Meet Sean Nordquist (aka Beer for the Daddy)
Growing up in a family of academics and gourmets taught me a lot of things, but two of the most important were self-expression and enjoyment of quality. I often listened to my mother and father discuss the food we were eating, the wine they were drinking, and even the desserts we savored together. We were not a wealthy family by any means, but my father was – and still is – a fantastic cook, and they both enjoy good wine. It was never about gluttony, but about the experience of food: the tasting, the enjoyment, and the bonding aspect of sharing the journey from start to finish. We didn’t inhale dinner; we dined together. Even if it was just tostadas or spaghetti, dinner was a time together. I learned from a young age how to stop and taste my food. I distinctly remember a vacation my father and I took where he taught me the secret to eating chocolate mousse. Served in a champagne flute, there could not have been more than three or four ounces of the stuff, but my dad made it last fifteen minutes. He would take a bite, let it sit on his tongue and savor it, then follow it with a sip of wine or port. Looking back, I think that was where I first learned to really taste using all of my senses. Every taste bud alive, letting myself feel the texture, inhale the aroma, take in the color and presentation of the dessert. Fast forward now nearly thirty years and I am a father of two boys, and I try to imbue them with the same respect for what they eat and drink. So far I think I have done pretty well – my nine year old is a nut for seafood and won’t order off the kids menu anymore.
When it comes to beer, the process is the same. All senses engaged, all aspects of the experience taken into account. Food pairing, the company I am in, the locale… all of these things are part of the beer experience. My life with beer is most likely markedly different than a lot of beer bloggers out there. I am a husband and father, so time and money are always a concern. In addition to my beer writing I have a full time professional job that requires a certain level of sobriety and decorum, so all night pub-crawls are – for the most part – a thing of the distant past. So while I enjoy craft beer as much as the next person, my approach and experience are most certainly from a different place. I look forward to writing about my experiences with beer and beer-related activities and sharing them with Hop Press readers each week.
