And Now For Something Completely Different.

Last New Year's eve, myself, Sean and our good friends John and Danielle spent the holiday in St. Augustine. Dinner was at a lovely local restaurant, I had the duck, a bellini, shared a bottle of wine with Sean and finished off Danielle's portion of her shared bottle of wine.

Now, Danielle didn't finish her wine because she doesn't like wine. Well, she likes some wine, but not a lot. She was trying to branch out, which I appreciate, but that particular Sauvignon Blanc wasn't cutting it. Since I had recommended that particular bottle to her, I felt bad and so felt compelled to finish it for her. I'm not sure how this logic worked either, so don't spend too much time dwelling on it.

Anyway, Sean and John had also brought four bottles of champagne to the B&B, which in retrospect makes no sense at all. Sean doesn't like champagne (though he will, and did drink it), Danielle doesn't like champagne, John sorta tolerates champagne, and I love champagne. Needless to say, I ended up with the largest share, though Sean definitely pulled his weight. Oh, what a night.

Fast forward to a Philly bar yesterday ( I can't remember the name but it is really close to Pat's and Geno's) and Sean and I are to be found drinking Hitachino Nest White and Rogue Dead Guy, respectively. I'm talking to Rocco, a bearded fellow who regales me with tales of Athens, GA and Derek Almstead. Rocco likes his iPhone, but hates iPads and loves Terrapin Hopsecutioner and Bell's Two Hearted Ale. His friend's name is also Sean. To which my Sean replies, "There can be only one!"

Suddenly, the bartender produces what he is calling "champagne beer". I suspect Miller and muster up the strength to begin a tirade, but am surprised to see that he is holding a champagne bottle. Wtf?

Enter my new favorite thing, as well as the answer to beer vs. champagne wedding reception question. Being primarily beer drinkers, Sean and I were planning on skipping the champagne aspect of the champagne toast. But this changes everything. It's called Deus Brut Des Flandres and I'm not sure how they do it, but this is both champagne and Belgian beer. Danielle still won't like it (she doesn't drink beer) but that just means I can drink hers.