Man, I just don’t know what the hell is going on. I’ve been laying out plans for my summer close to home vacay. I have all kinds of places that I need to hit. Lots of craft beers at these places with friends, that’s for sure. And what happens?
Nada. Zip. Zilch. Epic Fail.
No Craft Beers…Yet.
I mean, it has been a week and I have not hit any place for craft beers. Not a single damn place. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.
Wait a minute. The situation is not as dire as I’m making it out to be. There has been some light at the end of the tunnel. There was a little can or so of craft beer at the end of my rainbow of thirst.
Here’s the deal. I had some old friends contact me. Going way back to my college years old friends. Friends I don’t get to see nearly often enough.
One of them was doing a little weekend house sitting up the river road from where I live. Carter said some others from college were going to join him on the deck for some beer and whatnot fun. Man, I just couldn’t miss that opportunity.
I slapped a new battery in the Harley. It cranked up like a champ. It wasn’t long and I had the Mississippi River on my left and limestone bluffs on my right as I powered up the river road.
Being a distracted dumbass, when I arrived at the house in this little town I was empty-handed. I didn’t even stop to pick up a six-pack of craft. Nothing. Man, I sucked.
Begging For Beers
There I was saying “Hi” to dear old friends and I was a beer beggar.
You know what? They saved me. A couple of them happened to have some Yuengling Lagers that they were willing to share. I am a fan of the Lager. You know my affection for America’s Oldest Brewery.
I downed a few of those Lagers and enjoyed the company.
Wait, I noticed Carter was drinking something different. I didn’t recognize the can. I quickly fixed that. I asked, he offered, I sampled and I hated it.
Yeah, it was some awful super sweet flavored something or other that I did not care for at all. He liked it. Not me. I’ve had other craft beers from that brewery that are good, but this stuff made me want to do a shot of gasoline to kill that taste.
Salted Caramel Pecan Brown
I won’t leave you hanging. Here’s what the hell it was: Salted Caramel Pecan Brown Ale. That is the name of the craft beer. It is a product of the 4204 Main St. Brewing Company in Belleville, IL. They do make some righteous beers. Not this one, though. At least not for me.
It is a 5.5% seasonal that is malty and super sweet. They took their Pecan Brown Ale and made is a diabetics nightmare by adding that super sweetness of caramel. The name says “salted”, but I didn’t catch much salt flavor.
Anyway, I thanked Carter for the taste and went back to the Lager. After a couple of those and plenty of talk with old friends, I was being pasted by bugs on the night time ride back.
Bugs? No problem. I’d do that again in a heartbeat to see old friends. Next time, I’ll be sure to stop on the way for some carryout craft beer.
John Johnson
John “Big John” Johnson is a serial fun seeker, a lover of craft beer, and enjoys all things adult beverage related. A dedicated online marketer and SEO, he has been described as “Peter Pan with German Work Ethic”. John is also a sleight of hand magician with serious chops, enjoys riding Harleys, practicing martial arts and travel.
