Dallas must have had my birthday marked on her calendar, because I got a wonderful email in my inbox that morning, along with a contribution to buy-me-a-beer. This happened to be the day that we go the blizzard to end all blizzards! So in between shoveling out our sidewalks and warming up by our fake fireplace, I was able to walk the six doors down to our neighborhood hooch store and pick up a big bottle of Langunitas Lucky 13 Amber Ale.
The beer was pretty great. Just the right caramely malt and hop balance for an amber ale. It went pretty good with a massaman curry too! Later in the evening, I got myself bundled up in all of the winter gear that I own and walked six blocks down the street for a nightcap. Helping two or three stranded drivers push themselves out some riptides in the snow-sea that our neighborhood had become. There's really something great about being out in the cold, but you're working hard at shoveling or pushing cars, so that when you come in, you've actually worked up a sweat and nothing sounds better than a cold beer.
Thank you for the birthday beer Dallas! I hope we cross paths again soon!