As of today, I have over 60 different beers in my inventory. Most of them are taking up counter space — I need to find a better place to store these before I incur the wrath of my loving wife…
I’ll write more about how I’ve been acquiring my inventory. In fact, I’ll be posting the entire list online soon.
I am sipping today’s beer as I write this, and it’s only fitting that I start this challenge with Harpoon IPA.
Before drinking my first Harpoon IPA, I didn’t much care for India Pale Ales.
To tell the truth, I wasn’t a fan of hoppy beer at all. The bitterness was just too much for me. 
Avoiding pale ales, and IPAs in particular, was my secret shame for years. You see, loving beer but hating a strong hoppy brew is almost unheard of — like an optimist who grumbles about Christmas.
In 2003, I moved from Chicago to Boston. I sat down at an Irish pub the day I signed my lease and asked the bartender for something local.
“Just not Sam Adams,” I said. You can get Sam Adams in Chicago.
What he gave me was a Harpoon IPA. I held back my grimace — I’d heard stories about Boston bartenders, so I wasn’t about to send it back.
Harpoon IPA surprised me. Sure, there’s a fair amount of hoppiness to this beer. But it dissipates into maltiness, melting across your tongue and leaving just the mildest aftertaste. The hops don’t attack your taste buds, so you get to enjoy the bit of citrus-peel bitterness without reeling from it. Yet, there’s no doubt you’re drinking an IPA.
Harpoon became my gateway drug into the world of IPA, and I started to seek out hoppy beer. No more shame for this beer drinker — I became a certified hop head.
Even with all the great IPAs I’ve found, Harpoon’s brew has been my favorite. It’s what I ask for by default when I sit down at a bar or order from a restaurant menu. In fact, I had a few glasses of Harpoon IPA before the New Year’s Eve champagne came out last night. For my last night of beer drinking freedom, I chose Harpoon IPA.
Now I’m realizing that by drinking Harpoon IPA at the start of this challenge, I’m not going to have another Harpoon IPA for a full year.
I have one more sip left.
I’m going to miss it when it’s gone.
But this journey is just getting started, and I’ll discover some great beer along the way. So, cheers to you for joining me on this adventure. MMmmm… That’s a good beer!
Here we are, 2009.
In these turbulent times — stock market in flux, wars in the Middle East, Nickelodeon canceling SpongeBob SquarePants — it’s comforting to know there will be at least one constant this year:
Me. Drinking one beer a day, every day, with no repeats.
Last night, New Years Eve, I had two glasses of beer at a restaurant before downing champagne. I didn’t really want that second beer, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to reply to the waitress, “Sure, I’ll have another IPA.”
So while I’m trying to decide which beer to start this journey with, I wanted to pause and wish everyone a happy new year.
And if your waitress ever asks you about having another, try to say “yes” on my behalf!
Let me start by saying that I enjoy a good beer.
Often several of them; in fact, usually in rapid succession.
You don’t need special training to enjoy beer. Trust me, I’m no beer expert. What’s the difference between a lager and an ale, or a porter and a stout? Beats me. But give me a few minutes with Google and I’ll give you a sufficient answer. You could probably beat me to it, in fact.
I enjoy trying new beer, and I hope you will too.
I’m a guy with a six pack and no abs. Plop me down in a brew pub with a wide selection on tap, and I’m in heaven. Usually. I have a broad palate and I appreciate a wide range of beer types, but sometimes — man! — a beer just isn’t good. Fortunately, that’s never scared me away from trying something new.
I want to get exposure to some new beers. This is where it will happen.
My resolution for 2009 is to drink a new beer every day for the entire year.
On the surface, that sounds fairly simple. But I’ve set out a few strict rules:
The rules mean I have only one chance to really “get to know” a new beer — I’m not allowed an extra pint to get a second opinion. And with only one beer allowed each day, if I want another drink I’ll be having wine, whiskey, port, saké, tequila, vodka… so while this blog will be primarily about beer, I’m sure there will be a few posts about bourbon or a new mixed drink I’ve just discovered.
One way or the other, I’ll be branching out and learning something new. And I hope you’ll come along for the ride.
My wife and I usually select a Christmas Tree during the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we were thrilled to discover the farm down the road from us is selling trees this year. She and I stopped by the farm while walking our Boston Terrier, Caesar, who helped us sniff out a good one. After my wife and I dithered over the best tree for several minutes, Caesar weighed in with his selection by lifting his leg on a plump Fraser Fir.
I hope that means he liked it.
The tree went up on my shoulder, I carried it home (drawing chuckles from several people driving by), and our Christmas season officially began. We’ve been listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate, and generally sickening all humbugs spying through our windows.
So it should come as no surprise that I’ve selected the “Hoppy Christmas Ale” from Belgium’s Brewery De Ranke. The beer — Père Noël (imported by Shelton Brothers) — intimates the reason for Father Christmas’ jolly cheeks and rosy nose; the label depicts Santa embracing the frothy, 7% ABV Strong Pale Ale.
