Summer means one thing for beer drinkers: patio season. Here I am on a nice June day, enjoying some great brews and sitting on a patio. But not just any patio—my patio. This is a patio drinking session that requires no travel and no expense. Just step outside and enjoy the beer.
This is one of the benefits of going home for the summer. One of the other benefits is access to a stellar beer selection and a drinking buddy to match.
My beer partner is my father. He is the reason I know anything about beer and the reason I’m not sitting on a patio drinking Smirnoff Ice. To say I am a “daddy’s girl” could imply that my father treats me like a princess and buys me clothes and cars. But my dad and I have a mutual love of adventure and craft beer.
On this particular June day, we spent the afternoon in our glorious backyard conversing over the importance of going outside your comfort zone and never playing things safe. Our backdrop was the gentle breeze and the libations of Muskoka Brewery. We started things off with a light summer Weiss, with notes of banana. The quiet afternoon lent itself to sipping and enjoying good beer and good company. As my dad put it, this is what the good life consists of.
I couldn’t agree more. The good life is finding people to have great, thought-provoking conversation with. My dad taught me that. We moved on to the next beer—Moonlight Kettle, a saison to go with the sunny afternoon, light in taste and smooth all around.
We discussed the beer, of course, but also the importance of good friends—in particular, people who are open-minded. My dad has always been a firm believer in surrounding yourself with people who challenge you. Those who bring you down have no place in your life, he said.
With a new beer, the conversation drifted to talk of travel. The smooth taste of Twice As Mad Tom aged in Cognac barrels awakened the desire to explore new frontiers, in particular more of the Rocky Mountains, or in my case Europe. This is especially pertinent as next year I will be living in the Netherlands for six months, and it’s my greatest hope that my parents, who have never been to Europe, will make the trip to visit me. We both mention how my hometown of Ajax is good for some things, but it leaves something to be desired when it comes to adventure and interesting landscape.
The smooth apple tones of the beer added to the perfect afternoon and reflections that followed. Despite technically being an India pale ale, Twice As Mad Tom barely had any of the signature bitterness and was the perfect end to our beer tasting. They say to save the best for last, and this would certainly qualify as the best.
It was just another June day, but for me it is the type of day that I look forward to. Good beer, good conversation, and great company. The perfect mix.
