Quarantine Diaries XXXXXVI
Saturday May 23rd 2020
So, as we are no longer under any form of quarantine here in Texas, it’s time for me to close out the Quarantine Diaries – not to do so would feel a lil disingenuous, especially when there are so many folks in other places who remain under actual lockdown. It’s been a strange eight weeks, and keeping this chronicle has provided me with much-needed order, routine and motivation, as well as some lovely feedback which has been really encouraging. Writing this diary has helped me through the worst, scariest, most depressing moments of the Covid-19 crisis, and having a few folks read it and interact with me has given me a sense of place and community which couldn’t have been more needed and appreciated – thank you. Moving into the next stage with safe, socially distanced re-opening is another step into the unknown, and although not everyone agrees on the whens and the hows, I really hope that we don’t lose in-it-together spirit that’s been cultivated over the last couple of months. As a writer, I’m obviously sad to be leaving this project behind but also looking forward to working on new ideas, and as a human being I happy and excited at the prospect of a slow, safe return to at least some of the patterns of regular life. I am cautiously optimistic though. We may face a second wave, or even a third and I may be right back here putting on my party dresses and dancing around the living room every night before the year is out. If that happens, I hope I’m able to reassert my resilience, and that everyone else is too. Because we are all in it together, we really are. I’m stopping now before I go super-Hallmark on y’all. Take care, stay safe and keep drinking beer.
Wild Bunch Waterhole Golden Ale
Wild Bunch is a pretty special place. Tucked away on private farmland just outside rural Red Rock TX, Wild Bunch is the kind of place you always hope that you’ll discover and when you actually do it’s just so exciting. With rolling hills as far as the eye can see, wildflowers everywhere and a delicious quiet so rarely broken by the occasional vehicle on the one small road that leads to the property, this is country drinking at its very best. All their beers are great too. And I have tried all of them. This was our second visit to Wild Bunch and we had the pleasure of chatting with co-owner and head brewer Jarle Lillemoen over several jars (actual jars) of this lovely floral, honeyed Golden Ale – not always my favourite style but this batch was a firm and full-bodied, with the flavoursome warmth of a good cask Golden Ale which won me over immediately. We had a perfect Texan evening soaking up the peace and quiet of the countryside, chatting with (safely distanced) strangers and working our way through a happy amount of super-fresh, tasty beer. The real world feels good.
Craft Beer Amethyst 