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12-10-2011, 06:40
Visit the Pencil & Spoon site (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/10/cheers-to-three-years.html)



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TodayPencil&Spoon is three years old! Happy birthday blog!


Tocelebrate being three, and in the abridged style of High Fidelity, here aresome top three lists:


Top three thingsI’ve done because of writing this blog that I wouldn’t have done if I didn’twrite this blog
1. Travellingto lots of different places – New York, San Francisco, Boulder, Rome, Prague,Belgium. I may have gone to these places but I saw a different side
2. Brewinga beer with BrewDog
3. Craftbeer list with Byron Hamburgers


Top three momentsthanks to blogging about beer
1. Anytime someone sees me in a pub, or sends me an email, and says they read theblog and enjoy it – it makes it all worthwhile
2. Winningtwo awards from the British Guild of Beer Writers (I was asked the other day ifI think it made a difference to me and it absolutely has – it gave meopportunities to write properly, to write for print, and it gave me the guts tokeep on going)
3. Seeingmy writing in print for the first time (and seeing the cheque I got with it)



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Top three beersI’ve drunk while writing this blog
1. Racer5 in many different places – The Rake, my house, the brewery, The Toad in theHole in Santa Rosa
2. PilsnerUrquell in the cellars under the brewery
3. Plinythe Elder, Toronado, San Francisco – first beer of my first beer trip


Top three places(excluding pubs and breweries) I’ve drunk beer while writing this blog
1. Abeach on a little Greek island as the sun’s setting. Icy Mythos and a plate oflittle fried fish. Perfection.
2. Ona hotel rooftop in NYC, having climbed up the fire stairway. We opened a can of21st Amendment and watched the skyline in the distance
3. CitiField. A cold lager, a hot dog and baseball



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Top threebreweries I’ve had a beer in
1. Cantillon.Magical
2. PilsnerUrquell. Incredible
3. RussianRiver. Mind-blowing
Honorable mention: Oskar Blues. Awesome


Top three pubsor bars I’ve had a beer in
1. Toronado,San Francisco
2. Barcade,Brooklyn
3. Bir+ Fud, Rome
Honorable mention: Moeder Lambic,Brussels


Top threestrangest – what am I doing here? – moments thanks to blogging about beer
1. A beer bath in Czech Republic
2. Climbing into my first mash tun. It was at the old Thornbridge Brewery. My fear of heights peaked as I ungracefully tried to climb into the tank while fighting a fierce battle with my fear of falling
3. ElizabethStreet Brewery. A home-brewery in San Francisco, a party for the Superbowl,lots of food, lots of people, lots of home-brewed beers on tap and the biggestTV I’ve ever seen. Not a strange place, just a brilliant thing to find myselfat – a unique experience



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Top three blogs– page views
1. CraftBeer Co (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/06/craft-beer-co-clerkenwell.html)
2. BeerStyle: Does It Matter? (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2010/10/beer-style-does-is-matter.html)
3. ChallengingBeer at Tesco (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/08/challenging-beer-at-tesco.html)


Top threefavourite blogs I’ve posted
1. ChodovarBeer Baths (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2010/08/chodovar-beer-baths.html)
2. Themost incredible drinking experience (so far) (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2010/09/most-incredible-drinking-experience-so.html)
3. Whybeer matters (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/07/blog-500-why-beer-matters.html)


Here’s somerandom facts:


Blogsposted: 530 (this is blog 531)


Wordswritten in three years: Over 250,000


Totalnumber of comments on all posts: 5,061


Hoursspent every day writing this blog or reading other blogs: 1-3


ArgumentsI’ve had with Lauren because I’ve been on twitter/reading or writing blogs/outdrinking beer/reading a beer book when I should’ve been spending time with her:Approximately 638. Sorry Lauren.




Cheersfor reading this. If you didn’t read it and add comments then it wouldn’t bewhat it is. Most days for three years I’ve got up at 5am to write this, I’vespent my weekends chasing beers and going to new pubs, I’ve spent all my sparemoney travelling or buying bottles or books or another bookshelf because I’vebought so many (or buying Lauren presents because I’ve just put in anotherorder with myBrewerytap/Amazon/Expedia). I do it all because I love doing it.And because beer is brilliant.


Cake pic from here (http://laurennicolegifts.blogspot.com/2009/11/forever-21.html).
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8717216232742676074-4880240576323822525?l=www.pencilandspoon.com


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