Here for Beer
I was never really a big drinker. I was an athlete, so keeping away from keggers and drugs... and boys, was never a struggle for me. I wanted to play Rugby too badly. I couldn't afford to do something stupid that would suspend me or kick me off the team.
Remembering my 21st is always hard, because now I'm turning 30 and I just keep thinking, "where has the time gone?", but my 21st was celebrated with my dad who took me up to Whislte'n Jack's Lodge & Restaurant that served an amazing prime rib dinner. It was a stop up near where the family hunted during the Fall and Winter months. My dad loves telling this story, because he said it was the proudest moment of his fatherhood. Dad- "The waitress asked her what she wanted her first drink to be and Kyrié goes, "whats the darkest beer ya got?", and I just looked up and smiled. I raised this one right!". So naturally, it only made sense that I turned out to be a huge Guinness drinker. I mean dad always told me, "If you can raise the glass to the sun and it lets light through, it aint worth drinking". And Guinness was all sorts of 'right' in my book.
I was able to go to the mother land and make a huge gaping smile in front of the ever worshiped St. Jame's Gate at the Guinness Brewery. Happiest day of my life. And pouring that perfect pint and receiving my certificate, "deadly". I'll see'em again, you cant keep me away from my one true love; "a pint of plain is your only man". Even though I'm a die hard fan now, it still took awhile.
After my 21st I still wasn't much of a drinker. Not until I moved to New Zealand and started hanging out with all these Uni Girls. God love'em! The BBQ joint I worked at in Christchurch carried craft beer from Good George Brewery, NZ. Craft beer was slowly growing in NZ with a few beer festivals and some grocery selection. But there were very few tap rooms dedicated to this industry compared to the states. However, New Zealand is where 'The Hoppy Wanderer' was born. A good pint after a shift and a long day of double jobs. Beer is good for the soul and the broken hearted. I started hanging out with a co-wrker who encouraged me persuing theperfect pint, he was Irish of course. I soon started realizing my persuit of the "Perfect Pint" had nothing to do with intoxication or becoming a more friendly bar fly. It was about the taste and the smells, the colours and the texture. I honestly didnt know a lot about the industry and what all goes into making beer. But I was smitten with this new beer adventure. When my Visa expired for NZ and there was no hope of extending it, I was able to get over to Australia for a month and try their beer. Not much either, but working at an Irish pub, surrounded by a bunch of Irishmen and Aussies, that was an experience all in its own. So we'll save that for another blog.
After arriving home, I followed my Mum to Yakima, WA, USA. Because she had an extra bed for me to lay on. And as everyone else states, Yakima just kind of sucks you in to the point where you never leave. The Valley of Hops, where we produce over 76% of the Nation's hops( and just out beat Germany for the biggest world distributor of hops on the planet, 2019). The craft beer scene in Yakima is finally getting its legs after the rest of the world has been reaping the rewards from our hops. It seems we all have The Beer Shoppe to thank for that, every brewer I've talked to has been influenced by the 'Shoppe' in one way, shape or form. I was lucky enough to work there. But, many who remember the good 'ol days, remeber Bert Grants and his deliscious Porter. Or the fun times that were had at Bob's Keg and Cork. I never experienced any of these things sadly. So I try to latch onto the stories of these craft entrepenuers as much as I can. I wish they could have stayed around or even just held on until I got here. But, times change and so do tastes and preferences. The craft beer world stayed pretty dormant until the early 2000's. Then we had a massive surge in 2016 with over 5,000 breweries operating in the USA and just three ears later 7,000.(CraftBeer.com, 2011).
So back to me. I was here in Yakima, WA when the only breweries were Yakima Craft, Hop Nation, Snipes, Bale Breaker and Iron Horse. Now Iron Horse and Snipes Mountain were a bit of a drive. But, not even a year after I arrived Yakima had it's own boom of Craft Breweries. I now am able to imbibe at; Wandering, Berchmans, Redifer's(No longer in production), Valley, Hop Nation(No longer in Production), Hop Capital(used to be Yakima Craft), 5th Line, Single Hill, Bale Breaker, Varietal, Snipes and soon to be a couple places in Selah. But this doesnt include the amount of tap rooms dedicated to the craft beverage industry either. We now have the Public House, The Kiln, The Tap and Schab's Bier Den(my family owns this one). All of these places have different atmospheres and different products to offer. And honestly, most of the restraunt bars and taverns even have at least one or two craft beers on tap or in cans and bottles. But not only do I get to imbibe at these places but I also found a job working for a hops distribution company where I am also involved with the Sensory team(I taste beer and smell hops). I've got it made baby!
Until Next time Hop Heads, Cheers!
