The Obligatory

So I'm back in the mild, slightly-rainy climes of sunny Los Angeles after spending two glorious weeks back in the Proper Life of New England.

The Full New England Experience includes, but is not limited to:

- Of course, the family. And the family German Shepherd.
- Spending vast amounts of time playing video games with my siblings and my brother's girlfriend
- Drinking obscene amounts of excellent microbrew while playing said video games, including selections from Otter Creek / Wolaver's, Long Trail, and Smuttynose. Magic Hat would have been included, if they would start making Ravell actually available again.
- Eating even more obscene amounts of food at giant, extended family gatherings.
- Having great times with said extended families.
- Clam chow-dah. Delicious, authentic New England chow-dah.
- Visiting a Hartford blues bar and not getting a car towed like last time.
- Playing with my Goddaughter and cousin, both of whom vastly exceed the recommended daily allowance of adorable.
- Eating at historic 18th century taverns, while being serenaded by madrigal singers.
- Skiing for the first time ever. Getting so sore the day afterward that I moved like a 90 year old woman, then going skiing again.
- Spending lots of time playing my brother's nylon string guitar, then marvelling at how awesome he's gotten at blues slide guitar.
- Dunkin' Donuts. Lots and lots of Dunkin' Donuts.
- Enjoying walking around outside in the cold, losing feeling in my face, then entering a warm building to feel my skin slowly come back to life. I love that.

As special bonuses, I did also manage to get into New York City to see most of my ex-comedy troupe pals currently colonizing Brooklyn and Queens. So in addition to experiencing a walkable urban environment, a mass transit system, and kick-ass deli pickels, I was also able to walk through Times Square on New Year's Eve. This means I can say "I was in Times Square on New Year's Eve this year" and have it be factually correct, even though when the clock struck midnight, I was at home watching "Farscape" on DVD with my parents. I hate crowds. I can barely function in Trader Joe's.

And the party I was going to got snowed out. Honest!

So while leaving New England this year was incredibly difficult for me, I know 2006 holds many great changes and opportunities for me ... which, unfortunately, are in Los Angeles.

Here we go ...

Labels: travel

Curses! I went and looked around at those microbrews you name, and am thinking I would really enjoy some of what Long Trail has to offer. But nay! You cannot order beer from them!

This won't soon be forgotten, internet!

Sigh. Aside from Goose Island, Chicago (and the midwest in general) has a notoriously poor showing when it comes to craft brews. That long trail ale looks good. I bet it's got a great hoppy flavor, huh? Kinda makes me want to start drinking at work... I need to excuse myself for a bit.

Welcome to the hell that is my world whenever I try to buy beer in L.A.

Northern New England makes some of the best beer I've ever had. It seems like everywhere you turn, you hit a microbrewery with at least one standout bottle.

I've heard that if you talk to a liquor store, THEY might be able to ship some for you. I'm definitely trying that out soon. Good luck!

I assume you mean talk to a liquor store out east, that carries the beer, and have them ship it. As opposed to going to a local liquor store and asking them to order it.

Which leads me to ask, know any liquor store phone numbers out there? Or should I just try my luck with yp or something?

I am determined, now, to try this, as there are a couple other beers I've had out there that I can't get in Chicago...

I'm not exactly sure how it works, but when my cousin told me about it, I think he meant talk to your local liquor store and see if they can get you a case in.

I'm guessing it might be a little more expensive than just buying a case, but I'm also guessing it'd be worth it to get some good beer.

I took that picture! Me!

I should recommend a Cali microbrew I fell in love with at Sunset, if you can find it. The Lagunitas Censored Copper is a consistent 9/9.5 out of 10, and goes with anything.

I have the friendly neighborhood liquor store man looking into this for me. He was vaguely familiar with the concept and seemed to think it depends more on the brewery than anything else. I imagine some are more willing than others. We didn't discuss pricing too much, as it would depend on the quantities the brewer would sell in, if any.

In any event, if you're curious, I can let you know how it all turns out when I hear back.

Dearest Pete, if you get this, please understand I live in North Dakota and am desperate. Please do report back to this blog so that I may know the greatness of New England beers (again) and enjoy them in the Great Plains.

Viva La Beer!

P.S. - I miss you, Casey!

I will let you know. Haven't checked in with the store yet. I'll make a run over there this evening or tomorrow.

Well, a few states aside, it seems it is indeed possible to order and receive good brews from out of state. Sadly, it is somewhat cost prohibitive.

There are two problems: the first is that depending on the state, the legality of shipping beer through the postal service is a legal grey area. This means that any brewery or distributor you find is going to use either UPS or FedEx. This brings about the second problem: beer and glass are heavy and fragile. So, shipping becomes expensive.

For example, I want to order some Rogue ales from Oregon. A shipment of 24 bottles that I picked out came to about $35. Not bad for a good drink. But then the shipping via UPS came to an additional $32 effectively doubling the price! Still cheaper than a bottle of Bud in a local bar though (in Chicago at least).

Now, to ship the same beer through standard post would probably only cost $10 - $15 or so. Not too bad. But then you have to know someone who can go buy you the beer AND package it properly so it won't break.

Of course, the cost goes down the more you buy, for both the beer and the shipping. So depending on how much of a drunkard you are, you can just order quite a bit of beer to make it cost effective. Or you can find a place that will order it and allow you to pick it up.

Here in Chicago we have Binny's Beverage Depot. They will order beer and allow you to pick it up at the store. Unfortunately, it has to be a beer they can get through their distributors. This is fine for more popular microbrews like Wolaver's, Rogue, etc. But you are out of luck if you want something they can't get through their channels.

For LA or the Dakotas or wherever, I'm not sure what to tell you guys. You'll have to find your Binny's equivalent on your own. Or get in touch with those relatives back home and ask them to ship you some beer on the hush hush.

Sadly I have no family outside of Chicago or San Francisco. Which eliminates east coast beers for me. Know any good San Franciscan beers I can try?

All that said, Binny's WILL ship orders out of state, so technically you can use them even in LA. The site is www.binnys.com and they have a pretty good selection of beers, but only the really popular ones. But like I said the shipping will be high.

I'm not giving up yet. I might give it a shot and just pay the shipping to try some good beers. This search has really highlighted the shortage of great beer we have here in the midwest -- home of pisswater like Bud and Miller!

If you have any suggestions or any questions about what I continue to find out, I'm watching this comment feed, or you can just email me at kowgod at kowgod dot com. Maybe we can do a beer trade or something. Sigh. I'm thirsty...