A good beer for bad times
Rob's got another dispatch from his vacation, which has included some unplanned adventures...
It is never a happy moment when a warning light flashes on the instrument panel of your car. Anxiety increases if the blinking occurs when you are a long way from home.
That happened to me Thursday. I was tooling around the island community of Chincoteague, Va., getting ready to head back to Baltimore after a few days off work, when the battery light illuminated on my 2002 PT Cruiser. I popped the hood, checked the engine and got a whiff of an unpleasant, burning aroma. Limping into one of two auto repair shops on the Chincoteague island, I got the bad news: the alternator was shot, and the replacement part had to be fetched from Pocomoke, an hour away. Maybe the $400 plus repair job would be finished by Friday afternoon, they told me.
I quickly cracked open a beer to give me solace. My chosen brew was a Shiner Hefeweizen, a pleasing wheat beer from a reliable Texas brewery. It was crisp comfort, with clean citrus flavors of orange and lemon peel, and a unique sweet note which, the label told me, came from Texas clover honey.
By the time I got to the bottom of the glass, the world did not look so glum. The sun was shining; the forecast called for a gorgeous weekend. The City Paper would be holding its annual beer festival Saturday afternoon in Fells Point. I hope to be there, provided the replacement part makes it to the island.
Other opinions on Shiner Hefeweizen?
Anyone ever had car trouble a long way from home?
What do you sip for comfort?
Comments
My wife's car broke down in rural Vermont a few summers back. The computer was fried, which was luckily covered by her warranty, but unfortunatley took 2 days to get. We got towed to Burlington, got a hotel and enjoyed walking around the town for a couple of days. I was happy to down a few additional bottles of Long Trail Ale (which as far as I know you still can't get in MD) at Church Street Tavern.
Posted by: Greg S | April 24, 2009 1:58 PM
Reading this, I had to stop on the way home and pick up some Shiner Hefe. Very citrusy, and I didn't detect any banana flavors found in some hefe's, but what a great way to beat back the heat on a 90 degree day. I may have found my summer beer.
Posted by: ken | April 26, 2009 5:02 PM
I concur that the Shiner Hefe is a very enjoyable beer. Its also far cheaper than many other quality beer--thus providing excellent value.
Posted by: Bolt | April 29, 2009 12:13 PM