Welcome to Mile High

So much for the beer blog. I have tried no new beers since the last post.

I have, however, learned a whole lot about beer. I have decided to solicit Great Divide Brewing for a job. I'm aware that the odds of me being hired are quite slim, but I gotta try. I wanted to do some reading before writing my resume in order to make it sound like I know a lot about making beer. Great Divide (GD) is located smack downtown Denver. Easy bike ride from the duplex. GD knows how to make good beer. Typically they brew in a more traditional European style, but their beers are always high quality and some of them are quite big. Their Hercules double IPA is a huge beer, as are a couple of their other beers. When they want to brew west coast style, they do it well. Every year in the fall they bring in a huge shipment of fresh hops after the harvest season and brew up a pale ale using loads of fresh hops at the end of the boil, on the way to the fermenter as well as during fermenting (dry hopping). They know what they're doing and I want them to teach me. We'll see. My ass has to re-write my resume first.

Heather and I are settling into our new place nicely. The unpacking is finished. The one thing that we were desperately missing was a grill. I have been watching craigslist like a hawk, and this morning someone posted a basic weber kettle that was brand new in the box. Less than half the cost of new. I was all over that weber like a guy who really needs a grill.

Remember when you didn't know where you were going and you had to get diresctions from people? I ask for this guys adress and he asks where I am. I tell him, and then he starts giving me directions. I was like "hey grandpa, just give me your adress alright"? Google maps gives way clearer directions than some guy I don't know. Hell, I don't even use the directions. I just look at the map and write down whatever I think that I will forget. Of course, I am directionally gifted.

Got home and put together the kettle in a snap. There was a brief interuption when the maintenance man showed up to the duplex. Ya see, we have this slight problem. There's a hole in our garbage disposal. Neat, huh? We had the cabinet door open while cooking the other night to access the garbage when Heather flips on the garbage disposal and gets squirted in the leg. Oops. Come to find out, it leaks anytime the water backs up at all and pours out of the hole.

Then we got some rain this weekend. O.K.- we got a lot of rain this weekend. Turns out our skylight in the bathroom leaks. Drip drip drip into the tub is one thing, but drip drip drip on my head while I'm sittin' on the throne aint gonna work at all. I don't care how rarely it rains in Denver, that's gotta get fixed.

The maintenance guy was totally cool. We talked old houses and he made sure to let me know that he knows a lot more than me. That's fine. Know it alls like myself need to be put in our place from time to time. This dude was like a cowboy/hippie with a lazy eye. I don't know how else to explain it. Shoulder length red hair with earrings, but jeans with a denim shirt and a Chevy Tahoe. We hit it off instantly. I'm thinking about asking him out on a date.

The Dallas Cowboys played the Denver Broncos in a preseason matchup last Saturday at Mile High Stadium in Denver. Damn right I was there. Eric Engelbrecht, Scott Perkins and yours truly got together for some boozin' and grubbin' before the rain game 2008. It poured all weekend. Luckily it stopped in the afternoon on Saturday for a while. We didn't get rained on too bad until we were so drunk that we didn't care. I'm not even sure that I noticed.

Yates promised that he would hook us up with good tickets if we would wait till after kickoff, so we posted up at the hotel bar right next to the stadium. Kickoff, first drive for the Broncos, first drive for the Cowboys. Our faith was dwindling. We were wishing we would have scalped. Finally we went down to the stub hub room of the hotel and Eric went in to do a little Yandon Brates name dropping. About ten minutes later we were sitting 8th row on the 50 yard line. I never lost faith in Brandon- I swear. That man could charm the thong off a stripper. Better than you.

I haven't been out with guys like Eric and Scott in a while. We kinda got a little out of hand with the boozing. My condition Sunday would best be described as un-operational. Sometimes you gotta sacrifice a Sunday if you want memories like that. By that, I mean memories that you have to work for. You know, you're in the shower three days later and you remember why there was cream cheese in your shoe. Ah.... good times.

Well, the breadwinner is home from work, so I'm gonna go enjoy a happy hour beer and some snacks with the little lady.