(another quick break)

If all goes according to plan, I should be done with my semester in about 6 more hours.

It's been a bit intense this past week, nay, this past month... forget it. Crazy semester. I accepted my fate as a not-straight-A-student years ago, so I manage to make time for other things once in a while. Yesterday I visited my Grandma and Great Uncle up north to bake some Christmas treats and have dinner. Afterward, I visited that dude I'm dating. Fear not, I graded exams all the while.

We'll come back to the story of my yester-eve in a few moments, but first a complete digression. Something important to know about me is that while able to handle various forms of technology to some degree, I tend to be a moron about the newest-fangled stuff. Yesterday, Paul sent me an updated version of his beer list via Google Documents. I have never seen this before. It took me a while to figure out how to download it to Excel, a form of technology I seem to have down pretty well these days (Excel 2003, that is). I figured two things out pretty quickly-- Paul's never had Rogue beers?! and between the two of us, we've tried about 275 different beers (I am a WIZ at stats in Excel!...2003).

Anyway, and I promise I'm coming back to that story I started with, one form of kinda fancy technology I sort of have down is the "text message", although I have a tendancy not to text people back, sorry. I even know how to delete or not delete text messages. Occasionally, Paul will text me with an outrageously awesome beer suggestion. I don't delete those. One time he texted me "Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. Need I say more?"

This is where all of this comes together! My dude had a Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout for me! And it was awesome. Paul and I share an enthusiasm for Imperial Russian Stouts. It was a great suggestion. The only problem? I went to write notes about it on my list... AND IT WAS ALREADY THERE. First of all, I'm embarrassed to have forgotten such an excellent beer. It's very strong tasting, kind of a porter flavored stout, but so good. Paul's notes mention this beer's high alcohol content. It's probably true (well, definitely true, the bottle says so) but I drank it slowly so I didn't notice so much. Second of all, the note that was already on my list said, "Really thick and heavy and flavorful" but after last night, I would probably drop the second adjective there. Is it weird that I really don't find a lot of beers that heavy any more?...

Paul needn't say more. It was an excellent suggestion and I'm not sad that I've had it more than once, only that I had forgotten it and that the score remains the same. Now, time to get back to writing my final paper (which is based on some fabulous statistics I did in Excel 2003!) and grading...

PS- Other excellent Brooklyn brews I've tried and would also recommend:
Brown Ale: the ale that drinks like a porter… coffee and chocolate goodness
Oktoberfest: good, sweet Oktober lager, good autumny taste if not in the mood for pumpkin
Lager: That is good lager. That is all.