A Sober Sunday

I spent much of Sunday afternoon--normally a prime post-workout drinking time--standing in line freezing my ass off while waiting to caucus for Obama. I wasn't alone. I'd read in paper that the caucus was at Portland High School and foolishly thought we'd get to go inside the school (we did, but only after a couple of hours). I wore a light jacket and no hat, the snow storm was uncomfortable. Once inside though it was an Obama storm! A landslide. Hope lives!

Back to beer:

I've really been enjoying the Shipyard Brewer's Choice: Royal IPA. My only complaint is that it is too balanced. I really like the taste of hops and the hops flavor gets a little lost in the other wonderful tastes in this beer.

I sampled a couple of these at Flask, a relatively new sports bar on Spring Street last night, before heading home to sample a couple more. Flask is at the site of the longtime gay bar (had several names through the years) between Katahdin and Miyake. Maybe it's still a gay bar, although there was at least one woman among the 15 or so patrons when I left, in advance of a meatball tasting contest. They have a nice (although limited) selection of local brews on tap. I didn't sample the food. The place has a nice local tavern feel but I found the odor of fryolator a little off-putting (although authentic).

What is Portland's best session beer? Two candidates immediately come to mind: Old Thumper and Geary's Pale. I believe I will explore this topic thoroughly once I polish off the last of the Royal IPA I have on hand.