Last week, I shared an occasion that had me considering the emotional connection one can have with a beer-drinking experience when I wrote “The best beer I’ve ever had.” I put the call out to other beer folks and asked them to detail their “best beer” experiences for me for a series aptly titled, The best beer I’ve ever had. For my first guest entry, Crystal Luxmore, beer writer, editor, Certified Cicerone and a Prud’homme Beer Sommelier, talks about her best beer experience.
I was at Real Sports Bar and Grill at the Air Canada Centre, killing time before the Jays game. I was eating wings and watching my sister, husband, and brothers-in-law down pints because I was eight months pregnant and hadn’t had an entire pint of beer since finding out the news 7 months before.
I refreshed my email and saw a message titled: “Certified Cicerone Exam Results – Crystal Luxmore.”
I’d seen this message once before — in January — when I had come a few percentage points short of the 80% needed to pass. So in May, I’d flown to Chicago to sit the exam one more time, hoping to pass the sucker before my baby came.
This time I read as far as:
On behalf of Cicerone Program Director Ray Daniels and the Cicerone Exam Management Team, I’d like to congratulate you on passing the Certified Cicerone® exam!
before screaming “Yes!” and breaking out into a wild grin.
Ten minutes later I decided it was time for the first full pint of my pregnancy — I chose Creemore, one of the first great Canadian craft lagers of my generation and still a favourite of mine.
Never have beer and wings tasted so good.
I suspect, however, with only a week to go until my due date, that the first full bottle of beer I have after giving birth might taste even better.
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