An Introduction

The first post.

What an intimidating prospect. Somehow I'm supposed to introduce myself, give some sort of purpose to this little plot of internet realestate, and get folks to read my "professional" opinions.

Lets get right down to it then. My name is Larry, and I make, sell, drink, enjoy, recommend, talk shit and appreciate beer, wine, and to a lesser extent, spirits. I do so from a location that when I tell people where I'm at they ask things like "Do you ever get scared?" "Do you sell anything other than colt 45 and MD 20/20". I see through these questions to see the real question that is being asked. If you don't, well, that's probably a good thing. Just to be clear, yes, I've been nervous at my job, but those times are few and VERY far between, and no, we don't sell 20/20. Mostly, I see normal people, drinking normal BWS. The guys from the auto shops on Troost, classy Brookside moms buying bottles of Tisdale Chardonay, my buddy from 61st and park coming in for his Ruskova and Bacardi shots, and of course UMKC and Rockhurst students coming in for *shudder* "30 stones brah".

But the customers that I relish in are of a very specific type. No, it's not just "they buy expensive/good items" (though, I do appreciate those customers). It's customers with an exploratory spirit. They come in with a general outline of what they might like, but are still open to having something jump out at them. For example: I have a customer that comes in for Bud light 30 packs, fifths of Captain, and Parliment lights. He's in 1-2 times a week. He knows what he wants, and usually gets just that. But earlier this week he was looking for Boulevard Wheat. Unfortunately, we only had 12 packs and 20 packs because, well, we sold all of our 6 packs. So he asked what he should get instead. This is crucial. He was willing to get out of his comfort zone for a night. He took home a 6er of Boulevard Irish Ale (ok, so, not that far out of his comfort zone....) and came back the next day and asked what he should try next. This dude is not a beer snob, but he took home a 6 pack of Bell's Two hearted. Loved it (duh). Now he buys craft beer more often than his case/fifth usual. Still gets the P-funks, though. Some things are tougher to change...

But I digress...

The whole point of this thing is to give a glimpse into the world of my life from 4pm-11pm daily. Could be kind of boring, could be hilarious, and in some cases downright sad. I mean, I plan on putting a rating and hopefully a taste profile of 1 beer or wine a couple of days a week, give updates on the brews I have cooking in my son's bedroom, and of course all the glitz and glamor associated with the retail liquor business. Wait for it.

So the first post. Somewhat rambling, not terribly long, and not informative at all.

Success.

Oh, Beer of the day: Founder's Breakfast Stout. If you like coffee, you'll love this stout. If you like stouts, you'll LOVE this guy. It's HUGE. It's BLACK. It's BREAKFAST.