I've Been Replaced By Beer

Beer has overtaken my husband.

No, not drinking it. Well, yeah, he drinks it sometimes too, but that's not the problem.

He's on the board of Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery being started in Seattle. It's only the second one in the country, the other being Black Star Co-op in Austin, Texas.

If you are unfamiliar with co-op's in general, essentially they are member owned and democratically run. Each member owns one share of the brewery and has one vote on operating decisions.

It's a fabulous idea, and makes his dreams of being a brewery owner just a little bit of a reality. Along with many other members.

The problem, if there is one, would be the time this project consumes. He's a major contributor to their facebook page and twitter account, which we bloggers know can eat your time up like a sponge in a puddle of water. Then there are the weekly conference calls on Wednesday nights and the weekly in-person meetings on Saturday mornings (which always run into the afternoon). With an occasional emergency conference call, many emails, texts and phone calls thrown in.

And of course, there are the beer blogs that must be followed and read. And research - lots and lots of research.

Oh, and let's not forget the Friday night "Research Projects" which involve visiting and sampling at various breweries around Seattle. Of which there are many. If you think we have lots of coffee here, you should see how many craft breweries there are. (Okay, I usually get to go on those, too. Except this last Friday when I was a good baseball mom wrapped in a blanket on the bleachers. Grrr.)

And if that wasn't enough to wet your thirst, did I mention he's a home brewer? That's how he got into this in the first place! This is what took over on Sunday:

 At least he does it outside now instead of stinking up the house!

It's a science, you see. Or something.

And all of this? All of this is my fault. He developed this love of craft beer (fka: microbrews) when he moved to Seattle with me. Twelve years ago I bought him a "Beer In A Bag" homebrew kit. Next thing I knew he was visiting homebrew supply stores (I had no idea they existed at the time). Lots of grain, malt, wort, hops, yeast and swear words later, we now have a kegorator in our garage with taps into our pantry.

Some people (who I envy) have wine coolers or fridges or even cellars.
I have a kegorator in my garage.

Did I mention I prefer wine?

Sigh.

Alright, I do like beer occasionally, too. And because I love my husband, I will say - he makes really good beer. In fact, at a tasting the board held, he got extremely good feedback on the beer he took. And he's smart and an asset to the group and the board due to his diligence in research and both his common sense and business sense. I hope the brewery is a success, I really, really do.

***Ally
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