A few random observations:
-I’m in the middle of my first beer trading “damaged shipment”. I sent a full 6 shipper from North Carolina to California, had it refilled and it was sent back to NC by one of my good trading partners. It made it all the way cross country back to western North Carolina and then I saw the dreaded “Damaged in Shipment – returning to Shipper” note on my FedEx app. I called FedEx to see if they can redirect it back to me – after all, it made it 90% of the way – just deliver it to me and I’ll determine what was damaged. Unfortunately, the shipper instructions called for a return if damaged, so FedEx couldn’t reroute it without a request from the shipper (my trading partner). I reached out to my trading partner and he immediately called FedEx. He requested that the delivery be completed to me…and that’s where we’re at. The FedEx rep he spoke to didn’t seem real confident that it will be redirected to me, so it may very well wind up back in California for my trading partner to take stock of what happened. Tough to determine what happened, especially since we were using a good styrofoam 6-shipper. Putting it all in perspective, this is my first damaged shipment among many trades and also….it’s only beer. Even though I would love to be sipping on some Nibs and Beans Speedway Stout right now, no one got hurt and I’ll survive! We’ll see where this goes….anyone have any good “damaged in shipment” stories to share? For all I know, we had a thirsty FedEx person who perhaps heard some sloshing and decided to check it out! I’ll let you know what happens in a future blogpost!
-My wonderful bride, Mrs. Stoutwhisperer, made me a stout glass with my logo. It looked really great but when I poured a Stout in it, the logo disappeared! I don’t know 
the technical details of glass making but apparently the etching wasn’t deep enough. Not to be deterred, she went to her Etsy network and found someone who made two Stoutwhisperer glasses for me! I was thrilled to get these logo glasses and you can expect to see them in my photos going forward next to any brewery glassware I’ve procured. The logo looks great with a nice dark Stout as a background! Hope you think so as well!
-I just returned from a business trip to the land of Mickey Mouse – Orlando, Florida. After the important work was finished, I tried to find some time to check out the craft beer scene in Orlando. Unfortunately, that turned into “whatever you can do in a two 
hour window on your way to the airport heading home”. I used the intelligence I gathered from my friends at Beer Advocate and headed to Knightly Liquors on Orange Blossom Boulevard. Yes, it’s in a sketchy area, but they have a great assortment of Stouts! After talking with them, I found out about their “behind the counter” selection and I was able to bring home a couple of bottles of Funky Buddha’s Maple Bacon Coffee Porter! I’m really excited about cracking open a bottle next weekend and seeing if MBCP lives up to the hype! I also picked up a couple of Stouts from Canada I’ve heard about but haven’t had the chance to taste – Aphrodite and Peche Mortel from Brasserie Dieu du 
Ciel in Quebec. Knightly has a great beer selection….I highly recommend you check them out if you are in Orlando….they are in the SeaWorld area. Friendly knowledgeable people and great selection…what else can you ask for?
-We’re wrapping up the Stout Month of February….so that means my world will slow down for just a bit. The only real Stout event coming up is the annual KBS release! Founder’s is having all of their release events around Grand Rapids and Michigan during the month of March – and everyone else will be able to taste the elixir that is KBS in April. I’m especially looking forward to the 2017 release as that will complete my 5 year KBS vertical..starting with 2013..14..15..16..and now 17! I’m looking forward to doing some tastings across the years! That also means my Stout Cellar is at it’s maximum capacity. That means it’s time to take inventory and open the cellar for some trading! I’m more about trying new Stouts and trying to trade for Whales! There are so many brewers creating amazing Stouts that it’s difficult to keep up…but the quest continues!
If you are reading this and think I need to know about a specific Stout, please let me know! If you are local to a brewery and a Stout that deserves more love, have them send me a bottle or two so I can taste it and review it! I love to sample new Stouts!
That’s it for now….thanks for checking me out! See you next time!
Hope you have a Stoutstanding week!
Stoutwhisperer 