So, I’m sitting there asking myself… what are your qualifications? I mean, who am ‘I’ to write about beer, styles of beer, the history of beer, the brewing of beer, and what separates a good beer from a great beer?

I couldn’t really get by the question because all that kept running through my head was Micheal Keaton’s response as Beetlejuice to the same question.

Not to mention, my wife was sitting across from me at Doc’s Steakhouse in Saratoga Springs, New York, prodding me to tell her what’s on my mind; and, what was that long phone conversation with Al last night about; and, what new time consuming responsibility was I now taking on? (apparently she heard enough)

Oh good, the waiter is here. My wife orders a local Saratoga Lager and I go for something more hoppy. While we wait for our drinks, I tell her all about Hop Talk, what we plan to discuss, why we are doing it; and, I confess my concerns about my qualifications.

Our beers come in the middle of my spewing excitement of talking about beer, my years of home brewing, and good times like right then to talk while enjoying a great meal over a beer. When the waiter walks away, I look at my beer and say, “that’s not a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale”. I take a sip… a potentially fantastic pilsner, but slightly skunky… I think they serve Stella Artois here.

The waiter politely takes it back to the bartender and returns with apologies and an extra large glass of Pale Ale. “The bartender apologizes, you were right, that was a Stella Artois.”

Well, that was enough for me. I was thinking to myself… qualified? Check.

p.s. If you go to Doc’s, I’m a fan of the Steak Au Poivre

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