Failte!

Beer has always held a special place in my parents' refrigerator. We existed like many other Chester/Delaware County, PA families- Irish, Catholic (“Catlick,” if from the area), more-children-than-the-national-average, attended private education, living and dying by the Phillies schedule, blue collar father, and pink collar mother. My father would sit at dinner with his can of beer and I would sit to his right hoping to catch at least a sniff. "Bub...stop that," my mother (who will be endearingly referred to as either "Sue" or "my Sue") would exclaim.

Let me pause to explain Bub. Unfortunately, Bub’s origins are not that exciting.

"Bub...stop that," Sue would exclaim. I knew this mysterious, kind of bubbly, pale yellow liquid was more than met the eye. After a can or two of this elixir, my dad went from bouncing with energy to sleeping awkwardly with a hand down his pants. This magic potion brought my mom from her fair skin to a rosie-cheeked lass with a cackle-y laugh. I knew I must have a sip.

Fast forward 15 or so years. I am not here to write about my childhood alcoholism, or my parents’ for that reason. I am not trying to promote the luxury of getting so drunk you offend yourself the next morning. Rather, I am here to appreciate and to celebrate beer. I want to talk about and to hear about favorite tastes, favorite breweries, favorite bars, best selections, best events, and your best memories made with beer. I am not trying to say I know everything…or even anything…about beer, I am forever learning and looking for a new experience. By entering this page you have volunteered to take part in my life in a small way. There will be a lot of themes (as I love a theme).

In this writing, I want to prove that it can be socially acceptable to have a beer taste on a beer budget.

Raise your glass; let us share a moment or two. Slainte!