Sorry to take a break from the beer features but it kind of goes with the alcohol theme I’ve made my blog into lately. I can assume everyone reading this blog likes alcohol to one extent or another whether we consume it out or at home, we do however, need to get it from one source or another. Do we think much about the particular source we get it from? Whether it was the bartender who poured us a shot/beer or the guy/girl who sold us the package at the store, do we treat them differently? From my small experience in the “business” I’d say yes. The bartender/server most likely got tipped and what they do is called “hospitality” or they are in the “service industry”. What do we think about the “liquor store guy”, just a face or body behind the counter giving us our libations? A clerk bagging alcohol products instead of electronics or groceries, not to be given a second thought?

Alcohol is a double edged sword in the real world; if you drink too much and during the wrong hours you’re labeled an Alcoholic or a bum. If you don’t drink at all you can be considered inflexible/judgmental or that you may have had a drinking problem sometime in the past. Then the place you go to get the alcohol can be served up for scrutiny as well.  If it’s considered a “dive” bar people can assume you’re a scumbag or a punk. Then we come back to the liquor store and back to the wrong hours and frequency of a person’s visits…so many unwritten rules that can be broken and lead to lowered opinions of others. Alcoholism is a big problem in this country and there needs to be more of a movement to deal with it in the mainstream and make people healthy. However, Alcoholism is tolerated by a larger portion of people because many believe that a person has gotten into it by their own faults and devices. Many times because the person in question has been seen breaking the unwritten rules.  Never mind that the companies who sell the products push them night and day and don’t inform us of these unwritten rules that we could break and be seen as guilty, Also… the words “enjoy responsibly” doesn’t exactly cut it either.

Sometimes the people in the industry aren’t treated much better than the ones who are seen as breaking “the rules”, used for another 9-5r’s relaxation and then quickly forgotten about. What can be worse is the day to day alcohol user taking out the frustrations of their work a day world on the person that is just trying to their job and make a living. Some people decide to stay in the industry providing wine, spirits and beer their life’s work. It can be a thankless job environment and the pay can suck but they decide to do it anyway because they get something out of it. There are some that have lessened opinions of people who work in that life, maybe its guilt by association, I don’t know. The hypocritical part is that a large portion of those that judge still enjoy the alcohol and the good times that can come with it then  say “tisk tisk” at the man or woman to works day in and day out to give them what they asked for in the first place.

       Some people feel embarrassed when they walk in to the liquor store, I can see it on their faces. Some people are there as a precursor to the good time they will have that night and seem happy to be there. It all goes back to the duality to the nature of Alcohol. There is a stigma still attached to being in a liquor store no matter how nice large companies try to make them. Is it wrong to think less of someone in the retail alcohol industry whether it be owner, distributor or clerk? Again, I don’t know. All I do know is that getting the taste I’ve had I’ll be less likely to judge those who choose certain career avenues. 

Pennsylvania Beer Excusion

Recently I had the opportunity to visit my Father’s hometown of Selinsgrove, PA and I got to experience a little more of its ambiance. That ambiance luckily includes craft beer. Yuengling is not the only beer that comes out of Pennsylvania (although you can get varieties up there than you can here) Philadelphia, Pittsburg and the capital of Harrisburg all have some interesting brews. Selinsgrove itself has a brewery that has some incredible beers but you’d miss the place if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

Selin’s Grove Brewing Co. opened in 1996 and was able to set up shop in a Federal style stone governor’s mansion .This historic building was built in 1816 by Pennsylvania’s third and only three term governor, Simon Snyder, for whom the county was named. The building remains remarkably intact and is on the National Historic Register. The Selin’s Grove Brewing Co. is housed on the ground floor in the governor’s kitchen, complete with two walk-in fireplaces. The dog logo for the brewery comes from an historical account of a distillery & brewery in Selinsgrove in the 1830s that used stray dogs to run in a wheel thus powering the pumps.

The year round Beers include; Captain Selin’s Cream, Scottish, I.P.A., Stealth Belgian style Triple, White Horse Porter & Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout. Our seasonal offerings include; Market Street Fest Lager, Wilder’s Hefe Weizen, Snake Drive Stout, Grizzley Stout, Kriek, Razzmerry, Pilsner, Mai-Bock, Dopple Bock, Saint Fillin’s Barleywine style ale, Soltice Dubbel, Hoppy Monk, Organic Baltic Porter, Hop Nouveau and many more. Luckily I had the chance to sample most of these beers and each one was wonderful.

Since many people travel this time of year always remember to search the area you are going to visit to find if they have any craft beer sights to see while you are there. Plus if you have to take a “staycation” then visit local bars and craft brew places in your local area that you usually don’t make it to. Luckily new craft locations are springing up every day so be vigilant!