Highway Robbery

Last weekend, Matt and one of his beer-brewing partners entered a brewing competition at one of our favorite local brewpubs, Ellicott Mills Brewing Company. For weeks before the competition, the two of them sampled dozens of different brown ales and pored over even more recipes. They brewed this batch with particular precision and created a smooth, easy-to-drink ale.

On the day of the competition, I sat right next to the judges, using my bionic teacher ears to listen to their comments. Unlike stereotypical wine-tasting judges, these beer judges were cracking jokes and enjoying their task. "This one smells like my grandma's house," one said. "Was this one brewed with black olives?" another asked. Matt's was the last to be sampled, and the judges had nothing but rave reviews. One even said that it tasted like the brown ale brewed by Smuttynose.

When it came time to announce the winner, one of the bar's owners said that two beers had earned a perfect score, a feat unheard of in the world of beer-brewing competitions. He announced that the two "perfect" beers were Matt's and one other. And how did they decide between two pints of ale perfection? With a further vote? Another blind tasting? Perhaps one of the bartenders or servers broke the tie. No, the tie was broken by the regular at the end of the bar. "I could sit and drink this one all day," he said after sampling the competition.

For days after the competiton, Matt was calling himself the "first loser." It didn't seem right that a hybrid between Cliff and Norm decided such a fate. Highway robbery, indeed.