Blue Tape Chronicles, really. You might be asking what the hell that means, well I’m not sure either. Well I know what it means to me, but I’m not sure what it will mean to you. Let’s start from what could be considered the beginning.
THIS IS WHERE THE BLUE TAPE COMES IN PLAY
- I’m a homebrewer and have been (off and on) since 1995.
- I love great craft beer.
- I love great wine, food, cigars and those things that go with it.
A while back, I had a not so life changing experince, however it was “eye-opening”. At a family gathering, while sitting in the back yard, I noticed my father-in-law, with a bottle of the Deuce Imperial IPA from El Toro Brewing in his hand. Not only one of my favorite beers, it is also a 350 mile drive to get a 6 pack. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to share the finer things in life with friends and family, but my father-in-law (althouth a great guy) is not a beer drinker nor does appreciate a solid DIPA. My first thought…..Where did he get that? Second thought…How do I protect my stash from the primeval?
In the not so distant past, at a dinner party among close friends (and those who share similar tastes) and found myself looking through my beer fridge for that perfect bottle to end the night. As I rifled through the bottles and I pulled out a Speedway Stout from Alesmith, one of my favorties. I filled my guests glasses and sat down to enjoy, which I did. But during the next 1/2 hour or so, I began to realize that nobody was really drinking and people were starting to call it a night. Now the Speedway Stout is not the most expensive or hard to get, but it should never be wasted. Shame on me for not knowing the night was ending (maybe the previous beers impaired my judgement) and shame on them for not taking one for the team.
Knowing now that I need to protect my beer from both family and myself, I created the fail-safe method of PROTECTION, Blue Tape. Blue tape is not strong enough to withstand a bottle opener or a thirsty guest. However it does catch ones attention and thus begs the question “What the hell is this for?” It is also wake up call for myself to re-think my beverage selection. Has the blue tape worked, YES. Has the blue tape stopped me in my tracks, Hell Yes. Have I still delved into the land of blue tape, Yes. However my choice to break the seal has been done with more thought and in a more controlled enviroment.
Blue tape does come with a few downsides, ridicule from friends and family topping the list. It has also turned my frige into a Garden of Eden, full of forbdden fruit…I mean beer.
Threefrenchs: A Fermented Exploration 