No Raining on MY beer parade

Despite the inclement weather, the boyfriend, roomate and I ventured out to the much anticipated annual beer festival this afternoon. And it was raining. Let me correct myself; it was POURING (large cats and dogs to be precise), so we stopped at the local grocer, picked up three colorful umbrellas and made our way to the Arizona Strong Beer Festival.

When we arrived, it was clear who was hardcore, and who was not. Lines and lines and lines of beer stalls awaited those who were brave and thirsty. And there were thousands. Jovial, carefree, muddy, drenched and noticeably shivering, these folks paid their money to taste some beer and damnit - they did. Not everyone carried umbrellas, but those that did, seemed as unskilled with the equipment as I. At one point, I had inserted a corner of my umbrella into a Spanish gentleman's ear, and then proceeded to walk away. Apologizing as I attempted, I thought to myself, his ear might not be the same again.

And those that didn't bother the umbrella- their clothes were shiny and fish-like, as they squished from booth to booth, sliding their mini beer mug under the tap for a taste of something different, stopping only to shake the water off of them like animals. Most of the time, they'd drench an unknowing individual (me) and keep walking.

But it didn't matter. We made it out of the madness after over an hour of sampling and drunk-man ridiculing. It seemed like a mini-Woodstock, and really, I wasn't really having it. The band played some punk rock rendition of an Aladdin song. The sun had actually come out at this point and as such, the crowd was howling like drunk wolves, but it was time.

Maybe next year it'll be all sunshine. I shake my fist at the weather, but only so far. This is the first drop of rain we've seen in 2011, and for that matter... in six months. Oh Arizona...