I cracked open a Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat Thursday night as I prepared this morning's Brews You Can Use. I don't think I've had it before. Oh mahon! Good stuff. Highly recommended (though it might be out of season by now).
It's been a brutal week at the office. As I type this, I'm on my first beer. I'll see if there's any of my six-pack left after I'm done.
Speaking of brutal times at the office, technology is a wonderful thing, if the people you deal with understand some basic tech etiquette. Here are a few voicemail pieces of etiquette:
1. When you leave a message on voicemail, leave a message on voicemail. Don't just say, "Hey, this is Frank." Go into a lot of detail, without being redundant. "This is Frank. 767-2321. I'm calling about your beer order. We couldn't get the 128 cases, but we got 100 thirty-packs. Do you want them? Just let me know." That's beautiful. A detailed-yet-pithy message that dovetails into a "yes" and "no" question. I could respond by smoke signal.
2. Leave your freakin phone number, preferably twice, always slowly. Unless you know for a fact that I know your number by memory or that it's tatooed on my forearm, leave your number.
3. When I leave you a voicemail, listen to it before calling me back. I know cellphone voicemails are a hassle (heck, it takes almost 40 seconds to access them, which is difficult to do while you're driving and eating a Big Mac) and checking caller i.d. is so much easier. But if I called you and had something to say, I'll leave it on your voicemail. Chances are, I don't want to repeat the whole cottin-pickin' thing, especially if I've now moved onto another project.
Well, enough of that rant. On to more important things:
Brews You Can Use
If you're an economist or agro-beer industry enthusiast, you'll find the details of this article interesting. If you're simply a beer drinker, let me summarize the important part: the price of hops is driving up the price of beer.
It's not time to stock your basement like a wino preparing for a nuclear attack, but you may want to negotiate a little more aggressively with your wife on this line item during the new-year budget negotiations.
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Holiday beer blog (a sub-blog at RealBeerdotCom, which is my best source for beer news).
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Jealous of the wine crowd that gets to buy wine by the box, complete with sealable tap? One small brewer is now doing it with beer. Let's hope it catches on. Unfortunately, the story doesn't say how long the beer lasts. I fear it might last just a few days.
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Beer picture of the week:
It's a picture of a guy breaking the beer-stein carrying record.
