A guest topic from my friend Tom R. (whom I know prefers beer and is the go-to-guy for the whole beer-experience) I give you… Beer vs Wine
Beer is convivial conversation …
…with a lively group of friends who manage to remember about every 6 months how fun it is to get together for dinner. This fond recollection is inspired by someone’s discovery of a new brewpub. It’s bear-huggy, back-slappy, big-grinny fun interrupted only when we all seriously confer with the bartender about what they have on tap and are regaled with tales of porters, pilsners, ambers, and lagers – complete with history.
We all order something different and taste each other’s beers. Honest eye-rolls of delight or disgust or don’t-care-one-way-or-the-other are shared around. This visual expression is especially helpful for the friends on one end of the table who absolutely cannot hear what the friends on the other. Did I mention that brewpubs are loud?
Absolutely everyone in the party – can we believe it’s been 6 months? – approves of everyone’s selection. “Well, that is so dark that it sucks up light like a black hole. You’re so adventurous. Congratulations on a great choice!”
“Oh, I took a chance and I usually love ambers but this one’s just not doing it for me? Oh, trade? Sure! This is much better. Are you sure you want to? Thank you!”
That’s Beer. Beer is Awesome.
Wine is swinging in the skychairs…
… at the end of a summer day and decompressing with the hubs. Lovely occasions where I worked from home that day and he was out building something and getting thoroughly filthy. Wine de-edges the interesting parts of our days, our thoughts, when we rocked, and when we foibled. The sky is blue, the flower pots are abundant, and we should have brought the bottle outside with us.
The days events blend into how cool it would be if we did this or that and how glad we are that we put in the butterfly bush. Our skychairs are inches from all the monarchs. We have never seen so many monarchs. This summer must be especially good for monarchs – there’s so many. Where do they go when it gets chilly? Did we bring the bottle out or just talk about bringing the bottle out?
Wine does double duty as Wine O’Clock.
I’ve hit a stopping point where if I force myself to keep plugging away, the work will become plug-ugly. The light above my desk goes off. The curtain to my office is closed. There’s a box of Pinot in the fridge and some sturdy glasses that I got for $0.50 a stem at the thrift story I love. You know, the place that supports the food pantry in Cedarburg? Great glassware.
I’ve made a nest in the corner of the loveseat in the bay window and there’s that evening flush of crystal light to make keeping me peeping out the open curtains. Me, my novel and that glass of white. And, when did the dog curl up next to me?
That’s wine. Wine is wonderful.
I’m Susan Scot Fry, the author of “A Year of Significance”. Honest, occasionally humorous and sometimes I swear.
A Year of Significance 