You know, I was watching one of Melanie Laurene’s Vlogmas videos earlier today and she mentioned that she can’t believe she has already posted 17 vlogs this December. I hadn’t thought of it in sheer numbers that way, but – omg! Seventeen! I think that’s more posts that I’ve done in the whole rest of the year combined and yet it’s flown by. I’m very proud of myself and, while I certainly won’t keep this pace up, I hope I’ll be able to use this inspiration to keep things going a little bit come the new year. And, if nothing else, I’ll have an excellent record of all the beer exchange beers I drank this year when it comes to picking my beer for next year. Because today is Beer Exchange Day 9. 

My schedule is finally starting to slow down, which means it’s time to catch up to the cultural zeitgeist by watching some trashy holiday movies. You may have caught Hot Frosty in the background of Day 8 and for Day 9, I was on a similar grind. (Hee. These are the jokes, friends.) Yes, I watched The Merry Gentlemen. No, I didn’t recognize Maxwell Caulfield, aka Rex Manning. Yes, it was dumb and totally worth it.

(OMG! You will also not recognize Maxwell Caulfield… he looks like a demon from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this picture!)

Beer Exchange Day 9

Also worth it was Beer 9! It has become extremely obvious that I need to get to the Vacay Brewing taproom. Stat. It’s only 10 minutes from my house and appears to be a collaboration with Burwood Distillery so there are beer and cocktail options. 

And the two beers I’ve had from Vacay Brewing were so good. Beer 9 was The Weekender, a West Coast IPA, and y’all know that I love a pine-y beer. I feel like this is a good introduction to WC IPAs, though – it’s not super bitter and there are some delicious tropical notes in there. Plus it’s a 5.8% ABV, so you get a little bit more bang for your buck. Who can complain!?

Alright, friends. Who is in to hit up Vacay Brewing with me?