My Best Beer Story (about Dad)

[John Sand]

My Dad loved beer. He used to talk about the breweries in NYC, and the beer gardens. He would have loved to see me brewing, but he crossed the bar last year. This story goes back about 30 years, so I guess he was near 50. But he was always fit and active. My friends and I used to play touch football every Saturday in the park. Boys and girls, teens through twenties, all in good fun. One week Pop borrowed my brother Tom's car to go and play. Neither Tom nor I were at the game, so this story is second hand. It was a warm day, and before the game Pop noticed some bottles of Grolsch in the trunk of the car (1969 Impala). Pop put the beer on ice and then played with the younger people. Afterward, he opened a frosty beer and took a big gulp. A terrible expression came over his face. "Mr. S! What's wrong?" asked one of the girls. What no one there knew was that my brother, who worked in freight, had a southern truck driver friend who sold white lightning. The Grolsch bottles were full of frosty cold 180 proof corn liquor. And Dad didn't even spit it out.
Yeah, I know that there is actually no beer in this story. But there is "homebrew"

[Inkleg]

I do like some good corn liquor, but only when I know that's what it is. The look on your dads face must have been priceless.

I'm sorry he is no longer with us.

[berryman]

Just wonder what he was thinking when he thought he was drinking beer and got hit with some hi-test 'shine? did he ever say anything about it after? Good story.

[John Sand]

He laughed about it after. It was he that told me the story. I was lucky to spend a lot of time with my Dad, we had a lot of laughs. He lived with me for several years when he was old.

[blaxbear]

That's a great story! I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my grandfather this past summer. Never had a beer with him, really, but we shared a few whiskeys at Christmas (i only recently came of drinking age, and he was a wild turkey kinda guy). He told great jokes...
"Doc, I was out takin pictures when I swallowed my camera!"
"Interesting, tell me more."
"I don't know I was taking pics, got excited, and then... WHAM! I ate my camera!"
"Hmmmm... Come back in two weeks. We have to wait and see how this develops."

Thanks for indulging me fellow brewers.

[RickBeer]

That is a great story.

[John Sand]

Thank you.