Beer lessons learned in 2023

I love visiting new (to me) breweries. Already have one picked out for my first trip in January.

 

Don't split a magnum of barleywine while tailgating for a football game with only one other person, then continue drinking while in the stadium. That led to me taking a month off from drinking.

 

There's oodles & kaboodles of breweries near me, locally, whose beers I've enjoyed countless times, but I haven't been to their tap room or brewery. I just have to dig my heels in and GO!

 

It seemed to help some. I never lost it entirely, and I had some sinus stuff going on at the same time as the COVID (mis?)diagnoses. The aromatherapy scents are quite strong, and you can really tell when you're making progress.

 

That's a pretty stiff sentence for public intoxication.

 

Don't bother with AF beers...

 

Perspective. Beer (well crafted) is expensive and, in regular large quantities, not good for one's overall health. Consequently, in 2023 I became more thoughtful with what I purchased & consumed. May continue into 2024

 

Biggest one for me was give everything a second chance.

Didn't like märzen much last year.
This year? Hell yes, give me them all the time always. Wouldn't have had handfuls of märzen, Festbier, ambers had I not given a couple second chances.

 

HA! How was the game?

 

What beer was it? Not seen many BW magnums. Hair of the Dog made them , not sure of others.

Enjoy

 

Probably drink more barleywines.

 

At my age, 80+, Its time to switch from High ABV 8+ to something easier to drink.

 

It was a Barreled Souls "Members Only" Barleywine. With their bottle society you got an exclusive beer once a year in a magnum.

 

Lesson learned: It's hard to cut back from a wide selection of beers in the fridge to just 1-2 go-to options. I didn't make my goal in 2023 but I'll try again next year once I drink down a fairly full beer fridge.

 

As I sit here drinking a German import at 5.1 ABV, It taste to me like a very light beer compared to what I normally drink, which is between 8 and 12% ABV. This was a gift, I did not purchase it.

 

I am trying to acquire a taste for the low ABV (4 to 5%). I just can not do it. At my age of 80+, why should I do it. I'll take a 90 or 120 minute Dogfish any day.

 

I learned a couple things this year.

# 1 The March Madness thread highlighted some very good beers, that were pretty easy to find, that were delicious.

# 2 There are many inexpensive beers out there, that are very enjoyable. Lot’s of German beers just sitting in the store fridge, waiting me to try them.

In 2024, I hope to keep finding new to me beers to try, and to re-visit old standards. I really enjoyed Sierra Nevada Celebration & Oktoberfest this past year, and I know there are many like them that I haven’t had lately.

Here’s to many great beers in 2024z

 

There are plenty of great low abv beers. In my area Eagle Rock Brewing makes a great Mild thats 3.2% that tastes like a Shwarzbier/Porter at double the abv.

In my experience darker beers are 100 times better than lighter beers at the low abv level.....wait...at any abv

 

Beer lesson for 2023; there is no such thing as the ultimate whale. Since I got into craft, I've sought two whales; Utopias and KBBS. I just harpooned Utopias, and was somewhat disappointed when I tried it last week. While it was outstanding, perhaps even world-class, it was a bit of a letdown after fermenting my expectations for eight years.

 

I second this! When I first got involved here I lusted after every top 20 (or 250 as the case may be) and tried in vain to acquire them. So I just started appreciating what I *could* get instead of trying to get what others have to win a lottery to acquire of something. I began to enjoy beer much more at that point.
I'd still love to try some of those, but it's no longer a quest on my part to get them. Just enjoy what I have and share what I can.
Cheers all!