Thursday, August 03, 2006

Cheers to Cameron Begg

Tuesday we brewed Pullman, and since we knew it was going to be an oppressively hot day, we started far earlier than normal and headed out in the early afternoon before we both fell over from heat exhaustion. On the way home I decided to swing by Piece, since I hadn't been there in a while and I had heard Jonathan had some interesting seasonals on. Never one to disappoint, the reigning World Beer Cup small brewpub brewer of the year, had on a Bier De Garde called "Surrender," and a big hoppy beer called "Quintet," celebrating Piece's 5th anniversary. Both were needless to say, very good.

While I was waiting to see if Jonathan was around, a gentleman asked if he could take the seat next to me at the bar. I could tell from his accent that he was from the UK, and although I am usually wary of talking to strangers at bars, I was interested when he asked the bartender for an I.P.A or something hoppy. Some friendly bar small talk let to him mentioning his homebrewing and that once upon a time he worked at a brewery in Edinburgh. He introduced himself as Cameron and said that he was in town for a conference about advanced microscopes and was looking for some good beer and something good to eat. Piece, naturally was an obvious choice.

We chatted about all manner of things, drank beers, and even shared a pizza. It was probably one of my favorite bar experiences to date. I very rarely meet a complete stranger at a bar who is interesting to talk to, loves good beer, and is a genuinely nice person. So, in honor of chance encounters and being a cool guy, Cheers to you Cameron Begg!

p.s. Cameron has a totally awesome webpage

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