• note on coincidence: if you enjoy WORDLE be advised I wrote this post before I played today’s puzzle!

I want to give a brief shout-out to Franklin Winslow and the good folk at TBC (Tarboro Brewing Company) on Main Street. It’s another honest-to-goodness community connection and one more way that the spirit of this town runs deep.

One day (when I have a few spare hours) I plan to interview Franklin and share some insight into the world of craft beer-making. But for today I’m simply commenting on the experience of TBC’s monthly “First Friday” beer-tasting event.

My friend Steve Brittain has invited me any number of times, but Rebekah and I typically tend to be in Wake Forest packing. This time around, however, we’re both essentially on strike vis-a-vis the move, so it was a good opportunity to lean into something else Tarboro.

Franklin offered two versions of what is essentially the same beer. Both were a German inspired pilsner lager, but processed differently. Franklin (pictured below) waxed eloquent about the brewing cycle but I won’t get into the details. Bottom line, the brew I favored was the more complex “hazy” version.

I found the hazy to offer a more sophisticated and nuanced flavor profile, as well as a more discernable texture. On the Square sommelier Xavyer Burroughs described the hazy as “more interesting” (it just sounds so much smarter than “tastes great!”) and that made me wonder if it is possible to cultivate a beer palate similar to the discipline and expertise a wine sommelier brings to his or her craft?

For a moment – very brief – I turned over the prospect in my mind – then I remembered what is really important in my life and I set the aspiration aside!

Craft Beer

Having grown up in England I am grateful for the contemporary craft beer movement here in North Carolina. The presence of a quality brewery on Main Street is the same kind of a “plus” for this town as a world-class restaurant like On the Square.

TBC is not only family-friendly and community minded but they craft some exceptional brews. So hats off to Franklin and his colleagues. Tarboro Brewing Company is not a place to drink too much, but somewhere to meet some good people and share a glass of what you enjoy.

Just don’t abuse it – believe me, that spoils everything. – DEREK

Here are two scriptures that are both true on so many levels:

• Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. – Ecclesiastes 9:7
• Woe to those who rise early in the morning
      to run after their drinks,
  who stay up late at night
      till they are inflamed with wine. – Isaiah 5:11