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Dear Editors, Pardon me for waxing nostalgic but I came across some old pictures and the memories just came flooding into my mind: Ten years ago, I came across a little paper called Ale Street news in a local store that immediately caught my interest since, at that time, there were precious few reliable sources that kept up with the local beer scene.
I convinced my Dad to meet me for lunch at a neat little place that was advertising in Ale Street, the Waterfront Ale House near the Brooklyn D.A.’s office where he worked .
Needless to say, the Waterfront became an immediate favorite with us and would become a very important place to me personally just a few years later.
A few months later, I saw that ASN was advertising a trip to the 1994 Great British Beer Festival and I convinced my Dad that this was one that we couldn’t miss. When we arrived at the airport to meet our fellow travelers, my Dad’s eyebrows went up as we noticed a 9-month old baby girl in a stroller at the head of the group. My father’s reaction was instantaneous, "Oh God! A screaming baby for the whole trip! What did I get myself into?!"
Luckily, little Andrea Babin immediately proved my father wrong by being the best behaved and sweetest little girl my father had ever encountered and they became fast friends. The whole trip was amazing. I made some good friends in London that I still travel with to this day. As a matter of fact, I took one of my favorite pictures while on a guided tour of Young’s Brewery of Jack and Andrea Babin that I thought really captured the spirit of the trip and the group.
In the 10 years that have passed since then, a lot has happened: I became a lifetime subscriber to ASN and joined you for many more trips and beer events in such diverse locations as Colorado, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey (of course) and even got to Belgium a few times. Unfortunately, my Dad passed away in 1995 and didn’t get to join us but I know he’s always with us in spirit.
Over the years, my appreciation (and consumption) of beer and the finer things in life associated with it were significantly enhanced due in large part to my association with ASN and its numerous supporters and advertisers.
Skipping ahead a little, on January 24, 1999 I went on what would become my last blind date ever at a little place in Brooklyn that I hadn’t been to in too long a time, the Waterfront Ale House. My date, Karen, ordered a Brooklyn Pennant Ale with no coaching from me and I was hooked! This brilliant, beautiful, caring young woman appreciated good beer! We were married nine months later and Karen quickly became part of the Ale Street family. We’ve continued our beer hunting in various countries as well as cities across the U.S. as we were meant to: together!
Last summer, Karen and I decided that it was time for our then 3-month old daughter, Olivia, to attend her first beer event: the Garden State Craft Brewers Festival. Naturally, our first stop was the Ale Street News concession, which was being ably manned by the publishers themselves (aka Jack and Tony). Without hesitation, I handed my camera to Jack, picked up little Olivia and turned around so he could capture the moment. To this day, I don’t know if Jack or I was moved more with the similarity of the moment that took place nine years before.
L
ooking back, I’m amazed at how something so seemingly inconsequential as a little start-up newspaper devoted to nothing more than the enjoyment of beer could have affected my life in such a positive way. It’s been an amazing decade for and me personally and I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge just how much the Ale Street "crew" has meant to me and my family. Thank you, all.
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