1. I drove over to CdA this morning and met a longtime friend, Jeff Steve, for lunch at the Daft Badger. Before seeing Jeff last Saturday at Art on the Green, I hadn't seen him since 2010 on Cougar Bay. We had a lot to talk about today -- current things in our lives, past episodes, people we both know, the loss of friends, the puzzling reality of having friends drop out of our lives, and possibilities for the future. Jeff and I have an easy friendship. Whenever we see each other or talk on the phone, the conversation is effortless, fascinating, and satisfying. Jeff often comes to North Idaho this time of year because of Art on the Green and knowing that I might see him once a year is another reason I'm happy we moved to Kellogg.
2. It was a good day for seeing longtime friends. I've know Stu since we were little children in Sunday School uptown at the United Church. This morning, he drove through the heat and smoke of North Idaho all the way from his hillside home near State Line and joined Buff, Jerry, Ed, and me for breakfast. It's quite a trip to make at five in the morning to arrive at Sam's by six and it was really fun to have Stu join in the morning story telling, teasing, and hearty food at Sam's on Friday morning.
While I was eating breakfast, I received a text message from Cas telling me that a rumor was in the air that Don Knott might be in town today. The Deke and I took a rest after Beer Club with Shawn and Teresa and then headed up to the Lounge to see if this rumor might be true. Sure enough, we saw Pat Kenyon coming down the street as we headed up to the Lounge and he confirmed that upon walking into the Lounge we would see Don. Don and I were playmates uptown when our family lived on Portland until 1962 and as teenagers we played golf, basketball, and baseball together and been great friends ever since. We had a good session tonight at the Lounge, talking about baseball and some political stuff and making plans to possibly throw down another drink or two on Saturday afternoon when Don finishes playing a round of golf.
3. Beer Club late this afternoon was awesome. Our theme was fun: bring your favorite beer. Shawn and Teresa brought crowlers of North Idaho Mountain's Blood Orange IPA and Loft Honey. The Deke and I brought Daft Badger's Blood Orange IPA to the table and so we did a taste comparison of the two beers. It was very interesting that we all agreed that the beer from Wallace had the advantage of being fresher than the cans from Daft Badger and so, in this moment, the North Idaho Mountain beer was slightly better. We all also agreed that we had tasted better Daft Badger Blood Orange, especially at the brewery itself, and we would all recommend both beers to all who enjoy this style.
I consider Breakside Brewing's Gin Barrel-Aged Double IPA as one of my favorite beers because it is so incredibly different than any beer I've ever drunk. I love the floral aroma of the botanical Old Tom Gin, distilled by Ransome Wine and Distilling Co. in McMinnville, OR, and I love how the Double IPA absorbs the gin flavors. It's a beer I want to drink about six ounces at a time -- and so sharing a 22 oz bottle between the four of us was perfect. We all agreed that this was one of the most unusual beers we'd ever had and, for each of us, as we dove deeper into our six oz glasses, we appreciated this beer more. Teresa didn't share my love of the beer on her nose -- no problem! -- so she gave me her last swallow of her beer and I was happy to drink a little more.
By the way, I'd just like to say that we are learning at Beer Club to never judge a beer by its first taste or by the first sip. We agreed that many times each of us has begun to drink a new beer and didn't quite appreciate the beer's gifts early on in the glass, but, as we kept drinking it, had it grow on us. I'd say such was the case with the Breakside's Gin Barrel-Aged 2IPA.
None of us, however, needed to give Loft Honey a second chance! We ended Beer Club with this smooth and mighty beer from North Idaho Mountain Brewing and oohed and ahhed our way through the crowler. We agreed that really good beer is brewed in the Silver Valley. For myself, I can't say that I think one of the three is better than the others. I'm just happy that we have such variety and such quality of fresh beer available, all within fifteen minute of where we live. It was really fun to confirm that fact at Beer Club this afternoon.
It was an awesome session.
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