Beer in the Barn
Some of the best beer surprises are the ones you find in unexpected places. One of our new Iowa pickleball friends recommended that we try out a bar in St. Donatus for a good burger with homemade French fries. I asked about the beer, and the response was along the lines of “yes, they have beer.” St. Donatus, population 120, is a very small town founded by a Luxembourg early settler. If you blink at highway speeds, you could easily miss it. In doing some navigational research, I saw a listing for “Beer in the Barn” across the street from said bar and tucked behind an old Inn. As it turned out, the burgers and fries at the bar were just okay, but Beer in the Barn was a stunning find. The pictures we took don’t do it justice. The stone barn is supposedly the oldest standing barn in Iowa. We asked the chief bartender/owner to tell us his story. In doing so, we learned that his wife is the brewmaster. We later learned from her that one of her best friends lives in Lodi. That Lodi woman i
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Over the years, as you too have likely experienced, we stout (and porter) enthusiasts suddenly find ourselves choking, gagging and, if there's clear area, SPEWING after a sip of dark-colored piss-water.
Dad used to make a show of rolling the cork next to his ear (it's dry and "crackles" if the bottle has not been properly stored), sniffing the cork (for initial notes & to prime the olfactory) and the dramatic swishing of the initial sip.
I never saw this performance for myself but heard of it from Mom. In acknowledgement of the tradition, I have, once or twice, taken advantage of an occasion such as you describe to clutch my throat while performing the aforementioned dramatics (gagging etc.)
If nothing else, I've obtained a modicum of revenge and paid homage to my paternal grandparents who, because they didn't need to work, dabbled in *The Theater.*
Some people say forgive & forget; I recently read Wallace Stegner (*Wallace Stegner and the American West* by Phillip L. Fradkin) held grudges and savored his rare revenges. You might enjoy it.
I’ll give that book a look. I’m more a fan of sweet revenge than smoldering grudges that do the holder harm. I can forgive for those who don’t know better, so long as the ignorance isn’t intentional.