Welcome to Field Notes
Welcome to Field Notes!
This post is dedicated to my mom…more on that in a bit
The Journey Begins
Wow: El Camino Real
I’m going to try something new here. (For right now) I’m going to call it “Field Notes.” This will be a documentation of my travels and thoughts while doing said travels. When I travel these days, whether it’s in my own neighborhood, or further afield, I almost always bring my camera, and if I’m taking pictures, I’m usually taking pictures of beer! So what does this have to do with my Mom? Well she recently reminded me of her own beer journey. She went from ordering “the frutiest beer you have” to keeping Torpedo IPA in the fridge. On the face of it, this is going from 3 MPH to 63 MPH all in one go! When you dig a bit deeper, there’s a lot of similarities between the two (cascade hops are very citrus-ey). On my journeys, I often shake loose some thoughts that on the face of it may seem unrelated, but on a closer look are quite natural. Finally, my mom and Google Photos don’t seem to play well together. So it can be hard for me to share pictures with her…so I’m going to post them here! Don’t worry, you can look at them too!
Where are we going?
Meet Peggy! She’s a good car 😍
Tonight is my last evening on vacation. I went up to Pinnacles National Park to camp with my buddy before heading back down then out to Catalina. Both places were spectacular in completely different ways, as was the trip to and from them! I’m still working through a mountain of photos and even more thoughts about the trip, so join me for what I’ve edited so far: the drive out to a national park!
California. Is. Stunning!
Not a ton to say here, just take a look for yourself…
There’s some cool beers in CA
When I travel around, I love to take pictures of beer (or cider, or graff, or beer-wine hybrids, or any interesting beverage for that matter!). I was recently on an island that is the definition of a small marketplace and I was made aware of the wealth of beer options available to me here in LA. I can get an IPA, I can get a double IPA, I can get a sour IPA, I can even get a Double Dry Hopped IPA (plus like 100s of other styles, some of which aren’t IPAs)! Whether I want a traditional German style Helles, a more modern style Sour Peach Ale, or an absolutely bonkers “Ale with Petite Sirah and Zinfandel Grapes” there is a brewery making that in our state….that’s pretty neat!
Let’s take another look at that Cool Zone! 🔥🥶🔥
To quote a famous brewery…”people mumble, beer speaks!”
One of my favorite things to do with beer photography is tell a joke using the beer can, Just take that “Cool Zone” can…next to a fire…😐😐😑😐🤣
Well I find that funny…
Simply put, people have to pick some IPA to drink (I think there’s a law mandating it given how many of these there are), and how different can they really be? Sure you could probably tell the difference side by side. There’s a lot of cool process differences that yield a different experience. I’m sure there are even some folks out there who are also happy they can get the optimal IPA experience with the right about of IBUs, the proper mouthfeel, the correct floral (or piney, dank, fruity, earthy, minty, or even woody) hop character, and their ideal ABV…but let’s be honest, many people are getting a beer they like enough because it speaks to them. That witchey IPA, that disco and Italian-ey IPA, or that IPA that’s named after the place they’re in…they’re cool! When you’re staring at a shelf, you probably don’t have a perfect, or even good memory of what that exact beer tastes like; you’re lucky if you remember how much you like it. My research shows a lot of folks just do a thumbs up/down ranking system. So, if the beer is bad, that’s a problem. If the beer is good, you still need something else to bump you up to a “👍+”
CA has some cool animals
As I wrap up my first field notes, it seems wise to end on a warm and fuzzy note…and the most literal way I know how to do that is with animal pictures! CA has some cool ones and I’m barely scratching the surface with these…enjoy and stay tuned for the next installment! In case you need a cliff hanger, I saw a condor (!!), a harbor seal, cool birds, and dolphins!
