To quote Homer Simpson....

..."Mmmmmmmmmmm.....BEEEEEEEER!

I think my liver is pickled.

We had a wonderful, relaxing Memorial weekend. Even though we're a couplea hedonistic pagans, we both did take a moment to remember the reason for the season, as it were.

On Sunday, we enjoyed the company of several of our friends at a lovely home in the little burg of Chatham. Grilled burgers, potato salad, great conversation and more laughter than should be legal were on the menu. Oh, it was hotter than hell, but thankfully, there was a lovely breeze in their gorgeously landscaped backyard. When the sun went down and it got a little cooler, a long dip in the hottub...and a lot more laughter...was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Yesterday, we decided that we really should get out and do something. I mean...we've been bitching about how the cold, rainy weather has been putting a serious dent in our 'topless' time for what seems like weeks now. Seemed like a shame to waste a brilliant day like yesterday.

So we headed out for a little ride up Galena Road, along the river. We went as far as Chilli and stopped at a little joint along the river for an icy-cold Corona (just one for Ziggy as he was the designated driver) and one of our favorite activities...people watching. We sat at the bar (it was just a tad too warmish to sit on the deck), watched the locals and made up stories about 'em. I'd be willing to bet that most of the stories were pretty close to the truth...Chilli seems to be chocked full of...ah...colorful characters.

As we meandered our way back towards town, we stopped at a place that we 'discovered' a couple years ago in South Rome (I didn't know Rome had a 'north' and 'south'?), the "River Beach Pub & Eatery". We liked it last year....we like it even better this year. It's under new management.

It's now owned by a British chap and his wife, who are in the process of trying to bring a little...panache...to the joint. Though I'm not so sure that Rome is the greatest location for panache, as the usual clientele consists of locals, boaters and Harley riders, I wish 'em well.

Which brings me, in my usual meandering way, to the title of the post. They have a generous helping of imported beers on tap, as well as bottled.

Now, I'm not what you'd call a beer afficianado. I like an icy cold beer now and then, but it's not my usual drink of choice...not like it used to be, anyway. But I think I could become a serious beer drinker again. Though I'm not sure where it's imported from, I noticed that they had "Blue Moon" on tap. I liked the logo, so I ordered one.

The barkeep asked if I'd like a 'regular' or a 'tall'. Thank gawd I ordered the regular. I'm not sure how much the tall is, but the regular was 16 ounces of pure heaven, served up with an orange slice. I know...I thought the same thing...
"Ewwwwww! An orange slice? With BEER?" But it was awesome. Sweetish and creamy and mildly fruity and smooooooth and....wonderful.

I noticed that there were a couple of "beeries" sitting nearby, one of them suckin down on this big assed glass (the "tall") of something really dark. I asked him what it was and he replied "Newcastle". I made the comment that I'd always thought of British and German beers as being heavy and dark and...well...bitter.

"Nothing could be further from the truth", I was told. The barkeep promptly placed a small sample...Hah!...'sample'...probably 8 ounces...in front of me and said, "Here...try this."

Ooooooo, my. Smooth. Rich. And after it was swallowed, it left a wonderful little buzzzzzz on my tongue. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Which made me start wondering. Ya know, there are several places here in Peoria that have wine tastings. Because I just can't seem to force myself to like wine, I've always kinda made fun of the "winies"...seemed a little too...yuppie to me.
But beer? Now a beer tasting joint is something that I could really get my...uh...lips into, I'm thinkin.

At any rate, Ziggy hadda pour me into the car for the ride home. I'm sure it hadda be that 8 ounces of Newcastle. It couldn'ta been those three 16 ounce glasses of Blue Moon.

So we didn't get a whole lotta topless time...but I did manage to get one helluva jones for imported beer and a pickled liver. But hey...at least I got a healthy dose of Vitamin C.

That's gotta be a good thing.....right?

The next time? Well, the next time, I'm tryin the "Mackeson Stout". "An English stout with a hint of chocolate". Beer. And chocolate. It's like two of the basic food groups, huh?