The Trials and Tribulations of A Beer Nerd.

Recently, I've come upon a downside to being a beer nerd: bars & pubs don't always have the craftiest of beer menus (although the bars & pubs may think otherwise). And it's kind of a bummer. 

The life of a beer nerd basically revolves around only wanting beers you haven't yet had. Sure, there are moods when you have something again, or have a hankering for one specific beverage, but more often than not, beer nerds want something new to log into Untapp'd. 

Lately, Spouse & I have been going to places that only have beers we've had. Actually, honestly, the last beer FESTIVAL we attended only had maybe 5 or 6 (out of 40-ish) that we hadn't tried. #FirstWorldProblem to be sure, but one nonetheless. 

In defense of the drinking establishments we've been to of late, they have had decently sized beer offerings, generally between 12 and 24 between taps & bottles. But <insert whine here>, we've already tried those. </whine>



Which is why this weekend's Great American Beer Festival, being held in Denver, brings a stronger pang than usual. Imagine a large, metropolitan city's convention center. Now imagine it filled with beer. From all over the world, and all types. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson: "Mmmm...beer".


Spouse & I attended in 2007, since his brother lives in Denver. Back in those days, we weren't the huge beer nerds we are now, so I took one for the team (we were a group of 5 adults), and only got a Designated Driver ticket. I did sniff a lot of beers, and baby sip of a just a few, but those baby sips probably didn't amount to more than 2 oz. over 6 hours. The DD ticket came with a cool swag bag, massage chair/lounge area and other interesting things - and honestly, walking around sober was way more fun than I thought it would be. 

We want to go again, and know we will, but this year, there's just a sting. His brother has tickets for tonight, which is always the best night to go, because no one has run out of beer yet. 

And since I joined Instagram, I follow many breweries and fellow (way nerdier) beer nerds. And many are there. And posting pictures. It's like Christmas passed me by this year. <le sigh>. 

I'm attending a Happy Hour this evening, at an establishment that will be new to me, and I'm hoping that they have something new to log in Untapp'd. If not, I'll be a little disappointed, and drool over my phone a bit more than usual, at all of the amazing beer being ingested in Denver. 

Oh the humanity. Oh the trials and tribulations of being a beer nerd. 

BTW, I am anamcara1004 on Untapp'd and Instagram, if you want to give a follow.