It's Been the Ruin of Many a Poor Boy

At the best dive bar in New Orleans: the Erin Rose.

"This town steals your soul. I hate this fucking town."

Those were the words of Random Guy in the Elevator #27 yesterday afternoon. This morning, as I blearily opened my eyes at 6:30 after having gotten to bed only three hours earlier, I could see his point. But it would be too easy to blame this hangover on this city or my bad-influence friends. After living with myself for 43 years, I know deep down I'm the worst influence on myself.

Ray Daniels of the Cicerone Certification Program kicked off the day with his talk "Beer Goggles and Bar Offerings: Helping On-Premise Accounts Do More with Less," in which he discussed consumer trends and why bars do not need 100 taps to have a great beer selection. (And, in fact, why such large selections can lead to a poorer experience for beer drinkers.) Now look out, Great American Beer Festival, Ray is already on a plane and heading your way.

Next was part two of the "General Session" (I missed part one yesterday), which featured some awards, remarks from incoming National Beer Wholesalers Association Chairman Eric Best, and a panel discussion entitled "Main Street Fueling Wall Street" that meandered over many topics. I did some live tweeting but the general thrust of everything seems to be the post-Prohibition, state-based, three-tier system of alcohol distribution is awesome and should not be fundamentally altered. I tend to have different opinions on such things, but it is a fascinating subject to be sure. Then, because I did not want to be in the same room as James Carville and Mary Matalin, I bolted to post this important update.

And now I think it's time to go find something else amazingly delicious to eat, and maybe even a little hair of the dog...