On Wednesday June 22nd, I did something that I had not done in a few years (as in close to 7) and that was play Indoor Soccer. Just before playing indoor soccer, I had done something that I had only done twice in my life which was Tae Kwon Do class. Plus earlier that morning, I did something that I’ve done something that I try to do as often as I can and that is to donate platelets.

So with all the donating, the stretching, the side kicking and punching AND then getting out on the soccer field and running around for about an hour KNOWING what I needed to do, but being so rusty with my ball handling skills and not being in running shape when Thursday rolled around, I was SORE. I hadn’t been that sore since before my 3rd marathon (but I could walk down stairs without the old man hobble). Friday wasn’t much better, I was still pretty slow.

So slow, in fact, that I was unable to get everything ready for the garage sale I was having at the house on Saturday morning that I had to NOT GO to see the Ryan Michaels Band play at the Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg for WFIV 105.3FM’s free event. Even Saturday morning, I was a little sore, but I was moving all over the place. It is amazing how much crap STUFF one can accumulate. I so want to do the “only 100 possessions” but maybe I could do more like the 845 possessions. I don’t know.

After the garage sale, I had to be somewhere at 1pm because I was volunteering, so I started to clean stuff up around 11:45 (as I put a 12pm closing time). Even Today, Tuesday, you can see the organizing strategy that I had taking everything that was outside of the garage. You only have to walk an extra 10-20 steps to get from the garage door to inside the house and if you want to lower the number to an extra 8-18, you can hurdle over the barrier of unwanted home decor.

That some place was the Knoxville Brewfest being held downtown Knoxville at the Southern Railway Terminal where a number of brewerys set up shop to allow sampling of their brews. This event was a fund raiser that benefited CureDuchenne (on the Muscular Dystrophy Spectrum) as the event creators of this event their son has Duchenne’s.

When I got there, I really had no idea of what I was actually going to do there and while I would have liked to be near the beer, I was ready to say “I’ll take whatever place you need, even the least desired spot”. I never really had a chance to decide because before I knew it, I was assigned to SweetWater Brewery table/booth/area.

Don't Float the Mainstream

Thankfully, I knew “OF” SweetWater but didn’t know anything “ABOUT” SweetWater. They brew in Atlanta Georgia and brews are available at a good number of locations here in Knoxville and surrounding areas. The “corporate” guy for SweetWater was Curtis, the sales rep for the Knoxville area and his babe, Sara. As for the hired help, it was myself, Tommy and Maithais (will have to look this one up), a future brew master but currently a swimmer for UT and potentially a Olympic hopeful for Sweden in 2012.

SweetWater had 5 flavors available: Blue, Georgia Brown, 420, IPA, and Road Trip. I manned the Jockey Box (i.e. Rubbermaid Cooler converted into a thermodynamic transfer apparatus for portable pouring) which had IPA (Indian Pale Ale) and Road Trip (their Spring Seasonal “catch” of the Pilsner variety).

I was feverently pouring cups of Road Trip from about 3pm until around 7:15pm when the keg finally ran dry. Every time someone asked for a Road Trip, I had to shout “ROAD TRIP” as if I was Hoover or Boon in Animal House. Blue was the 2nd flavor to dry up. It’s a wheat beer that is filter with blueberries and so on a hot day like Saturday, it had a nice refreshing taste with no tart blueberry.

The 420 and IPA clientele where very savvy with SweetWater brews, while they enjoyed the other flavors, they zeroed on their favorite to take advantage. One of the IPA guys wanted me to give him a sign if the IPA was getting low, you know… just in case. As a regular, I didn’t have to ask or wait to find out what he wanted nor did I need to skimp on the pour. It was filled to the top, every time.

Despite the large quantities of alcohol (“The problem of and solution to all of life’s problems” – Homer Simpson), I personally didn’t see any one stoopid drunk. Sure there were plenty of people who were going to feel bad in the morning,  slurring their speech and talking loudly, but, as expected, there was a good police and taxi presence in and around the venue.

Also as a volunteer, we received a voucher for either Brixx pizza or Dead End BBQ. Given that I am on a gluten free diet (except for beer – it does not give me comatose gluten hangover), my only choice was the BBQ and then it was just meat and beans. But after 5 hours of sampling beers, it tasted pretty good. I ended up, after they sent all the patrons on their way home (or to the Old City), help cleaning up the place while I drank as much water as I could.

It was a packed Saturday from 5am until 11pm (and I only did 2 things – Sell Stuff, Serve Beer) when I got back home and headed straight for the comfort of the bed. I did allow myself to sleep it off in on Sunday morning and did not get upset when I rolled into the Sanctuary right at the end of initial group of songs to start the worship when usually I am at church about 90 minutes early (kid’s schedule). I never made it out to the pool as I was inside cleaning/organizing, but had I actually made it to the pool, I have a feeling I would have fallen asleep out there for a couple of hours. Not good.

Now, the next time I go down to Atlanta, I am going to schedule a tour of the SweetWater Brewery! (@sweetwaterbrew)