Sabbatical?

So what happened in the last (almost) 4 weeks?

I decided, after nearly three years, that I could finish my PhD dissertation. Among other things, this led to:

• Many days of finishing my workday, just to begin working on writing, meaning as many as 20 hours straight at the office
•  No free time - making my friends and loved ones in DC experience what many of my friends and loved ones in CA and OR have experienced since I began writing it three years ago
• A serious reduction in gym time and mileage
• A lapse in blogging, which I'm very sad about.

But some good things happened too:

• I'm on the last substantive chapter, and I can taste the finish line!
• We were a small part in helping MRT raise over $21,500 in March!
• Some of my friends (without any prodding) threw a party and collected donations for McKenzie River Trust, totaling over $100!
• We crossed the $2,000 mark for total donations!

At the end of March, I said that I would post about beer if we hit that milestone, and now it's time to deliver!

Of course, it is with a heavy heart that I talk about beer on this blog. Tim loved beer. He was never the kind of man who got drunk, or angry, or silly when he was drinking. We would just sit, preferably around a fire, and tell stories and chat while having a few beers. Ultimately, too many nights of that, too many beers, is part of why he was taken away from us. It serves as a reminder to be careful not to overdo it. But it also means that every beer I drink will be bittersweet, and will remind me of sitting by the fire, laughing, telling stories, and learning about life, love, family, and how to be a good man. Those things make me really appreciate a good beer.

So what's the most important ingredient in a good beer? If you've ever chewed on raw hops, you know that they don't make magic on their own... let Joe Moll, executive Director of MRT, break it down for you:

Not convinced where the flavor comes from, just ask Matt Van Wyk, one of the many amazing brewers of the Pacific Northwest...

That's right, the River makes for some damn good beer. And to celebrate that, last year, Ninkasi (one of my favorites when I'm in OR) made a brew to support MRT, and it raised over $10,000!

That's right... it makes our goal of $2,620 seem (India) Pale (Ale) in comparison, right?

We're only $476 dollars away... and for the price of a pint (in DC) - you can add $5 (or more, of course) to our total here!