Beer!

Yesterday, I helped run a beer tasting event as a fundraiser for my church music program. It was a success and, as usual, I learned about beer. This one had a Caribbean theme. We also had non-alcoholic root beer and ginger beer for those who weren't drinking alcohol. I got to be the pourer for the non-alcoholic table so I didn't get out and about much but before the event started, the person who was the purchaser of the beers ran us through our own tasting. I'm not a huge fan of lagers but tend toward them or wheat beers in the summer as they are not as heavy and more refreshing than the stouts that I tend to like in the winter months. None of the lagers that he had really interested me but there were two dark beers that I liked a lot. These were Skullsplitter ale from Orkney Brewery in Scotland and Lion Stout brewed in Ceylon, Sri Lanka.
Incidentally, the ginger and root beers we had were locally brewed in Natrona at the Natrona Bottling Company. Reportedly, the owner of the company recommends combining the ginger beer with rum and lime juice. This wasn't an option we offered at the non-alcoholic table, though. We did offer limeade, lemonade, mango and guava juices, and flavored seltzer as mixers to the ginger beer to cut the spiciness. I prefer the lemonade or limeade mixed with the ginger beer. I can also drink ginger beer on it's own. I'm not a huge fan of root beer and this root beer had that licorice taste to it so I liked it even less. I did bring a couple of bottles home for the Klingon, though along with some bottles of the Lion Stout for myself. The Skullsplitter ale was all taken by the end of the event.