beernesday

as my self-imposed month of cleansing comes to a close i have some thoughts on trying to be a beer person and live without beer for 31 days first off, let me admit that i didn't make it to 31 days i chose to have drinks on the 14th and the 15th, then tried to go back on the wagon for the rest of the month but alas, once you open that darned pandora's box, it's soooo darned easy to find another good reason to drink! my motives for drinking on the 14th and 15th were pure the ones since then have not been on the 14th i went to an about-to-open brewery and tried a sample of each of their beers this was an opportunity that i didn't feel i could miss out on that i would be cutting off my nose to spite my face if i was to be stubborn and refuse the time-sensitive offer just because it was january i had quite a bit of internal debate about the matter it was not an easy decision to make in the end, i went with my gut and drank the beers two weeks later, i have no ...

beer friends, january looks like it has been a stellar month so far for craft beer in vancouver but then, it always looks that way to me when it's january and i'm doing a stupid cleanse day 16 of 21 and i'm still going strong i may shoot the next person who invites me to a beer pairing dinner or a cask night though! shoot them a snide email or a dirty look, of course, i am canadian afterall so why do i do this to myself every year? 1.  it really is kinda fun to be holier than thou, at least for a couple of weeks 2.  some part of me really believes this is good for me and maybe, just maybe, will balance out the mean things i do to myself the rest of the year 3.  january becomes a "me" time - less going out, more getting stuff done 4.  i often go to mexico in february and it sure is easier to fit into my swim trunks if i cleanse first! 5.  everything tastes so much better after taking a break from crap and getting back to basics - except the fake ...

not the end of the world, that has been and gone a dozen times already! no, i'm talking about the end of my cleanse and related dry month of january tomorrow tomorrow i drink! but here's the dilemma... what shall i drink? what will my first beer be? ipa, natch but which one? it will most likely be central city's red racer ipa since that's what's in the fridge at work and that's where i'll be headed at 4 tomorrow what will i follow it with? will i down them like water after my drought? will i be smart and ration myself? what will it taste like? will it be the best thing i ever tasted? or will it be too strong for my poor purified taste buds? i'll get back to you...

i am totally a paragon of virtue i am still on the wagon, but attending beer events as if i was drinking! 2 cask nights, a beernesday and the r&b '2013 is gonna be great' brewery party - all in one week so i thought perhaps i'd take a moment to pat myself on the back and list the pros of being dry from time to time 1.  the obvious - no hangovers 2.  leading from #1, more hours in the day to get stuff done and have fun 3.  my rings are never tight on my fingers - no retaining water! 4.  my liver gets a well-deserved little break 5.  my taste buds get a chance to recalibrate 6.  people are impressed by my will-power 7.  hopefully those same people will buy me a drink in february 8.  i'll lose a couple of pounds and fit back into my beer t-shirts 9.  if i had a car, i'd be able to drive it home every night! and 10.  that first beer on february 1st is going to taste sooooooo good!

oh, my, [insert diety of your choice here] i went for a run this morning for the first time in (obviously) far too long this clean livin' is gonna kill me! that, after i sat through a beernesday at st. augustine's without drinking any of the fabulous beers on tap my virtuousness is nauseating, i know (day 17, 14 to go) anyway, the new and exciting beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver: Granville Island Brewing Barley Wine - $10.35 The folks down at GIB have decided to turn up the heat with this barley wine. Aged in bourbon barrels, this particular brew has caramel malt character, vanilla and oak flavours and a dose of Pacific Northwest hop. Parallel 49 Russian Imperial Stout - $13.75 Brewed dark and strong just like they did it in the 18th century, this Russian Imperial Stout is whiskey barrel-aged with flavours of smoke, vanilla and dried fruits. Pick up a bottle and drink like a czar. Phillips The Hammer Barrel Aged Imperial Stout - $7.85 The boy...

well hello there 2013! welcome! new year, new direction i will be doing away with some of the things i've been doing on this blog those things that seem to just be taking up space, like the beer geekery posts i put up on weekends they were fun, but i'm feeling like they cluttered up the blog - made it harder to scroll through to find actual content so they have been discontinued, buh-bye, gone i will probably be posting less frequently as well but the plan is that when i post it will be ever so informative and brilliant and you'll be riveted by my every word in the meantime... its january that means i'm doing my annual cleanse yup, a whole month without beer (and many, many other tasty substances) day three... i haven't yelled at or hit anyone yet, so there's hope for us all... i even went out with people who were drinking really good beer last night and didn't buckle i am ever so virtuous aren't you impressed?

yikes! musings on sobriety on a beer blog? did you ever think you'd see the cruel, cruel day? i dunno for sure how much of it is the lack of booze but i find january to be a month where i fail to feel motivated to socialize i do a cleanse every january this involves eating no wheat, sugar, dairy, yeast, fermented foods.... basically i don't get to eat anything fun and that includes all forms of alcohol as they're basically just sugar january also happens to be the first month of the new year and along with that comes introspection, reflection and self-indulgent resolutions to live better january is a long, dark month and in vancouver, its usually very long, very dark and very wet all of these things team up in varying proportions to make me want to flee my life or contradictorially, to hibernate fortunately january is also a month of few social engagements for me so it is very easy to hibernate to lay low and contemplate my navel however, when i do f...

okay, so its almost january and in january i do a cleanse every year the cleanse means that i don't drink beer for a whole month this year, i'll just be cleansing for three weeks, because i leave for mexico on the 21st and i'm certainly not going to miss out on any fun vacation time cleansing! so its just three weeks without beer this time but still, its three weeks which leads me to wonder what the heck i'll blog about for those three weeks and the two following when i'll be in mexico friends, i think there's gonna be a hiatus on the blog minimal posting for three weeks and then a 2.5 week vacation from posts altogether i would love to say that i'll miss you but i'd be exaggerating i'll be miserable for three weeks without my beer but then when i'm on vacation, i won't even be thinking about all y'all! i'm selfish that way!