Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Celebrating With Friends

Last weekend we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. We mark the end of our Christmas celebrations each year with an open house for like-minded friends. If I do say so myself, it's always quite a feast.

The greater portion of preparing for the event falls to the talents of my lovely wife. She spends a lot of time making and mailing invitations, creating a menu, preparing the food, decorating, and setting the tables. Me? I have the easy part. I'm in charge of the beer selection. Each year I select three or more beers for the beverage menu. I try to find a balance between satisfying the craft beer fan and also the less adventurous. For this year's open house the main beer selection consisted of New Belgium Snow Day, Sierra Nevada Celebration, and Sierra Nevada Tumbler. Yes, we served some wine as well.

As noted previously, I try to keep the beer cellar well-stocked this time of year. That made the preparations all the more easier, as I had more than ample supplies of all of these beers on hand. Wine aficionados and their cellars have no advantage over us. Of course, our guests who know me well are aware of the open-cellar policy too. They're welcome to any beer in the house.

I am happy to report that the beer options were well-received. I did make a late addition of some assorted ciders. I don't believe anyone was left wanting for a drink they enjoyed. Based on a quick survey of the empty bottles, New Belgium Snow Day proved the most popular. In fact, I heard many friends remark how much they liked it. Next in popularity was the Sierra Nevada Tumbler Brown Ale. Apparently we didn't have many IPA fans in the house as the Sierra Nevada Celebration supply was little touched.

Sharing good times and good beer with friends, and introducing them to new flavors is always a good feeling. This gathering held an added bonus as I learned that some friends had recently developed an interest in shooting. I think we'll have to schedule a range outing soon.

And now we can take down the tree.

2 comments:

  1. You know got to tell you this story. Growing up my father wasn't much for the church. My mother did what she could. As I got into my teens I was always getting rides to church. One thing that always stuck with me, was my mother wouldn't take decorations down until after Three Kings Day. It wasn't until my 20's that put Feast of the Epiphany and Three Kings Day together. Today, my wife is a Baptist and one (out of three) of my kids has decided to follow the faith. So I've had to go over many things I once knew with her and help prepare for her journey. Your post is a great reminder of why we celebrate Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Thanks Edmond. Glad to hear your story too.

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