There are two good reasons to drink today. First, It’s Learn to Homebrew Day. I’ve done this, on occasion, and it’s very satisfying to get loaded on something you created with your own hands and wits, and maybe one of those super-duper homebrew kits you find in those in-flight catalogs. Some of my friends are really into homebrewing and I salute them, especially when they don’t guilt me into drinking one of their more experimental efforts. I mean, you force it down, then they just stare at you until you choke out something resembling a compliment. It’s cruel. But who would have guessed all those homebrewers would have turned their hobby into vast craft beer empires? It’s like your old college roommate who spent six months on your couch inventing some kind of super-couch that he parlays into a fortune. Second, it’s National Wine Tasting Day. Look, I love nearly all wines. I don’t care if it comes from a jug, can, box, bottle or bag, I’m into it. When I get drunk on wine I feel like Bukowski or Kerouac or Céline. It makes me feel dramatic. That said, some of my other friends, who generally will not hang out with my beer-brewing friends, are really, REALLY into wine. They describe the tiniest sip with adjectives usually used by insane people describing their psychosis to a psychiatrist. Which is fine, I say, as long as you drink the rest of the bottle. Otherwise, you’re just licking a steak. And that’s just weird.
