Last year we started taking the labels off the different beers my husband drinks and putting them into a book. Very sorry that I didn't think to date it at the start but we probably began somewhere around March or April or maybe later. There are so many different beers here (England) that I'm really sorry we didn't think to start when we first moved here or we'd be into book 3 by now or maybe even book 4.
Anyway, we have started book #2 now. There are 198 labels in book #1 and would have been 200 labels except when I started I put a couple of "front and back" labels for the same beer on separate pages, hence 198, not 200.
Each beer is one that my husband has drank. It doesn't count if he doesn't drink it and so friends cannot send us labels. We have some from our holidays too in a couple of different countries but they are so much harder to get as I can't always haul the bottle away from the restaurant to soak off the label. Still I managed it in the Faroe Islands and in Santorini. What fun. I am probably enjoying it more than my husband but at least he is the one who gets to drink all the beer. And sometimes they have been less than stellar examples of the fine art of brewing. But he downs them all with grace and humor and a wonderful husband's need to keep his wife happy with her little enterprise. LOL.
So on with Beer Book #2. We will keep it up wherever we go now. Wow, can you imagine how many labels and books we would have now had we started saving them 40 years ago???? We'd have all kinds of home brews and micro brews and probably a bunch of defunct beers as well in our books. Everyone must have a hobby and this is one of ours. He drinks the beer, I soak off the labels and past them in the book. Partnership in a marriage is a wonderful thing.
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Monday, February 3, 2014
Friday, October 25, 2013
The Beer Book
My hubby has been brewing home brew (beer) since before I met him so that's got to be about 40 years now. This includes doing batches up to 5 gallons but also smaller batches as it is all for his and his friends enjoyment. no selling involved or anything like that. Just a hobby that he loves. On occasion, we've been places where's he way to busy with work and I've taken over the brewing duties so I've been brewing for around 20 years. But I'm not as good as I'm not really a beer drinker. So it's a little hard for me to taste and beer and know if it tastes like it should. My hubby is an expert and has judged many a beer contest including novelty beers to his dismay which always include something like Jalepeno beer! I prefer my ole diet coke or diet dr. pepper anytime.
When we move to a new location, new country, new town, it takes a bit to settle in and set up and find a home brew shop where he can get his supplies and such. So he is never adverse to buying beer and enjoys tasting new brews and especially micro-brews. We tend to visit brewerys whenever possible for tours and tastings. Also vineyards and winerys and also distilleries. And no, we're really not big drinkers but it's fun.
So, starting out in England a bit over 2 years ago now (OMG, we've been here that long! time is passing too quickly!), he was delighted to find a whole new cornucopia of brews to taste. Unfortunately, it took me about a year to figure out we needed to keep a record of these brews so we hit on the idea of having a beer book. People do this for wines they like - saving the labels and such and we've tried that without much success because we're not big wine drinkers but beer! Hubby drinks one a day, at least! So I became the keeper of the beer book and I soak off the labels and glue them into the book. Not as easy as it sounds as some labels refuse to be parted from their bottles and others totally dissolve and turn to mush when you try to soak them off. But I've been doing a pretty good job and so far we have around 136 different beer labels in our book which is almost full. We are going to have to go to book #2 soon. Wish I had thought to do this years ago because the beer history would be remarkable. But better now than never as just about every county in England has its own plethora of brews and sometimes even towns have their own brews specific to them. We won't ever get all the beers in England into our book but we're going to give it a good try and then keep the book going wherever we are. Bottoms up!
When we move to a new location, new country, new town, it takes a bit to settle in and set up and find a home brew shop where he can get his supplies and such. So he is never adverse to buying beer and enjoys tasting new brews and especially micro-brews. We tend to visit brewerys whenever possible for tours and tastings. Also vineyards and winerys and also distilleries. And no, we're really not big drinkers but it's fun.
So, starting out in England a bit over 2 years ago now (OMG, we've been here that long! time is passing too quickly!), he was delighted to find a whole new cornucopia of brews to taste. Unfortunately, it took me about a year to figure out we needed to keep a record of these brews so we hit on the idea of having a beer book. People do this for wines they like - saving the labels and such and we've tried that without much success because we're not big wine drinkers but beer! Hubby drinks one a day, at least! So I became the keeper of the beer book and I soak off the labels and glue them into the book. Not as easy as it sounds as some labels refuse to be parted from their bottles and others totally dissolve and turn to mush when you try to soak them off. But I've been doing a pretty good job and so far we have around 136 different beer labels in our book which is almost full. We are going to have to go to book #2 soon. Wish I had thought to do this years ago because the beer history would be remarkable. But better now than never as just about every county in England has its own plethora of brews and sometimes even towns have their own brews specific to them. We won't ever get all the beers in England into our book but we're going to give it a good try and then keep the book going wherever we are. Bottoms up!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)