You do meet some choice people, in a job like mine. (You meet some intolerable ones, too, but I prefer not to write about them, here.)

Three people wandered into our pub the day before Beervana, and when I commented on the Mussel Inn shirt one of them was wearing, it turned out that they all actually worked there. Coincidentally, we’d just taken delivery of a few cases each of three of their beers, so I had to show them the write-up I’d done to introduce them in the Book. (I also like how it makes for a nice example of how my writing style gets quite a bit more ‘loose’ as the small hours creep on and the feeling of “I should really finish this” creeps in.)

Golden Bay’s legendary Mussel Inn has been brewing and serving craft beer forever. Or at least since very shortly after time itself began — if there is a God, and if he rested on the seventh day, he was probably there, enjoying a well-earned pint. If they’re at all able, beer geeks should all make pilgrimage at least once in their lives[…].

They were chuffed, and we had a good old-fashioned geek-out for a while, and the next day at the beer festival, they brought over a little swag-bag of unlabelled bottles — a few beers that aren’t usually available other than at the pub itself. Bloody lovely of them. The beer, itself, was lovely and straightforward. The name comes from a nice little joke that a whale is a big body and a long tail, and the beer does live up to it.

Verbatim: Mussel Inn ‘Pale Whale Ale’ 7/9/10, gift from Mussel Inn people @ Beervana, after we met at my pub and they saw my write-up. 500ml shared with Neil. 6%. Hazy light apricotty brown. Slightly sweet + muted-fruity nose. Body is decently big + smooth. Quite a good length on the flavour; “big body, long tail” = whale, they say. Cute. Not perfect, maybe a rough travel, but very tasty. Must visit…