Best Weekend

I was honored last year when my brother Dave asked me to be the best man at his wedding. I was so excited that I bought him a bottle of Sam Adams Utopia to share, having the bottle engraved (the bottle is metal) with a short message. This past weekend I hosted Dave's bachelor party. Now before anyone rushes to judgement, Dave was looking for some time to hang out with his friends, eat bad food, drink good beer, and kill all of us playing video games. Jenn went out of town with the kids and agreed to have everyone crash at our house since there wouldn't be any "folk dancing."

Dave, our Dad, Paul (Dave's future brother-in-law), Steve (a hockey buddy), and Todd (another hockey buddy and boyfriend of the maid-of-honor) came up Friday night and we got right to the Xbox. The games of choice were TimeSplitters and Halo, shooter games that requires practice and dexterity. I, unfortunately, had neither and spent the weekend being cannonfodder (that was my actual name in the game alot of the time). TimeSplitters is easier, and allows you to work on tasks and kill monkeys. Halo, on the other hand, was really difficult and I think I was able to kill Dave only once all weekend. We shared some beers that I had (Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale and Hale's El Jefe and Troll Porter were notable) and had a good time kicking off the weekend.

Saturday started with Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast (what a great name), an oatmeal stout that supposedly had al the nuitrients of a bowl of oatmeal (and a kick of 9% ABV). I took the guys up to the Saratoga race track, and after cashing in my first ticket, I didn't have another winner all day. We came home and went out to Fuddrucker's, a family favorite from down south. The burgers were large and greasy, and you can order them medium-rare. I went out to Fuddrucker's for dinner for my bachelor party, and it was nice to take Dave there for his. We then ended up at Mahar's, where we were fortunate enough to get the back table and kick back and relax. As the designated driver, I ended up splitting several of my beers with the others. I decided to split the Cantillon Fou Fonne with the table. Cantillon specializes in lambics, and this gueuze was extra sour and a surprise to most of the party. But everyone tried it, everyone appreciated the opportunity (even if it needed to be chased with something else), and I got to split a $40 beer with my friends and get it off my list. The evening ended up with more video games, more bad food (frozen pizza does have a place in this world), and more good beer.

Sunday was a nice closer, drinking coffee in the backyard on a cool, crisp morning while we allowed everyone to get up in their own time. It was great to celebrate with my brother, his friends, and our dad. - 4288

"When that guy turned water into wine, he obviously wasn't thinking of us Duff drinkers." – Homer Simpson