Okay, so my long term goal here is to talk about booze. But specifically, making an effort to experience beer, booze, and cocktails differently based on context. I know from experience that a gin and tonic can be more than just a drink, it can be an experience. While I’ve had plenty of G&Ts on boats or decks here in Minnesota, there was a very different experience when I drank one in a safari lodge in Tanzania. Here, watching elephants wander across the plains below, I *experienced* a gin & tonic, with all it’s cultural background built in to the experience. It was painfully colonial.

I enjoy drinking in context. I love having a beer at the brewery, or sampling alcohol straight from the still. I like drinking and talking to the people who make the product. Just like an author might explain a reference in a book that you missed, so might a brewer talk about the process in a way that helps you discover or appreciate a new flavor.

To kick things off, I’m headed off to Ireland, London, and Cardiff. To be fair, the trip was planned before the blog and I don’t have a ton of free time while I’m there because I’m tagging along with my Mom and a tour group. This isn’t how I usually travel (love traveling solo and combining plans with whim) but I’m not one to turn down a trip no matter the format. But hey, I will probably need the distraction of good craft beer more than ever.

I will be staying in Galway, Fossa/Killarney, Dublin, London, and Cardiff.

Here are the daily highlights as stolen from my itinerary: