Posts tagged: Beer

Monday August 10, 2015

It’s probably no big secret that I like to enjoy a beer every now and then.  I’m sure I’ve splashed it all over random posts, ‘Had a cold beer with friends’, ‘Sat back and enjoyed a cold beer on the boat’, but honestly, sometimes a nice cold beer is the next most refreshing thing to an ice cold water, at least in my mind.

Matt will tease me since he actually doesn’t care for the taste of beer, and even though we both shunned it in our early 20’s and only began drinking it when we were too poor to afford rum and vodka anymore, I’ve actually grown to quite enjoy the taste. That’s not to say that I don’t still love my wine or other mixed drinks, sometimes a gin & tonic is exactly what you need while watching the sun set in a pretty harbor, but beer definitely has it’s ranks up there.  And with all the hot climates we usually find ourselves in or after a long trek through a trail, along a beach, or even though a big city, sometimes you just want to sit down afterward and enjoy a refreshing cold beer.

Which is why I have taken it upon myself to start my very own World Beer Tour and try to sample as many different beers as possible from each country we visit.  The list isn’t as long as it could be if growing my tour were one of my only focuses for each stop and if our kitty was a little deeper, but I’ve managed to squeeze a few in from nearly every country we’ve stopped at.  Camera in hand, I snap a photo to document my success.

Through our 16 countries I’ve sampled about 45 different beers.  I only let it count toward my tour though if I’ve actually been to that country and try to drink that beer only when I’m in said country.  That Presidente I had in St. Maarten?  Doesn’t make the list yet because it’s actually brewed in the Dominican Republic and we haven’t been there yet.

I’ve started a page for my World Beer Tour as part of our About Us section and you can find my entire list here. (Some countries are still getting updated, it’s taking a long time to go back and find all my beer photos!)

Something came to mind though as I was working on finally getting around to publishing this page.  I live in a country of so many different beers yet I’ve only sampled a small few.  Just because I live in the US shouldn’t exclude it from my tour since you’d think there are no new beers for me to try here. Heck, I come from one of the Top 10 Beer Cities in the country. There’s just too many wonderful hop filled throughout this nation not to sample as many as I can and grow my tour including my home country. And this is the part where I’m going to ask for your help.

It turns out that when I ranted on about how poor our living conditions have been while we’re working on and simultaneously living on the boat, jokingly putting out a request for beer, some of you truly wanted to! I’ve received just a few messages and emails from readers asking if they can send some beer our way. Normally I would turn down this kind offer and thank the person for thinking of us….but this time I kind of want to accept.  I like beer.  And we’re living in Florida while remodeling a boat.  In the middle of summer.

So here is my challenge to you.  My birthday is coming up in 2 weeks and I would love to add some good ol’ US brews to my tour. The tricky part is, if I can, I’d like to sample ones I’ve never had before.  This shouldn’t be too hard as we live on a Miller High Life budget, but I’d like to get away from the Miller and Budweiser family that I’m used to drinking and try some unique and local beers.

Take for example my last visit to my parents in Arizona.  While we were out to eat one night I felt like trying something different and ordered a pear cider which I immediately Fell.In.Love with.  So much so that I forced my parents to ship back half of my belongings to Florida in a box just so I could smuggle some of these drinks in my suitcase.  This was because I’d found out they only distribute on the West Coast and there’s no way I’d be able to get it again back on the East Coast.

These are the kind of new and different beers I would like to add to my tour.  Beers I probably wouldn’t or couldn’t get on my own. Or really any beer you want to send I guess since I’d probably drink whatever you put down in front of me, haha. Ok, not really.

So if you were one of those people who had wanted to send a few cold drinks our way, here is your opportunity.  All packages can be sent to us at the marina, although I’d check with your local postal carrier to see what restrictions there are on sending alcohol.  I think liquor has to be shipped ground, but I don’t know about beer.  And don’t worry about sending a whole case, just one beer is fine.  Heck, if you can only pick up a 6 pk, keep the other 5 for yourself and smile while drinking them, knowing that just the one will make my day.  Or if it’s not convenient to send beer, feel free to send a gift card to Publix or Total Wines with a suggestion of what you’d like me to try.

All packages can be sent to:

Jessica Johnson  s/v Daze Off   16300 SW Famel Ave   Indiantown, FL 34956

To show my gratitude for receiving these new beers for my tour I’ll make sure to add your name to my tour, next to the beer received. And this will let you know I received and enjoyed it.  🙂   Example:

United States

• Ace Pear Cider – gift of Mike & Barb Gorman

Now just to leave your mouth watering as much as mine has been while getting my tour up, here’s some shots of my favorite beers around the world so far.