Forrest that is such a great pic of you and your mate and hat. Can I ask what is in his hands you are pointing to? And can I ask what happened to his hand? No answer's to questions will not be taken with any offence. Just asking, great mates pic I can see and feel it
Thank you for the kind complement, Mike,
(By the way, my best man at my wedding was/is from Oz.)
The answers to your questions:
A craft beer micro-brewery here in The Minneapple, Minnesota, on the shores of the famous Lake Minnetonka (made more famous in Prince’s movie Purple Rain), celebrate the first week of any new or new-into-the-rotation IPA freshly on tap by offering it in a bowl --optionally, of course. I recommend it. Here’s why:
What it does for the “nose” of the IPA; the magic of the large surface sends its aromatics off the charts.
Plus, it’s appropriate for us Minnesota Vikings ale-hounds to drink out of a bowl. Here’s why that:
(I found the following derivation of the word I am about to expatiate in The Daily Norseman, reported by one Ted Glover.)
Of our National Football League team, The Minnesota Vikings, its fans, we, get asked what is meant by our cheer-leading chant, "Skol!"
“Skol!” is also a common Scandinavian toast to your friends when you have a beer with them. The word actually derives from an old Norsk word that meant "bowl." And here's where THAT comes from:
Back in the Middle Ages, rampaging bands of Vikings roamed Europe, conquering all in their path. "The Boogeyman would check his closet before he went to bed to make sure there weren't any Vikings in it." Well, the story is that because Vikings believed that warriors who were vanquished in battle would be allowed into Valhalla only if they had fought valiantly, therefore, when after such a battle, if their opponents' king or leader(s) HAD fought valiantly, then the Vikings would want to help them enter Valhalla by offering them the respect of --get this-- drinking ale from the cut-off-and-cleaned top of their skull --which is of course bowl-shaped.
"Skol!"
These days, it's just a way to cheer each other on to victory in an American football game. But if you anger us Vikings fans too much, we'll put a metaphorical Green Bay, Wisconsin, Packer Nation's metaphorical cheesehead onto a metaphorical pole by drinking some Minnesota-brewed beer from it. So, fight valiantly Packer fans, because we Vikings fans can go medieval on you when we’re feeling embattled.
Heh heh heh heh.
Back to the Back Channel Brewery’s beer in a bowl:
It’s mostly a fun way to signal to customers that their newest IPA became freshly available this week.
But I suspect there is a touch of celebration in their having vanquished another of their rotating IPA accomplishments of excellence, too.
Now, regarding my friend’s hand, I’d love to tell you that he lost his digits in a valiant battle, but it’s actually just the perspective of the photograph. His body is whole. (His mind, on the other hand….)
p.s.
In our vernacular, “mate” is the person one wakes up with. I’m happy to report that, although he and his mate have traveled with me and mine, I’ve never awakened with him.
Skol!
