Mr. and Mrs. David Salmon

My brother Dave got married this weekend to his long-time girlfriend Christine. Dave was the last of my family to get married (my mom said she was celebrating by going to Disney World), and he asked me to be his best man. I was so honored that when he asked me last year that I got a bottle of Sam Adams Utopia (~$170 at specific retailers) for us to split in celebration. The day before the wedding, Dave took me to a local beer store which had some nice selections, including Mass Bay Harpoon Refsvindinge Private Stock and Ridgeway’s Criminally Bad Elf. I picked some beer up for playing Halo 3 after the rehearsal dinner, but I had forgotten that my future brother-in-law Paul had brought some special beers back from Germany.

Paul’s selections included some really different ones that you wouldn’t normally associate from being from Germany. First was the Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefe-Weizen, which was very crisp and reminded me of the different flavors that you can get with the Belgian lambics. Next was Schussenrieder Schwarzbier, a very fine black lager. Finally of note was the Schorfchbrau Donner Weizen. Donner must mean friggin’ strong since the beer boasted of being 13% ABV. The best part was that I didn’t totally stink at Halo 3, and that I came within 2 seconds of almost beating Dave.

On Dave’s wedding day we kicked off the morning with an Ithaca brewing Excelsior Kafinator expresso stout, a relatively strong beer with an amazing caffeine kick (love to see that as an option at Starbucks). After the ceremony, I opened up a Pelican Brewery Bridal Ale with Dave and my new sister-in-law. It was nice having the family together, although I did miss Dana and Dave. Dana couldn’t make it because she is expecting. I actually danced most of the evening, mostly to show my kids that it was okay to do something that you weren’t comfortable with.

The rest of the weekend Jenn and I decided to go off with our kids to spend some quiet time. We journeyed down to the Children’s Museum in Norwalk and the kids had fun playing in the water activities. We went to the SONO Brewhouse, where they didn’t make their own beer but had Radeberger Pilsener on draft. That night we hung around in our hotel room watching Navy end their 43 year losing streak to Notre Dame in football, and then we rented Meet the Robinsons. Sunday we took the train into NYC to check out the Pokemon center, Times Square and the Empire State building. We stopped for lunch at the Heartland Chophouse where I got to try this year’s version of their Smiling Pumpkin Ale. We checked out the Gingerman, but it didn’t open until 3 and it had already been a long weekend.

I’ve been so busy at work that it was nice to spend some quality time with my family. I look forward to when Mr. Dave and Mrs. Christine Salmon come up to visit. - 4362

"40 dollars!? This better be the best damn beer ever. [drinks beer] You got lucky." - Simpsons