Many of the diversions I enjoy--foods, beverages, music, works of literature--were not, for me, love at first sight (or taste, or listen, or read). As I mentioned in a previous post, Wilco may be my favorite band. But that wasn't always the case, though; in fact, I jumped the Wilco train only a few years ago, a long distance into its journey. For various reasons, I just never seriously gave them a close listen. Once I immersed myself in one of their records, though, I was hooked.
The same goes with coffee, something I didn't truly enjoy until I served a brief stint as a part-time barrista/part-time bookseller at the Bookstar Bookstore and Cafe in the mid-nineties, and beer, for which I did not acquire a true taste until I spent much of a summer in London during grad school (also in the mid-nineties). Not that any of those now-acquired tastes marks any sort of achievement or merit on my part; but there is something satisfying in making that journey from dislike to like...in a small way, it's almost like the work involved in developing and nurturing a skill or craft--something one must try, fail at, practice, fail at again, and, then, maybe, over time, finally see progress for.
In that light, I'll just mention that I tried the Chicory Stout from Dogfish Head Brewery. It was...not bad. Fairly OK. Somehow, though, I wonder if I wasn't "ready" for it: I love stouts overall, and do enjoy chicory in coffee...but this beer, while interesting, just didn't knock me out. Maybe it was the combination of the fairly bitter coffee (and chicory) flavors juxtaposed with a seemingly large amount of carbonation. I will say, though, that letting it sit in the glass for several minutes did allow it to mellow some, which made it much smoother and (to me) tastier and more drinkable. And maybe it'll eventually grow on me in a Wilco-esque way.
Running log for today: 9.45 miles, mainly to and from my nephew's soccer practice.
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