In the end, it mattered not a single bit that I was unable to find a anywhere boasting haggis in New Orleans on Robbie Burns Day, as something I ate on Monday night left me barely able to complete the two tasks assigned me at the Cheers Beverage Conference, a 1 1/2 hour roundtable discussion on training bar and restaurant staff in the particularities of beer and a one hour tasting of a half-dozen brews that reflect trends in the current beer market. Food in general and haggis in particular were barely on my radar.
I offer thanks, however, to Rob Tod and the crew at Allagash Brewing in Maine for sending along a few extra bottles of new and experimental stuff for me to sample. They will go a long way towards compensating for the suffering I endured yesterday! (Watch this space for tasting notes in the next few days.)