Sip of Sunshine

Seth and I became fast beer friends. Our competitive sides have emerged through beer, specifically, which one tastes best. It's not a Floyd Mayweather and the guy who head butted him type of competitiveness. It's the friendly kind. But it's real. I learned this early. My wife Heather knows Anna, Seth's wife. Heather likes to introduce me to husbands, but fortunately not every husband. She has a pretty good sense of which husbands I will like and which ones I'll be nice to. Seth fell into the category of a "couple find" for Heather. And as usual, she was right.

Seth and I see eye to eye on a lot of things. So much so, he invited our family to his ski house in Vermont despite the fact that I've skied once in my life. But I merrily went because I don't mind falling down in snow AND because I knew a showdown was coming.. 

Seth and I had that type of I know that you know conversation about beer the first time we met. It turned into a raid of his fridge and a night that eventually ended on the subject of bourbon (which I take way too seriously). He introduced me to Michters (one of the original American bourbons) and I told him all about Widow Jane (New York made-don't judge) that is a hot newcomer the bourbon scene. 

The invitation to Vermont led me to Treehouse, the current pound for pound craft beer champion. I secured all I could get, 12 cans of two of their varieties and figured I'd shock Seth into beer submission. I'd be in his house, probably using his skis and have won. But Anna found out that I went to Treehouse and told Seth who mobilized to acquire a variety of the best beers Vermont has to offer. And when it comes to traveling with beer, Vermont crushes Connecticut. So when I got to Seth's place, he wasn't just ready, he was armed.

The first thing Seth says is he heard I went to Treehouse and proceeds to open the refrigerator which is stocked with an array of cans I'd never seen before. And he went for the home run in his first at bat by forcing a can of Sip of Sunshine into my hand. I had to hold back my laughter. The can is a groovy yellow and it's produced by a group that describes it's beer as "fine liquids." What is this crap? But I knew Seth wouldn't have opened this day up with something low rent even though the can gave me flashbacks to sucking on helium balloons and eating yummy yummy grilled cheeses in a nondescript parking lot before the Grateful Dead show. 

Never judge a beer by it's can. Sure the beer might have been brewed by Cheech but it's possible that Chong knows what the fuck he is doing and in the case of Sip of Sunshine, they beyond know what they are doing, in fact, I'm not sure I've had a beer I like better. 

The can demands that I "pour it mindfully and inhale it deeply." Again, cut the new age Bullshit. I get it, the beer is good, so good you might forget you drove your SUV to your second home in a upper crust ski village. It also tells me that I will be "enjoying a tropical vacation in a glass." No I'm not. I'm in Vermont. It's never a tropical vacation in Vermont. 1) There are no black people 2) Am I seriously ordering a whole red snapper baked in Carribean spices in Stowe Vermont. No I am NOT. 3) I'm skiing right now. The genius of the Jamaican bobsled team is the absurdity. 

But I did pour mindfully and they were right about that part. There are a lot of bubbles, almost like the skim over the clear blue Carribean waters Mon. The aroma is intoxicating. I don't think I've ever had a beer that wasn't clearly marked with "This thing is made with fruit" that had a better natural smell. It was tropical: passion fruit, sweet grapefruit, mango. It was almost a magic trick. 

The color of the beer is burnt orange, but be careful, the pour can turn it quickly into a giant glass of head. 

It's smoothness is what really tuns this thing into a lollapalooza. You can taste all of the fruits and it becomes refreshing in a way beer rarely can be. I felt like I was at some Marriott breakfast buffet in St. Thomas. 

And then there is the kicker, this little groovy fruity smoothie packs a whallop: 8% alcohol. So I finally get it. Drink a few of these and suddenly that can maaaaaannnnn is starting to make a lot more sense maaaaaaannnnnn. 

The big news was Two Roads, my favorite emerging behemoth in Connecicut is distributing Sip of Sunshine for the Brewers who are originally from central Vermont, a town called Warren. So it appears I'll be able to have as much Sip of Sunshine as I want. 

Round one, Seth by split decision. But I have a feeling the rematch is coming soon. One day, remind me to tell you about the party at Seth's house where we drank so many different beers between 4-6PM, I had to hold in vomit so my children couldn't see how drunk Daddy got.