Find your passion…what does passion mean? Well, according to the Oxford Dictionary one meaning for it is: ‘An intense desire or enthusiasm for something.’ Hmm, ok then. We all have things we love, want, and desire, some things more than others. For me I love sports, traveling, my dog, food, Harry Potter, music, and the real biggy…. Beer. This will be just one of my hopefully many ramblings that I may one day post on the subject of beer, and my intense love for it.
Beer, why beer? Well, let me share with you what will be a fairly long-drawn-out answer, as I am known for my very overactive mind…
Many didn’t know this about me, but until the ripe age of twenty-one I hated beer. Probably due to the fact I was givin nothing but cheap (I’m young and I want to get drunk fast) beers and was made to shot gun them repeatedly. As I grew, I then found out that beer was a great thing to have on a hot day sitting by the pool, or in the pub with a few friends watching the footy matches on the weekend. However, I still had not bridged my way into the wonderful world of ‘craft beer’ yet. It wasn’t till my mid-twenties where I started drinking the beer that opened the craft beer door for me in so many ways, Steam Whistle Pilsner. Whether you love it or hate it, we all know that golden pilsner that comes in bright green bottles and comes from good old Downtown Toronto. I personally love Steam Whistle and it is a solid go to in my beer repertoire for any random night of the week I feel like a good, easy drinking beer. It was also the beer that introduced me to one of my friends that is fairly well known in the Toronto craft beer scene. The first interaction we had we both had those vibrant green bottles of goodness in our hands, he said to me, “I see you’re drinking Steam Whistle, so am I.” We then began conversing about some of the other local breweries, and different beers we had had the pleasure of tasting. He then informed me that I was going to the “wrong beer festivals” and that I needed to check out such festivities as The Roundhouse Craft Beer Festival at Steam Whistle brewery, and the most wonderful time of the beer *dad jokes* Cask Days. Both are just two of the plentiful beer related happenings that are offered in the GTA. It was at events such as these that my world was blown wide open to the multitude of variations of beer that there actually is. That’s right ladies and gents there isn’t just lagers, ales, stouts, and IPA’s. I know many of you know that there are many more, but at one point in each of our lives we could probably only name those few.
Anyway, beer. Well, it tastes good and it gets me drunk…. kidding, beer shares a common ground in some form or another the world over, it plays a role in many cultures at some point in history. Like food everyone has to drink, whether it is water, or an alcoholic beverage, and almost everyone has tried a beer in their lifetime. It is part of my life; I have made many new friends and met a lot of interesting people through beer culture. I am always looking at trying new and exciting brews from upcoming breweries, or companies who have been around the block a few times and know what they’re brewing *dad jokes*. I also love to travel, and I always implement beer and food into my trips. I find you can learn a lot about a person, or a country based on food and drink alone, as we all have to partake in such activities. Growing up in the UK, beer was a very prevalent thing especially when it came to my two favourite sports, football (soccer), and rugby. Family members or friends of family, whilst watching these sports usually had a pint or two to accompany this activity, and as I grew up, I did to. Whether it was to soften the blow of a loss, or to celebrate a win.
So…as you can very well see, beer has affected my life in great detail, and probably many of yours too. It is the social lubricant most of us have come to enjoy over our time on this earth and is incredibly intricate if you look deeper into its history, which if you choose to continue what I am going to be blogging, gramming, and tweeting about you will also discover. So, stay tuned friends, I will be back with more ramblings of Thirsty Kirsty.
