Now when I say Saul is letting us stay in his house, you should know he's letting my entire family stay which includes a 6 year old girl and 3 year old boy and is aware that we have a lot of extended family which means his pool might have multiple children all quite capable of urinating in his pool at the same time. But Saul (who doesn't have any children of his own) doesn't care. He is indeed a wonderful man. So wonderful I don't even know why I had any pause asking if I could stay in his house this week because I knew his answer would be yes. Saul is the type of wonderful where it doesn't even occur to him to even think about something like that. He doesn't even consider the thoughts of whether the 3 year old would shit on his couch (a distinct possibility since the 3 year old is at the stage where peeing in the toilet is a no brainer, but pooping is akin to being waterboarded).
Saul's house is an adult house with art, and nice coffee tables and things made of glass. Any parent knows what this means. We don't know what is going to break, we just know something is going to break. Saul doesn't care. He's the type of person that really couldn't give a shit if the vase he brought back from Istabul gets destroyed. And that's why Saul is a wonderful person. And it's why he won't care that I drank his beer.
I just saw it in the fridge, took it out and didn't think twice about guzzling it down. Well, I guess I did because I'm writing about it but not because I have any regret. Saul wrote on his 3 page instructions of how to utilize every facet of his home that he wanted us to take anything we needed, including booze. So I've been staring down the Tres Generaciones Tequila and Woodford Reserve wondering if drinking either of those without him is actually a step over the line? Taking his beer felt on some level assumed.
As far as I know Saul doesn't read this blog. And it wouldn't make a difference anyway, he'd think it was great because he's a wonderful man. He's so wonderful, a neighbor who Saul admits he doesn't know well told us he's wonderful.
Many people agree with Saul's neighbors sentiments. If asked if Saul is A) A wonderful man B) a good dude C) eh or D) Who is Saul?, overwhelmingly they'd pick A. In my 20's I loved and hated Saul for this. Because I know if my best friends were given that same multiple choice test about me, the majority would not pick A. My closest friends are stuck between good dude and eh but strangers swear by Saul like he's the Dalai Lama. Now in my 40's, I've come to appreciate the fact that one of my best friends is a wonderful man in the eyes of so many. So I drink HIS beer in HIS honor!
One of the reasons I took out the Golden Road 2020 IPA from HIS refridegerator was that it is made in LA and since I live on the east coast, the chances of me running into this again is slim. And also because I'm the kind of dick who not only asks to stay in your house with children who defecate publicly, but I open their fridge and drink their beer with giving it two thoughts.
It's an amber ale, almost red-ish. The head is the light coating with a million mini bubbles. It's also refreshing. No mistake the hops are present but like many of the east coast IPA's I've happened upon in recent months, the aftertaste vanishes rather quickly. I wouldn't say it has a ton of discernible flavor. That's not to suggest it is bad by any stretch. It's really drinkable, but there isn't anything that makes you go, "Ooh that's -----." There is also very little aroma. In the end though, I enjoyed this beer because it was a beer in the traditional sense. It didn't smell like a mango or taste like a pineapple but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
So it gets a thumbs up, although admittedly part of the positive vibes are because I'm drinking it while thinking about Saul. How could any beer Saul drinks not be wonderful right?
So if I were the Golden Road brewing company, I'd send Saul stuff. Looks what happens when you associate yourself with Saul, wonderful things happen.
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