Well it turns out Don and I are manly men, because in true guy tradition we both forgot an important birthday Saturday before last.
It’s now been just over a year since Don texted me out of the blue and said we should start a blog where he reviews whiskey, I review beer, and we talk about being brothers. He even had a name figured out – Beer, Whiskey and Brotherhood, which we later changed to what you see above.
The funny thing is we didn’t know a lot about being brothers in August of last year. You see, we’re seven years apart, which is a pretty big gap when you’re kids. We didn’t hang out much, except when he was trying to drown me in the pool or force feed me Oreo’s covered in mustard.
By the time the age gap meant less, the geographic distance between us had grown. Our family moved from state to state every few years as our dad upgraded jobs, and each kid left the nest in a different stop. Don bailed out in Iowa when I was 11, and we didn’t see a lot of him after the next family move took the rest of us to Michigan.
After that, life took Don out west to Idaho, Oregon, Alaska and then back to Idaho, while I put down roots in the Garden State. We went about our lives, not seeing each other for years at a stretch and talking on the phone maybe once a year. This is how it was up until I received his text last summer.
Since then we’ve become thick as thieves. We now text like teenagers, Skype like Europeans, and talk on the phone like the minutes are free. We’ve even gotten together twice in the past year and have plans to meet up again at the GABF next month. It’s a pretty dramatic difference and it’s been great. It’s like we’re brothers.
I’d like to thank all of you who have helped us find our way this first year and the guys and gals who have made B&WB as interactive as it is. We always say that the site is fueled by the people who read it and comment on it, and you’ve kept us going strong all year. Thanks.
It’s been a great ride so far and I’m looking forward to what the future holds for us.
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Me too…
Eloquent as always, Don…
Yup..That’s me! Mr eloquent.
Congrats Guys! It’s been a pleasure reading your posts over the last year.
Thanks, Peter. You’ve been a good friend to us over the last 12 months.
Glad I found you guys…your reviews and stories are informative and entertaining.
Well since I’m Mr. Eloquent, I’ll say that I’m glad you found us too Rob. Your contributions have been great here, and I always look forward to our banter. How was the pool party this weekend?
We had 8 beers to taste…funny though that I can only remember 7. We tasted the following:
Allagash Curieax
Brewdog IPA
Baladin La Birrifico Nora
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous
Flying Fish Exit 16
Meantime Porter
Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza
…and the mystery beer that I can’t remember
My favorite was the Allagash and I thought the Stone was pretty good, not great but good. I opened my bottle of Laughing Dog Dogzilla on Friday and didn’t care for it – too smoky and malty. Thought Stone did a better job on the black IPA. Least favorite was the Punk IPA…incredible nose but no flavor. Liked the Jolly Pumpkin and the Baladin Nora a lot. By the time we got to the porter, my taste buds were shot; I will have to try that one again.
Hey Jim – I noticed that Boonton started selling single 12 oz bottles. Good move on their part.
I’m guessing the one you can’t remember was the last one 😉
It’s about time they started selling singles! Kevin has resisted because it makes inventory tricky, but singles rule. I’ll have to stop in and see what’s what.
Believe it or not the beer I can’t remember wasn’t the last one, go figure. The last one we had was the Meantime but I started smoking a cigar and had enough at that point. In all fairness, I have to try it again sometime in the future.
Jim – the selection of singles is limited but a start. Its in the aisle where they keep the jugs of crap wine. I never go down that aisle for obvious reasons but did on Friday night and saw the singles. They had a few bottles of the Baladin Nora for under $10 which was a bargain as I’ve seen it at other stores for $20.
Sorry, Rob. We didn’t mean to inform or entertain. We’ll try harder to suck in the future!
You guys can suck all you want – if you keep talking about beer and booze I will keep reading.
That’s our plan Rob, that’s our plan…
Congrats fellas! Bigger and better or something like that.
Or like Southpark Bigger, Longer and Uncut!
Thanks, Scott! I checked it out today and you were the first person besides Don and I to leave a comment on the site.
Look what you started!
There should be a prize or something for that. If not, I’d like to retract that comment! 🙂
Okay, we’ll give you a free one year subscription to the site and unlimited downloads of our podcast. Congratulations!
Congrats, guys!
Thanks, Chris. It was cool that I got to meet you and Kammie while in Boise. Brewforia is the beer nexus of the state!
Congratulations. It’s amazing when you look back after a year and see all that’s happened. I go back and look at some of the first posts we did and I am shocked at how far we’ve come. It’s a good time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished.
Ahh Mike you’re so introspective. We just keep pumping out the crap. It’s in our blood!