TYPE OF BEER: Imperial Stout
DATE CONSUMED: 9/07/19
BREWERY: HI-Wire Brewing, Asheville, NC
PURCHASED AT: Eric’s Grocery Bag
ALC/VOL: 6%
COLOR: Black
You know, I don’t know when, where or how it started, this whole idea of having a beer after a hard day’s work, but personally I love it. The idea of a congratulatory “job well done” beer is something special. There’s nothing better than taking a sip of that cold one, looking at what you’ve accomplished and saying “YUP!” and sipping again. I do my best to uphold this tradition, trust me.
This past Saturday was a perfect example. Wait, hold on, let me back up just a bit. Earlier this summer Christina and I decided that this year’s summer project was to show our most favorite, screened-in front porch some love. To understand the full scope of this, the front porch is pretty much where live and spend the bulk of our time once the weather turns nice. We eat out there, drink out there, hang out with friends out there, listen to music out there, watch movies out there, we’ve even slept out there. Last year all the work was inside the porch, this year… out there.
We shored up the foundation, built new lattice, replaced rotted wood eventually moving on to replacing screens, painting and finally landscaping. We’re not at that landscaping point yet (my favorite part), but Saturday was all about replacing screens and starting to paint. It was an all day thing. And I do mean all day! But, the new screens are in, started to paint, we’re almost at the finish line!
At the end of the day, I’d decided it was time for that “job well done” congratulatory beer, but the fridge was empty! It happens sometimes, so off to my most favorite beer store, Erik’s Grocery Bag. Conveniently located less than five minutes away I might add. BONUS!
Erik’s is like the candy store of beer, or as T.J. likes to call it, “Beers R Us.” It’s pretty amazing. Their selection of over 1200 craft beers can be overwhelming, but what’s better than being overwhelmed by craft beers? You tell me. You’ll hear T.J., Jamie and I mention Erik’s often.
I have my good ‘ol standby beers, but I also like to try new ones and that’s what I was going to do on this day… try something new. I’m a sucker for a coolly designed label and this one got me. I saw it from a mile away in the cooler and when I read that it was a stout too, that just sealed the deal. I’m buyin’ it and I’m tryin’ it.
The first taste reminded me of a coffee stout, but the second added a little bit of coconut which is weird because there’s no coconut in it. It went down oh so easy and didn’t leave a heavy after taste. The super cool thing about it though is when you poured it. It’s dark like motor oil. Man was it good. I may have had another one after writing this review. Or during. Or both! It’s definitely one of my new favs.