hermetic\her-MET-ik\
adjective 1: relating to or characterized by occultism or abstruseness : recondite
2a: airtight b: impervious to external influence c: recluse, solitary
This weekend, I was home in Delaware – the original cause for the visit being a bridal shower – but the weekend slowly enveloped into several visit with friends, good home-cooked dinners, and to my gleeful surprise, a visit to a local craft brewery in Greenville, Delaware. The spot was called Twin Lakes Brewery; the estate itself is little more than an old colonial house, a barn, and well, twin lakes. But right off the bat you could tell that this was a place full of life and growth – most notably so by the construction workers who were hammering and drilling on a structure adjacent to the bar, which we learned later would house a canning assembly line and outside fermentation tanks.
The first stop was the “tasting” room in the top level of the bar – comprised of an arrangement of worn-in, classic couches, fringy quilts, patterned pillows, a fireplace, and a bar – with two taps. That bar was serving two beers, the first being their signature beer – Greenville Pale Ale – which had a crisp, clean taste that was both refreshing and original. It paid the bills, our first guide explained. The second, a Stout, was deep and rich in color but surprising light on the palette, especially mine which was unaccustomed to dark beers.
Just as we were all beginning to question when the tour might start, it did. After searching for a spot to escape the noise of the construction, the CEO of Twin Lakes, Sam Hobbs, settled on narrow greenway between the pasture which housed the estate horse, Delicious, and the barn. Sam, who sported a Zermatt sweatshirt and sneakers, had quite a few things to say about filtered water vs. unfiltered water, and he shared with us bits of information about the landscape and the history of the Brandywine area. For example, the twin lakes on property were the site of Joe Biden’s first date. He explained the brands of beer in the Twin Lakes arsenal, and the fact that all of these beers are made to be drinkable. He himself drinks his first beer in 6 seconds, and then slows down a bit on his second, third, fourth…
We ventured inside the barn to witness the manufacturing process and observe silent ongoings in the hermetically sound tanks and canisters. Yeast CO2 bubbled cheerfully from a pipe into a bucket of water. Happy Yeast it was. I was completely charmed by the human quality of this place. It was quirky; it ran with a improvisational feel. We chomped on barley and rubbed hops into our hands to smell the aromas, all the while sipping stout from a growler the brewer carried along with us. Someone took my cup, but I didn’t care. By the end, albeit a stranger or a friend, we were all beer drinkers, and we’d get our fill of original, drinkable beer.
We settled back into the tasting room for a few more samples, and lingered until well after last call. We settled our checks and took along with us a few pint glasses and t-shirts, signs of a well-to-do experience. Fresh. Local. Delicious.
So, I figured that I would tune into the blog and share something that has been mulling over in my mind for the past few weeks. Dexter Season 3, Discs 2 – 4 have been in my Netflix queue for months – not just a few weeks (like the long wait FAQ says is the usual case) – but 
If I can’t have Dexter, I will politely decline any other violent crime drama suggestions for that of a different nature; White Collar, thankfully, was readily available when I added it to the top of the queue. I just watched the first episode of season 1 at Annie’s the other night, and Matt Bomer’s blue eyes aside, the premise of the show was actually pretty captivating. Not to mention there was absolutely no bloodshed… just clean-cut, good-old con-man crime. Ah, gotta love it.
