Well I am not dead, so I guess I had better turn in my tax forms. As I am not enjoying Bend and Mt. Bachelor as was the plan for this spring break and am instead dodging nasty germs that my sick kids are constantly releasing into the stale air of my house, I figured I might as well do my taxes. But now that they are done, my thoughts turn to beer. This begs the question, what is the best beer to have post-taxes? (And this year I don't owe any extra taxes so I don't have to go the malt liquor route to drown my sorrows, in fact I can be a bit profligate since I get a modest refund - permanent income hypothesis?, pah!)Well, I had to go to the local Safeway for a prescription (see: sick kids, above) I figured I'd pick up some post-tax filing celebratory beer. Unfortunately, Safeway's beer selection is the worst in Portland, but I figured that among the many Widmer beers they sell would be the new 'Drifter'
that I am eager to try. Nope. Dang.But aha! Salvation. Of all random things they have a 22oz-er of Deschutes' hop bomb 'Hop Henge,' this is a perfect post-tax beer. A huge beer that will nuke your senses and rid you of that bad tax after-taste. I find 'Hop Henge' and the similar 'Hop Lava' from Double Mountain a wee bit much, yet I still enjoy them immensely and they are perfect for certain situations (and this is one). I love hops, but these are intentionally out-of-balance for the serious hop heads, so beware should you go looking for that perfect post-tax beer.
After my Hop Henge, all the nasty memories of the Form 1040, the Schedule A, the Form 2441, the Schedules SE and C-EZ and on and on and on fade away and my consciousness is transported to Bend - where I was supposed to be all along. Thanks Gary and the Deschutes crew! [BTW, be nice to my brother who is in the brewing program at UC Davis and going to be doing an internship with you in April]
So, what is your choice for your "Thank God I am Finished With My Taxes!" beer?
6 comments:
I'm going to have to pick Siletz Brewing's Oatmeal Stout, maybe as a departing shot to winter.
Maybe now is the time to stock up on that brew, too, since Siletz's purchase and move to Calapooia of Albany.
I've read that they intend to continue brewing Spruce Ale, Chocolate Porter and the lager, but no word on the stout. Nooo!
Calapooia was bought by Silez!?! Wow, I am out of it, I never heard. 'Pooia' beer has gotten consistently better, IMHO. One of the very first people I met in Corvallis was the then new owner of Calapooia, Laura, I think, who was very nice and prompted me to go check out the place. But the passing of Silez is sad - I had always meant to make it out there...
I'm going with Arrogant Bastard. It's got chops.
Of course, in such a situation, almost any good microbrew will do.
THIS is why I left public accounting - too hard to drink a beer after every return I finished... I'd be drunk by noon:).
I'm super into Strong Bow right now. Technically a cider but so light and smooth for this lightweight:).
As a good liberal, pleased that my taxes will be going to support the body politic--even those policies I don't specifically support--I regard taxes as a good thing. To finish one's civic duty with a bitter beer is therefore inappropriate. Try something sweet--a nice dopplebock, perhaps.
Of course, my wife pays the taxes, so perhaps my orientation is colored by this fact.
It is not the taxes themselves, its the DOING of the taxes that is such a pain in the neck and leaves the bitter aftertaste.
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