The End. Or...?

Beer/Brewery #366 Lava / Ölvisholt Brugghús, Selfoss, Iceland
Beers to go: 0

There you have it folks, we have officially come to the end of this journey.  During the past 366 days, Marci and I have each drank 366 different beers from 366 different craft breweries.  Bazinga!

Please, hold your applause.

Before we wrap things up, I'd like to thank a few people who have helped in ways great and small.  First, the great restaurants, bars, and bottle shops in my area who make it their mission to make fantastic beers readily available to the public.  Without these fine businesses, there is NO way our blog would have made it this far.  Looking at you, Teresa's Next Door in Wayne, TJ's Everyday in Paoli, Wegmans in Malvern, Whole Foods in Devon, and The Beer Shoppe in Ardmore.  I'd also like to thank our friends who either donated or traded some really interesting beers, so a tip of the hat to Pat C., Mike T., Dr. Liz T., Mike B. and Casey E., and Nathan A., along with anyone else I might be missing here.  Couldn't have done it without you.  It certainly goes without saying that I would like to thank Marci, as I just couldn't imagine how this would have worked without her being along for the ride.  It's nice to have a partner in crime!

Lastly, I'd like to thank you, the readers of this website.  Mostly you're my friends, but there have been an increasing number of people reading this site who I'll never meet in "real life."  We've had hits to this website from around the globe, which always makes me wonder how you found us - although I'm always thankful that you did.  You guys are the best.

Quite frankly, writing this blog has been a tremendously enjoyable activity for me.  I originally went into this endeavor thinking that we'd turn the blog into a best selling book, which would then get turned into a blockbuster movie.  Yeah, so.... about that.  Fame and fortune hasn't happened (yet!), but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.  It wasn't all seashells and balloons, as there were some days where I felt like I had nothing to say, some days where I couldn't quite find the right way to say what I was thinking, and some days where I thought my post was going to be amazing, only to look back and realize it was a small scale dumpster fire.  I guess I'm saying that I've learned I'm not exactly Hemingway when it comes to writing.  Regardless, through it all I've had fun.  Therefore, as Marci has mentioned in her wrap-up post, this blog will continue in the future!!!!  NO, we are NOT doing any further 365 day challenges, but we will continue to use this space to write about craft beer, travel, restaurants, music, sports, dogs, the highs and lows of life, and whatever else seems relevant each day.  One of the challenges of this blog was that in focusing on a new beer from a new brewery each day, we missed many great beers along the way.  Therefore, we'll be going back to try some of the beers we didn't get to, while still searching for new breweries as well.  I hope you continue reading as time goes on, because I'll be terribly sad if you don't.

Today isn't officially in the books until we review beer #366, so let's get on with the show.  We're both closing things out tonight with a bottle of Lava, an imperial stout from Ölvisholt Brugghús, a brewery in Iceland.  Iceland?  Yeah, that's how I roll.  I drink beers from Iceland.   In the glass, this beer dark black color with a sparse tan head.  You get an aroma filled with smoked, toasted malt, and when you take a sip you find a smoky, malt heavy beer.  Sort of a smoked meat kind of flavor happening.  There's some cocoa in there as well, and it has a clean, dry finish.  Not the style I typically choose, but definitely a decent beer.  If you see one on the shelves, pick one up.

Ice(land), Ice(land), baby....

This brewery was founded in 2007, and they currently ship beer to most of Scandinavia, along with the U.S. and Canada.  You may be wondering why this beer is called Lava.  Of course you are.  It's because from the brewery, you can see Hekla, an active volcano, which has erupted as recently as 2000.  Europeans in the Middle Ages called this volcano, "Gateway to Hell."  Not exactly a tourist friendly moniker, I suppose, although the volcano does figure prominently in literature and art, as it has been referenced by writers such as William Blake and Herman Melville.

Thing to Think About Today:
Lots of people have done '365 beers in 365 days' challenges.  Hit Google and you'll find countless variations, some successful, many not.  However, I don't know of any doing 365 beers from 365 different breweries, and I certainly don't know of any married couples out there trying to each accomplish this goal.  Therefore, I can think no better way to close out this phase of the journey than to let Queen wrap up tonight in style with We Are the Champions.  Because we are!

Good night friends, thank you for coming, and please do come back in the future.  Free hugs and cookies if you do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTivVclQQ0

"No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions.... of the (craft beer blogging) world"