Draft. Release day at Bluejacket during Travlr’s 10,000th beer rating celebration. Poured a hazy yellow color with a small white head, though quickly dissipated. Aroma is some light funk, light grain. Lemon peel. Tartness is enjoyable. Congrats Gene!

It’s been an interesting journey getting to this point, having rated 10,000 beers since retiring from the military in October 2008 (and discovering RateBeer shortly thereafter). I think people are more important than beer, so I want to say something about all those who helped me on that journey. But first, a few words about the beer. This beer reminds me of others in Terry Hawbaker’s ample repertoire: it has a delicate, floral, perfumy nose that really shines through, probably from the French Aramis hops. The flavor is equally delicate, very softly sour citrus, light summer fruit, with hints of spice. The finish is smooth, dry, lightly spiced. Just like parents can’t objectively rate their own children, I can’t impartially judge this one, since the generosity and spirit of cooperation of those who created it, not to mention the amazing atmosphere of this release party at Bluejacket, have elevated my perception of it beyond recognition. So I’m giving it an honorary 5.0, the only perfect score I’ve given any beer. Not because the beer is perfect, but because the entire experience has been pretty damn well near. And now on to the people. I’m glad there’s not a time limit, like at the Academy Awards, or someone would have to shut off my mike. I’ve been a fan of Terry Hawbaker’s beers since I first met him at the former Shenendoah brewery in Alexandria, where he collaborated with urbeer of the Sturdy brewers in West Flanders. Since then Terry and I have shared beers, brewing, pizza and festival experiences in places ranging from urban Copenhagen and hip Fanø, Denmark to rural Enola, Pennsylvania, all too infrequently with his fiancée Kristen Mullen at his side. Then Greg Engert and company opened the Bluejacket Brewery. I was already a fan of his work at Rustico, and of course at ChurchKey. Then Greg brought in Megan Parisi (from Cambridge), Bobby Bump (from Allagash) and Josh Chapman (from the culinary side of the House); sadly, Megan left, and I knew that Terry would make the perfect older brother and mentor to the two remaining Bluejacket brewers, who were then joined by Owen Miller (from the Coffee World). I met Owen when he was interning at Struise, evidence of how small and interconnected the beer world really is. I sincerely thank each one of you for creating this special beer and this event as well; speaking of the event, it wouldn’t have been possible without Erik Bergman, Anne Marisic and the rest of the spectacular staff at Bluejacket. And I’m thrilled that Tammy Tuck (often with Bruce in tow) has been around to document this for posterity. Tonight I’m honored to be part of a tripartite 10k event with two other brand new inductees into the rank of Ace Beer Rater: Koelschtrinker (Roman), who I met, along with Sebastien Sauer, at the most unlikely of places for German beer drinkers: the Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation in Buggenhout, Belgium. (Hopefully the authors of the Reinheitsgebot are spinning in their graves!) And bierkoning (Edo), the real king of beers, who I first met at the now-world-famous Borefts festival in Bodegraven, Netherlands. Thank, you, gentlemen, for allowing me to be a part of this adventure! Of course, you don’t rate 10,000 beers just by going to festivals or visiting your local. I also owe a debt of thanks for this milestone to the innumerable and amazing folks I’ve met through RateBeer, both near and far. Close to home, I’m fortunate to be part of one of the best local tasting groups on all of RateBeer. Argo0 (pronounced Argonaut, for those of you, like me, not creative enough to figure it out) saw my ratings of Belgian beers on the site and invited me to a tasting at nimbleprop’s place. “What’s a tasting?” I asked naively. It didn’t take long to figure it out. I am constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of this group – ygtbsm94 (you figure the acronym out), tarheels86 (who changed his name to GT2 after hooking up with biggirlpanties), BeerandBlues2 (my travl co-conspirator), MrChopin (who once asked me what the name Travlr meant), noodleuser, CaptainCougar, ajax25g, radagast(insert any # here), gendv138, Drake, jackl, Elwood, maniac (& his cats and lovely wife, especially for introducing me to Cards Against Humanity), oteyj, iphonephan, internally displaced persons like nuplastikk, and others too numerous to mention. Other tasting groups around the globe have contributed as well: daknole and the Arizona crew (thanks for the spontaneous tasting, brewpub tours and an amazing paired dinner!); Holy (a lifelong pre-beer friend and heart of my real family), Bierkrug, shrubber85, Grima, ThirstyBird and others from Germany; Boystout from Moldova (thanks for bribing the Russian 14th Army to get us back home!); RobertDale, theisti and the rest of the Kansas crew; Sledutah and others who met me in Idaho (thanks for the portrait!); SHIG in Italy (now Alaska; watch out for those screaming Carabinieri!); TimE, KyotoLefty, Chewy and the spectacular Tokyo crew; chriso, Leighton, Scopey and the UK crew, with whom I must do more travling; t0rin0, womencantorbrokensail, kmweaver and the multiple amazing West Coast crews; JimtheChap and Cantabrian in New Zealand (nate2g gets a special mention below); kraddel, tderoeck and his lovely wife & son, BelgBeerGeek, Martinus, SeaBass, 77ships and the always-entertaining Belgian crew; travel advisors Oakes, ¾ & fiulijn; phredrick (one e) & RasmusOtt (tricking!); kkearn & Greg; ohmper & Black Jack (the Stockholm tour!) as well as Nisse666 & Blomster; phaleslu, DrSilverworm, Brigadier, alexsdad06 & the other Ohioans; and everyone else I met at the various gatherings, official and unofficial, in Asheville, Tokyo, Antwerp, Gent and elsewhere. And the beers themselves didn’t pop out of thin air. Brewers, bar owners and staff, store owners and staff, have been extraordinarily generous sharing their wares: Urbain, Carlo, Peter and the folks at Deca (thanks for everything, and thanks to Mobutu for letting Urbs return!); Menno and the folks who make the windmill go ‘round; Sebastian and Peter; Glenn & Davy (thanks for an amazing Christmas week with Kenny & Savannah, my other family); Greg Jasgur (who left Paradiso for Oxbow, come back soon!) and the whole Paradiso team; Brandon & Jeff; Dave & Mike; Naheem; Sam; Nathan, Thor and Mike the Mad Fermentationist; craftycarl21, Eric and the extraordinary team at ChurchKey; FrumptyDumpty and his lovely wife and daughter, not to mention Hamburglar; Armand & Michel; Brian (who I see more in Europe than in Baltimore); Jeppe; Lorie & Tyler (glad we met on that back road in West Flanders); Jérôme (and his mom, who is greatly missed); Dany; Tobias et al; Dominic & Janine; Sven the Belgian Spaniard; Alex (thanks for the box!); Bruno (and his pipette!); Manuele (and the most amazing crew at the most amazing bar); nate2g and his admirers for pulling me down under, including Steve Pom and the Bier Baroness; Umberto (and his culinary skills!); Sigmund; OleR & the amazing Haand guys (remember Asse!); Yves & Kurt; Dirk & Leena; Jeff and the incredible La Cumbre crew (thanks for opening your place for some weary travlrs!); Chris and Jeff at Mi Orge; BoBoChamp (thanks for the tastings!); Casey (and his famous Belgian Beer Fest, and deep, deep cellar); Prof Fritz; Raphaël; Valter e la sua bella moglie. Last but not least: joet and the spectacular staff at RateBeer - you changed my life, and I’m not exaggerating. Of course, it’s impossible to list everyone in a retrospective like this. But if I left you off, it probably means two things: first, we need to get together again and drink a beer; and second, you’ll probably appear in the book! Cheers!