bayaw brew, episode i

somebody here spread the idea that beer should be in the lineup of activities for yours truly. i'm not as big as a beer fan than most of my bayaws, but i do love my beer. and my beer buddies. so bring on the beer!

so my colleagues tell me that thursday night we'll hit this local brewery and indulge. well, last night, i had a dry run of sorts. after dinner at ken's, where we had a bottle of sierra nevada pale ale (ken says it's a "it'll grow on you" type of beer, but i liked it right away), we drove to this place called the moan and dove. "it's kind of a weird name for a bar," ken said, to which i agreed. "one's a verb, the other's a noun... must be some dada thing." then it hit us, a dadaist bar sounds like an interesting idea! hmm, bayaw gawa tayo ng dadaist bar. the dada bar. has a nice ring to it. (or have we thrown this idea around already?)

anyway, we got to the bar, and julie and rob were there already. then came the choosing the beer. the bar makes its own brew, so there is a variety of options. they were urging me to take samples of some before finally deciding on what to get, but with too many choices, i just decided to get what they recommend. so i got this ipa--indian pale ale. got a tall glass, started drinking, ate some peanuts (ang laki ng mani bayaw! alang bastusan, literal yun), had some small talk, and the night was on.

i liked the ipa, but what i didn't realize was that it shot right up to my head by the time i finished three-fourths of my tall glass. at that point i knew i needed a smoke, pulutan, or anything to keep me from doing anything but taking more gulps. yup, cardinal sin, i forgot to pace myself. no i wasn't drunk--i didn't get drunk--but i knew the beer was going to my head, not my stomach.

so i figured i should try a milder brew. julie offered a sip of allabash white, and its fruity aftertaste was enough reason for me to go for it. besides, all the beer brew sounded greek, so i just had to go for what is immediately accessible. so i got a second glass, it was indeed a milder brew, but with this bayaw loaded with ipa, i knew a third glass would be it for me. "oh-oh, i think i'll get drunk tonight..." which means two things: i could get really animated, or if i don't stuff my mouth with anything other than beer, throwing up is just around the corner (especially since i didn't pace myself well).

i checked my watch, and realized that it ain't even midnight yet. not even close. and if these guys drink like my bayaws do, i'm in for a long night, probably an embarrassing drunken stupor, and a terrible hangover the following day. "what the hell, no one knows me... but an asian dude does stand out in this part of the states... yikes..."

oh, and all of a saging, i fell silent for the most part of the second glass. i realized i was fervently listening to rob, julie, and ken--and i distinctly recognized each and every word they said--but i could not, for the love of me, connect the meaning of one word to the next! bad sign. bad sign. and i could feel a growing ball in my throat...

what saved me from further embarrassment/humiliation (?) was an early work day for all of us. so as i labored somewhat to finish my allabash white, i was relieved to know that i was saved from embarrassing myself. on the way back home, i just felt bad for falling into a black hole all of a saging. two glasses of water was enough to bring me back to sobriety, and after a few sticks of cigarette in the freezing porch, i was off to sleep.

tomorrow, i said to myself, i'll be ready for episode ii.