Beer Run

One thing that bugs me about beer and liquor stores is that they're completely independent. This means that you have to do some research to find out which place has a good selection and which doesn't. It would be nice if liquor stores had some rating system, even something as simple as the number of microbrews and the number of foreign beers.

The best selection I've seen so far is Corridor Fine Wine and Liquors, but it's all the way in Laurel. That used to be 20 minutes away, now it's 40 minutes. This place is like a supermarket for beer and wine. Even Corridor can't overcome the second injustice with beer. You can't get beers from all over the country all over the country. Suppose I want Fat Tire beer from Seattle or Mirror Pond from Portland. Can't get it. Just can't.

You would think someone might get it, somewhere, but no. There's probably some weird rule. It's too bad that the selection it limited by some weird rules.

A coworker suggested I try going to a place in Frederick on the so-called golden mile. I'll get to that later. This place was called Westridge Liquor. Google Maps said this was on Exit 13B on some road called Patrick.

So I was thinking, there's a 13B nearby, though that's not Frederick, but maybe you'd call it "South Frederick"? I mean, clearly it made no sense that this 13B, the one that I had just gone to on Friday for lunch, was wrong. As you go further north, the exits merely increase, right?

But Google Maps said it was 25 minutes away, so something wasn't right.

As I wandered, I stopped by where I like to stop when I need directions.

Starbucks.

I don't know why. I figure you get a certain class of people that work at Starbuck's and they are likely to know directions. Worse gets to worst, I can always get some coffee.

Now it turns out I was way off, but they had no idea because I was nearly 20 miles off, and no one who worked there was from Frederick. I asked African American guy working the counter, and he asked this Indian (American) female. Finally, there was this third white guy, and he seemed to realize I needed to go further north. He even had a beer to suggest, called Delirium, which is a Belgian beer.

Sometimes I think you can meet interesting folks just talking to various people working at Starbuck's. I now regret that I didn't discuss beer more with this fellow. Perhaps he had other suggestions I could look into.

In any case, I started driving north. I thought, is it possible that there is another exit 13?

I'm driving and driving, and it feels like I'm going more and more into the boonies. The drive becomes a touch quieter. The speed limit goes up more. Eventually, it says that 270 ends.

Ends!

Of course, it just goes on, but it's not called 270. And get this. It starts numbering again. Back at exit 13.

So I take exit 13B a second time, and try to look for this liquor store.

I also see why this place is called the golden mile. My colleague calls "Frederick", "Fredneck", as in "redneck". The golden mile is a stretch of road with lots of shops. Restaurants, stores, etc. Indeed, it almost looks like the stretch of road in Laurel where Corridor is located.

Anyway, I finally find this liquor store, which is near a Giant. It's run by some Koreans, and it's bigger than usual. It does have a few unusual beers. Usually, a sign of unusual beers is if they sell Duvel beer, a dark Belgian beer. It's not so unusual that you aren't likely to see it, but it says something if this place sells it.

Since it is run by Koreans, they do sell OB, a Korean beer.

There is just a few unusual beers, but nothing like Corridor. The question is whether it's worth taking that trip out, and right now, I'd say no.

I look back on this minor adventure and wonder if such a thing would happen in India. Of course, the logistics would be quite different. I have a car. Most Indians don't. I'm willing to go 20 miles or so to find beer. The average middle class Indian tends to think of beer as a no-no. There's still something of a negative stigma associated with beer (or other alcohol). True, some people drink freely and find nothing wrong, but they realize there's a large segment of society (none the least of which are Muslims) that find it wrong and heck, Gandhi was a teetotaler too.

Still, it gave me an odd excuse to head to Frederick which I wouldn't do otherwise. I might make the visit again at some point.

We'll see.