There are Blumpkins I Remember...

I brew my own. And I brew a lot. I've brewed countless batches (34 countless batches to be precise). This blurry photo above, however, is a picture of a special batch, batch numero uno, a little pale ale famously named Blumpkin IPA. To be honest, the sole reason I decided to try my hand at brewing my own was my desire to name a beer Blumpkin IPA. Silly, I know. The idea popped into my head one day walking home from class, and I thought it was pretty funny. Thinking about it now, this kinda bums me out because I wish my brewing origin story could be a little more inspiring like some others I've heard. I can hear it now, "Jeff Lebesch, brewmaster at New Belgium brewery? He was inspired to brew after a life changing bike trip throughout Europe. Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River? He was inspired to brew after becoming frustrated with the time it took to make wine. Erich Carrle? Oh, that guy just thought blumpkins were funny."

Now the beer was a solid effort for a first go. It tasted like beer (which is pretty much the most important criteria for declaring someone’s first batch of homebrew successful), and you can imagine how siked I was to get those “Blumpkin IPA, ‘Tastes so good, it’s like getting a…’” labels on the bottles, but after all was said and done, the thing that I enjoyed the most from that first batch (and here is where things get wistful), was seeing some of my close friends crack em open and go deep over my suds. We drank these beers in McCarren Park on a sunny spring day. It was the first nice day in a while, and a bunch of people came that I hadn't seen in a while. And well, damn! Just look at this mirth I created! (See photo of mirth at right) That shit was insane!

So I saw the photo on my computer, had a moment (queue The Beatles, "In My Life"), and thought I'd share. I guess now if I'm ever to rise to the top of the brewing heep (I'm about it start a job at a local brewery), I hope my origin story is remember in light of the mirth I created. Hopeful it will stack up next to others. "Sam Caligione of Dogfish Head? He was inspired to brew in order to push the boundaries of what beer could be. Erich Carrle? Oh, that one always makes me cry. That guy started brewing after he realized he loved giving his friends *wipes tear, sniffles, voice falls to emotional whisper* blumpkins in the park." Now that's more like it.

-Erich