A Beer I Actually Like

OilMan, being a double IPA man would no doubt be horrified by the mere thought of a raspberry flavored wheat beer, but given the fact that I am not and have never been a beer girl, he was happy enough to find something that I liked….

We went to The Barlow in Sebastopol on an errand today, and I strayed into my favorite clothing boutique there. Since he dutifully followed me in I sensed that he was doing his best to be a good boy and asked him if he liked the way this sweater or those trousers looked. His instant response was, "Oh I love them!" I burst out laughing because I knew he'd say he loved me in a brown paper bag if it would get him out of the store faster. Since he was trying to be a good boy,I suggested that he go across the road and get a beer….

He was back two minutes later to say that he had found a new place called The Crooked Goat and was going to try that. It was actually so new that there was no name on it so I had to peer into several places before I found him. .The Barlow is a complex of apple packing sheds which have been repurposed into shops, restaurants, tasting rooms and now two breweries, and they all have a rather minimalist industrial look. Being well into his first double IPA, OilMan thought the decor was just wonderful. 

Craft breweries are becoming almost as numerous as wineries around here and we are starting to see minibuses offering beer tours…with that amount of competition there has to be a gimmick and ridiculous names for the brews were pretty popular for awhile, although they didn't attract me. Stone Brewery's 'Arrogant Bastard', Orkney Ale's (yes that Orkney) 'Skull Crusher' and Rogue's (Oregon) 'Dead Guy' Pale Ale come to mind.

Nowhere except on the can, yes a can , did it say where we were but the beers seemed to have sensible names and when the bartender noticed my reluctance to order one for myself she suggested the raspberry,. "Made with fresh raspberries" she said and I had to agree that it was delicious. It didn't taste like beer at all. 

Pleased to have found something I liked, OilMan ordered three 'crowlers' which turned out to be three very large cans which were filled and sealed while we watched. I hope I don't have to drink a whole one by myself before it goes flat. As I said, everybody has to have a gimmick these days, but for someone of my vintage, going back to beer in cans and wine in screw tops hardly seems trendy….