be, of all things, a dog bug. So, we went to a local restaurant to have a nice dinner last Friday.

Beer lover that I am, and after pondering on my one of my own recent limns. I wanted an IPA. I asked the server what they had, and I chose the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The server commented a bit about the character of the beer. The discussion then began. DON'T get me started. He then began to divulge, volunteering his knowledge about beer and brewing. "I've been brewing for years now. Got a whole brewing section at home."
"Wow, that's great!" I replied.
He went on gesturing with his hands as if carefully measuring something in the air.
"My friend is a chemist. He's really particular. We made a lager, ales, stouts, but we tried top make a wheat beer one time, you know, a "hefee" but, it turned out blah."
I waited for him to finish, then I commiserated, "Aw, I hate that. All that work."
It was at that time I could not resist a little stab. "I'm curious, did you do a triple decoction* mash on that hefee?"
That's when I got the confused dog look. I then quickly abated. I don't really enjoy joking around like that anyway. But the look was priceless. I then encouraged him and commended him on his past successes. It was all just a bit of good fun.

Instead of cooking all the time, the dinner out was a nice break, and the IPA went well with the wasabi, ahi tuna and spicy shrimp that I had ordered.

I'm really not a difficult person to dine with. Aside from poking my son once in a while to hear him chirp--wife hates that, I am easy going and very polite. And, I nailed it!

*For those of you who do not know the term "decoction mash" it is simply boiling the mash to:

1. break down the proteins in the mash
2. break down the starch as well (most important) in a wheat beer.

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer."--Abraham Lincoln