Opening the special bottles
It’s Christmas soon and inevitably you’ll be opening some special bottles. You know, those bottles which you are saving. The ones which grow in increasing numbers in the cellar/cupboard/garage/whatever. The ones which you pin imaginary labels on, such as ‘first child’, ‘when I get that promotion I deserve’, ‘wedding day’, ‘my next birthday’, ‘when I get some good news next’. The bottles which sit there patiently, waiting to be drunk, teasing you with their constant promise, which you fight off with the knowledge that they will be amazing when you do get around to opening them…
Then the day comes, finally.
You’ve thought it all through, planned it out, chilled the beer to just the right temperature, cleaned your glass, sharpened your pencil to take a few notes. You open the fridge and see it. It’s there ready for you. All of a sudden it gets exciting. It becomes an event. You can taste it already, even as you grip the cool bottle and sit down. You read the label, you think about it a bit more, about where you got the bottle, how long you’ve had it, what it’s going to taste like (you can already taste it, I’m sure). Inevitably there’s a pang of doubt which says ‘woah there, do I really want to open this now?!’ but you fight that and pop the cap off. That psst of air and the clink of the cap hitting the table is a great start (who said sound doesn’t play a part in beer?). Now the excitement really kicks on. Glass in one hand and bottle in the other. The event is about to reach a peak. It pours more beautiful that you hoped; a picture in a glass, bright, foaming, alive. Look at it, enjoy how it presents itself to you, for you. Now raise it to your lips. Let the aromas hit you, fill you; chase them around the glass. Your heart is beating quicker in anticipation. This beer is a real event, it’s exciting, you’ve been waiting for months to open it and drink it. And then the taste. The first big mouthful. Let it register then take another. Sit back, relax, smile, enjoy. It was worth the wait.
The expectation raises the experience and that’s important. Hype is good with things like this. It’s good to build up an expectation and look forward to drinking something and sharing it with others. If all beer was just another bottle then what’d be the fun in that? Beer reflects life: not every moment in life is exciting, some is bad, some is good, but there are certain moments which you look forward to and we need these to keep life interesting and more than a day to day slog to make do.
Beer is special to many people and opening those special bottles provide special moments. Sure they don’t always live up to their perceived hype, but that’s okay, because often they do. Opening beer like this is a real and tangible experience. It’s not just about drinking and sating a thirst, it’s so much more than that. I save up special bottles for moments like this.
One Comment to “Opening the special bottles”
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You are truly a beer poet. I’ve been saving a Stone Double Bastard to share with a friend today at a christmas party,but unlike the urge to save it I’ve had to fight the urge to drink it before today.
Merry Christmas everyone!