Tag Archives: thank you

Beer-a-Day Project: I did it!

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Now that I’ve done it I can hardly believe I made it through. It was harder and more different than I expected going in. When I first did some research to see if anyone had ever done anything like this I couldn’t believe how few had actually tried it, almost all failing to finish, with many quitting before getting even halfway.

By the time I got to the third month I understood why. This is hard! I mean, not only was I drinking more than I ever had in my life, but I had to make sure I did it each and every day. Things went best when I brought home my mixed case and photographed all the bottles before putting them in the fridge. Then I could fix up the photos and prepare the articles so that when I actually did drink the beer I needed to only add my impressions. Unfortunately I wasn’t always able to do that, so there were many days that were a bit of a scramble.

Never in my adult life did I ever think that I would say to myself  “Oh, damn. I have to drink a beer today. Nuts.”

In late November I was on the home stretch, confident that I would finish and feeling good about myself. Of course, that’s when I found out about Dale Van Wieren, who is now over 10,000 daily beers. I’d have to keep going for 24 or so years to catch up. It was rather disheartening to be sure. I consoled myself with a beer.

Many thanks to Ye Old Spirit Shop in Frederick, Maryland. If it wasn’t for their extensive selection and encouragement to buy single bottles I never could have done this. For the last third of the year, I had to go shopping with a list of beers that I’d already had as part of this project so I wouldn’t buy them again.

Thanks also to those Hop Talk readers who offered up enthusiasm and encouragement over the course of this past year.

And thanks most of all to my patient and understanding wife, who was not only the inspiration for this project but also my biggest fan. She helped me sample quite a few beers and reminded me more than once of my daily obligation.

Here’s the top 10 brands I sampled this year:

1. Samuel Adams – 20
2. Flying Dog  – 15 (19 if you include Wild Goose)
3. Saranac – 12
4. Brooklyn – 11
(tie) Dogfish Head – 11
(tie) Victory – 11
7. Great Divide – 10
8. Abita – 8
(tie) Samuel Smith – 8
(tie) Weyerbacher – 8

I didn’t try to rate the beer as I sampled them; I just tried to give my impressions. There were some surprises: Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout, Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout, and Flying Dog Raging Bitch are three I rather liked, but there were plenty more that I was glad I had.

As for ones I wasn’t so glad about, an awful lot of the European lagers in green bottles were lightstruck, which I suppose shouldn’t be a surprise. What is surprising is how many people still drink them and think that’s the way quality beer is supposed to taste. Back in July I had several American macro lagers. Of them, I found Miller Lite the best of the bunch, but, honestly, that’s not saying much. I did try to keep an open mind, though.

You can see the list of beers in order in each of the monthly recaps, but here’s an alphabetical list:

Thank you, Ron

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So, I’m home, hanging out with the kids, just chillin’, when the doorbell rings.

It’s the UPS man.

I wasn’t expecting a package, but who knows what last-minute thing my wife might have gotten.

It’s addressed to my family. From Ron’s family.

Well, isn’t that curious? While we send each other greeting cards, our families don’t exchange gifts. Not that we wouldn’t, of course, but by the time I buy gifts for my own kids, their cousins, their step-cousins, grandmas, grandpa, and child-free aunts and uncles, the gift budget is stretched thin. I know Ron is in the same boat.

So this, obviously, is a surprise. I honestly have no idea what it could be. So I call the girls up from downstairs. “Look, girls. We got a package.”

“What is it?” they ask.

“I don’t know. Let’s open it and find out.”

I slice open the tape. There’s a bunch of things in bubble-wrap. I grab the first one.

By golly, it’s a bottle of beer!

Six more bubble-wrapped bottles follow. Plus a note:

Enjoy this sampler of fine ales and lagers, hand selected, specifically with you in mind. Cheers! (I had the hardest time choosing just seven! Enjoy!)

“You shouldn’t have called us,” says my youngest, disappointed, as they head back downstairs.

Hawesome! A couple of them are even from my wishlist.

And they say Christmas is for the kids.

giftfromron2.jpg

(Yes, that is my daughters’ purple Disney Princess tree in the background.)

Thank you, Ron. I will enjoy every last drop.

I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.
– Walt Whitman

And…we’re back

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I’d like to personally thank our guest writers from this past week. They offered up some very interesting stuff, to be sure. I’d say that I’ll probably start reading them now, but I already read their blogs. If you don’t read them already, you should.

Here’s a recap:

We started off with The Beer Nut lamenting the lack of real Irish beer, but noting redemption in Galway Hooker. Beware the plastic paddies

Next up Jeff from Wort’s Going On Here? let us know all about a unique Brewery/Restaurant in the tiny Texas town of Eola. Eola School Restaurant

BrewDad suggests that the age verification American brewers use on their websites is worse than useless. Age verify on beer sites?

Bailey of boakandbailey.com lament the lack of American craft beer in London, but notes the encouraging trend of British brewers using American hops. No American beer in London, but lots of American hops

Mark of maeib’s Beerblog also laments the lack of American craft beer in London, suggesting that British beer drinkers really would like to see some more over there. (It’s the same situation over here, Mark. Once you get past Bass, Newcastle, and Boddington’s, pickings get mighty slim.) American Beer In The UK

After a quick return for The Session, Sage from My Beer Pix treated us to a tale of a journey through some worthwhile beer spots in downtown San Diego. San Diego beer scene

Adam from Beer Bits 2 opines that everyone should brew their own beer at home. Straight-up home brewing the way I see it

Bryan of The Brew Lounge tells us about the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC, and likely beer spots for spectators to try. Drinking Beer & Running in Washington, D.C.

Bill of Beer Janglin’ reflects on his transformation from “beer philistine” to “beer geek”. The Burdens of Evolution

A hearty thank you to all of our guest writers. Sláinte!

This was a lot of fun and we’re sure to do it again. If you’re interested in writing for us next time, just drop us a line.