Last night, the Daytonians invaded Rich O's.

They do this every year I guess for Gravity Head. This year, Roger sat aside the new front room for their use. Whether to give them special treatment, or to keep them away from the rest of us, I don't know. Whatever the reasoning, it seemed to be an idea that fell flat on its face.

The Daytonians crowded into Rich's proper and did what they do best - stand around and talk as loudly as they can.

Hell, the two or three times I went and looked into the new front area it was mostly just local PBDs in there.

Anyway, the place was packed, but my new best friends in the world MusicalHippyDude and GlassesGirl had semi-saved me a seat at the island, so yay! I sat my ass down and ordered my first beer:

t Smisje Kerst (10)

(draft) Looked like coffee with cream, I guess because the keg had been jiggled. Flavor was pretty good. Lots of berries and fruits. A fairly strong alcohol bite at the finish.

I was hesitant to even rate this beer because it was so obviously not the same beer that I'd seen people drinking Friday night. But I asked GlassesGirl to take a sip and compare it to what she remembered from Friday. She said that it actually tasted better, so I went ahead and finished my glass and did the rating.

If anyone cares, my surprisaphobia was in full swing last night.

I pretty much just sat and drank and glared at the crowd and kept an eye on the entrance. I didn't feel like talking to anyone, and after a while talking would have been impossible over the noise from the crowd. My second beer was another new one for me:

Great Divide Hibernation Ale (10)

(draft) This beer was simply hard to drink. Part of the problem was that it really clashed with the beer I'd just finished, but most of the problem was that it tasted like cranberry juice. It did get better towards the end of the glass.

I think that beer put me into a bad mood. I'd really been looking forward to it, and I was disappointed.

My last beer was one that's always highly-touted, but it was new to me:

EKU 28 (10)

(draft) Had a strange flavor that I've never been able to accurately describe in this type of beer. Very thick, almost syrupy mouthfeel. The alcohol was quite evident.

Kind of strange, but a Dopplebock beat out two Belgian style beers and ended up being my favorite of the night. What's the world coming too?

The night ended up being a bit of a bust, so once I left Rich O's I had this idea of going and trying to find VigilanteGirl. I have no idea why. I didn't find her, and that urge is thankfully gone from me now. But while I was at the little bar near my house I had myself a Newcastle (1836), and it was quite yummy.