With some relief, I have finished that gift case of beer, ending with a Great White Beer.

I usually don’t have a beer every day — more like one every few weeks — so it was a bit more than I am used to. It was still an interesting exercise, trying them close enough in time that I could actually form some impressions about what I liked best. I’m not a fan of the spiced beers, and the fruity one was the worst. The pale ales were OK, but they do have a bitter edge that I could live with, but wasn’t enthusiastic about. I favored the pilseners best, I think. This taste test omitted any dark beers, though, which is what I usually order.

I could do with a Guinness now, but I think I’ll stick to drinking tea for a while.

It’s a lonely night here at Chez Myers — my wife couldn’t make it home through the blowing snow and occasional whiteouts, so she’s holed up in a hotel down the road, while I’m left home alone with nothing but the Blue Paddle Pilsner Lager.

It’s not bad, but it’s no substitute.

The label on the Gordon Biersch Märzen says, “A smooth, auburn-colored Bavarian lager with a mildly sweet finish. It was originally brewed in March (“März” in German) and stored in caves to be drunk during warmer weather.” Warmer weather? I have consumed it prematurely then.

Christopher Hitchens explains how to make a decent cup of tea. He’s got it exactly right, too. Last year we learned how to make good tea using the loose leaf and a strainer, and we’ve been tinkering with the procedure all this time, and it’s true: tea is finicky. You get huge variations in flavor with minor little changes in how you make it.

We’re currently setting up an automatic tea maker in the evening so we can just flip a switch in the morning and get a perfect pot every time. It automates what Hitchens describes: it heats the water to boiling, pours it directly on the leaf in an infusion chamber, and times it just right. It works really well.

Usually, during the day, I just heat water the old fashioned way in a tea kettle on the stove and pour the boiling water through a strainer in a cup. In fact, I think I’ll go do that right now…

One of the advantages of living in Minnesota is that in winter, the deck becomes a gigantic beer fridge for your Firestone Pale Ale.

One of the disadvantages is that you can’t keep your beverages outside in the summer — the mosquitoes will pierce all the bottles and drink all your beer. True story.

Someone thought the dim view of my dark, snow-covered backyard in the background of these beer pictures was intimidating…so I thought I’d shoot the Thompson Pale Ale by the light of day.

Whoa. Orange Blossom Amber was orangey. I’m at no risk of scurvy for a while.

Tonight was a minimalist night — I just had a salad for dinner. So when I read the label on Blue Star wheat beer, which said “Water, malt, hops, yeast, & that’s all,” I figured it would go well…and it did.

After a wearying day of snow excavation and household chores, I didn’t even look—I just reached into the refrigerator and grabbed the first thing to come to hand, Gordon Biersch Czech Style Pilsener.

I was interviewed by Wendy Stanley just yesterday, and presto, the podcast is already up!

Also, if you’re looking for more to listen to, Hank Fox was interviewed on Living After Faith.