Nothing Here

This could very well be my most disappointing blog post ever. And for that, I'm sorry.

Typically, I use Mondays to write beer reviews, to let you know what I drank over the weekend. Saturday, being St. Patrick's Day, I felt compelled to drink Guinness. Nobody wants a review of Guinness. Everybody knows Guinness, and you either like it or you don't.

I like it. It's the first stout I ever tried, and I feel that every once and a while I have to drink it. It's kind of like that obligation you felt, when you were in your teens, about going to visit your grandparents. You always thought kindly of them, but you were ready to move on. With Guinness, I'll drink it if it's the only stout on tap, but I've moved on.

Last week, talking with Mill Street Head Brewer, Adam Rader, about stouts, as we both enjoyed a Cobblestone Stout, I remarked that if we were to compare stouts to coffee, Cobblestone would be Starbucks; Guinness would be Tim Horton's.

After I had written last week's beer review, I had mentioned on Twitter that I was going to take a break from reviewing local beers. I've done quite a few over the last month or so, and I needed to branch outside of the Ottawa area. And so I bought some French beer (from France, not Québec).

And on Thursday, I attended the Mill Street Brewmaster's Dinner: a five-course meal that was hosted by Mill Street Brewmaster, Joel Manning, who paired each course with an excellent beer. And so I thought I would instead write about my experience.

It's hard to talk about how I enjoyed a fabulous lobster bisque, a lamb shank, wild boar, curry, and dessert, all washed down with both regular offerings and limited-edition beers, without sounding like I was rubbing it in. And so I hummed and hawed over whether to do that.

As I said, Saturday was St. Paddy's Day, and with my kids also in dance, there was little time for writing.

On Sunday, we had sunshine and 24°C weather, so I decided to stay away from the computer, put down the cameras, and enjoy the day, outside, with the family. I didn't touch a drop of alcohol, so that French beer will have to wait.

And so, with the clock approaching midnight, I write this post to tell you that there is no beer review today.

I told you this post was about nothing.

I am going to write about the dinner at Mill Street. I'll have it ready for tomorrow's post. And I'll try not to sound too much like I'm rubbing it in.