My First Beer that changed EVERYTHING!
I love craft beer. Honestly I think I have always loved craft beer. However everyone has only one “first craft beer.” Most people don’t even remember their first, but I do. I had mine on a sunny summer day at Stinson Beach. It was a good ol’ Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Classic right? Ever since that first hoppy drop of liquid amber gold hit my tongue, I knew my world was about to change!
My father on the other hand has been drinking beer for God knows how many decades. He might not be the biggest supporter of craft beer as he “likes the light stuff,” but nevertheless he still drinks a hell of a lot of beer.
It all started with the closing of breweries and bars when Covid-19 hit. One shelter-in-place day in Oakland, about mid March, he and I were kickin’ back, drinking some frothy goodness in our patio gazing up at the Redwood trees that encompass our yard wondering who would inevitably run out their meager supply first. My money was on him, but unfortunately it was me who ran out of that canned love. A few moments passed and I said something along the lines of, “man this is ridiculous, I’m tired of constantly going back and forth between stores buying small quantities of beer. I’m also annoyed by how much waste I’m producing. Is there a way we can have beer without buying so many cans or bottles?”… And that’s when it hit us! Why don’t we get a kegerator, or better yet build our own? It was either a brilliant idea or we were drunk… doesn’t matter. We were going to do this. We decided to build our own since my father has his own custom cabinetry business (Waldear Woodworks), and all the tools to match. After sourcing the right materials, we measured, carved, drilled, assembled, painted and installed an absolutely beautiful custom kegerator that elevated our backyard patio into the ultimate outdoor escape. It was perfect. Mahogany top with custom camphor limb tap handles that came from our tree in the back. From the first sip out of our kegerator to the last sip we’ve both taken from it; we could not be happier. It is seriously like being at a brewery, except that the brewery is at our house. Fresh draft beer is truly magical stuff and there’s nothing like it on a warm California day.
Fast-forward in time during the shelter-in-place and people have tried our beers on tap and have not stopped raving about home much they want their own kegerator. We decided we have a beer-driven duty to give the people what they want! Might as well enjoy fresh draft beer at home. Especially for those out there like us that love to entertain, BBQ outdoors, and above everything else, drink liquid amber gold on tap.