Saturday May 9th : Free Beer Buddy Attends the Lenox Library Beer Event:
Beer as a fundraiser is one of the best themes I can imaging. So as I read about the event the same day, I was struggling with the thought of another high end fundraiser. But through the graces of the LIbrary Leadership, I was given a free pass to the event.The first stop was a table with IPA from the Pittsfield Brewery in the Berkshires. This time, I loved it again. I thought the IPA was real close to the Hop Devil that comes from Victory of all places. The hops snuck up on me and nothing else could compare. The others were good but the draught beer from Bill and Sue really hit the spot.
Now the food was truly proportional and matched as it took me a while to even think about food because the beer was so fun and I was feeling real Hoppy that evening. Hops can do that to you. As for the meatballs, I love Garllick and I think they were filled with 2 days of it. The Chicken Wings from The Fort were a variety of great choices. The artichoke/Spinach dip was warm and awesome. The Fish was gone in a heartbeat and everyone was talking about the great Salmon while it lasted.
For me the Dogfish in a bottle is always great but the draught is even better, especially the IPA and the special Amber style. A few beers were served from as far way as California and then there was Berkshire Brewery IPA that was very good. Also, as it turns out, the Dogfish brewer from the Delaware brewery was originally from Greenfield Massachusetts nearby.
With all of this action, my wife spotted a gentleman and his wife that looked just like George and Barbara Bush. As in most beer classes, we are told never to approach people that themselves do not have a beer. To make excuses, I asked the brave question, "did you ever consider politics?" At that, I got a smile rather than a frown. Good start and we discussed politics from a conservative viewpoint, something never expected in this neck of the woods.
As it turns out, Major George and Barbara have just returned to live in the Berkshires after accepting a job as managing director of a large bank in Boston moving from Morristown near Pennsylvania. Why mention these things? Well, George went to law school with Richard Doyle, founder of Harpoon Brewery. Rich later worked for George at Leeman Brothers in NY, and Major George was one of the first investors in Harpoon after Rich came back to the office with a jug of home brew and gave his resignation to start Harpoon with a
"marketing guy" in Boston. The rest, they say, is history.
Best,
Mark