When I baked bread for last week’s Fireside Feasts out at Wyckoff,
I wanted to use ale as part of the requisite liquid. Now, ale, or any
kind of alcohol for that matter, is not something that I keep around
the house (I don’t drink). I had to go buy it. What fun! Yes? Maybe?
home brewing, 1713 print
So I went to the grocery
store and looked at aaalllllll
the beer and ale and whatnot
(or is it all the same? heck,
I don’t know!) on the shelves.
Actually, I looked several times,
and in two or three different
stores, before buying any.
Thing is, I didn’t want
to have to buy an entire
carton’s worth. I mean,
well, what would I do
with all that? How long
does it keep? Or will it
keep? Obviously, I can
use any extras for
the next loaf or loaves,
but, well, who knows when that’ll be? So I looked to see if just single bottles
were sold. Wow. Who knew? You CAN buy just one! Of course, now I had
an even bigger challenge, for there seemed to be literally dozens of different
kinds and varying prices, those made locally and others overseas, and then
there’s light ales, dark ales, summer ales, pale ales…ugh. Just SO many
dang choices!
Eventually, time was runnin’ short. I had to make a decision and buy
something. So I finally picked one and headed to the “do-it-yourself”
self-serve checkout line. That’s when the fun REALLY began! I rang up
(is it still called that?) a few other items, grabbed the bottle of ale, passed
it over the computer eye, and then I heard that annoying female voice
(now seemingly VERY loud) pipe up with those dreaded words,
“Item requires approval for purchase, please stand by.”
In other words, I was being carded! And by a machine!
So the cashier stationed nearby came over and asked, “Are you 21?”
“Uh, yes, and then some!”
We chatted a bit (found out she and I are about the same age,
only I’m slightly older) and had a good laugh.
Of course, at my age, this kind of thing is more of a nuisance than
a “Woo-Hoo!” moment of flattery. I just wanted to pay for my items
and get outta there!
And I did.
my ale of choice
