Change is a brewin'

Everything over time evolves and changes.  I've been blogging here for a year now for a variety of reasons and find myself at a fork in the road.  Over the last few days in my new job, I've come to realize that I am going to be much busier than in the past.  In fact I even thought at one point I would have to discontinue The Beer Tap.  As I was pondering how I should proceed, I had a bit of an epiphany.  Right now I am waiting for all of my stuff to arrive on Friday so I am currently living in an apartment with nothing but a couple of suitcases and an inflatable mattress.  During the evenings, I have been entertaining myself via the internet thanks to a gracious neighbor who is "sharing" their wireless.  I have also decided that a good activity would be to try and determine where the best beer stores and beer bars are in the Tampa area.  Hey...I need to know if I am going to have to make trips to fully stock up or can I swing past a local place when the mood strikes.  A fridge without a selection of beers is sad and quite frankly unacceptable in my house.  Tonight as I drove around from store to store, I realized that I am going to put the effort into finding new beers, visiting breweries, going on tours, and occasionally brewing even if I was going to stop blogging.  There really is no reason why I can't put together some posts on those adventures.  Time to step up and live the full beer life!  For the most part, the blog has evolved into a recording of my adventures in beer anyways.  Every so often I throw in some education or opinion pieces, but those are the minority.

So dry those eyes and stop your crying...The Beer Tap will live on!  In fact...I picked up a 4 pack of beers for my first local micro-brew tasting.  Headed to open one right now. 

The first beer in my new apartment is Pipers Pale Ale from Dunedin Brewery.  I had heard of the brewery before and the guy at the store recommended it.  Seemed a good enough reason to purchase a 4 pack.  First lesson in Tampa...don't listen to the people at that store!  The beer opened with a very loud hiss and release foreshadowing the trouble that would follow.  Pouring the beer slowly into a glass at an angle led to an eruption of foam and over flow.  I think I lost a good portion of the 16 oz bottle trying to get something drinkable into the cup.  The aroma was spicy with hints of roasted grain, but the flavors were not as pleasant with a metallic taste/sensation burying everything else.  My first thought was that this bottle had an infection or had been bottle carbonated and over primed.  When I checked out other tasting notes on Rate Beer, I found that others had similar experiences with this brew.  I think I understand what they were trying to accomplish with the beer, yet the execution in my opinion came up short by a good bit.  A disappointing start for the new place, but I am sure I will be able to find better this weekend!