Someone had asked me when the last time I went through a prolonged time without drinking beer. After giving it some serious thought, I remembered a two week period back in 2014 where I was accused of being a functional alcoholic by an ex-girlfriend and I strung together 14 days without the amber goodness. That was it, so I set off on a journey of sobriety along with Erika. We set off to do a Whole30 diet, which certainly meant no beer at all.
A lot of people set out to do a "Dry January." I had a hard time because from the onset because people are usually hung over from New Year's Eve. In the spirit of the law, if you are still drunk on January 1, it won't be a full month. So, I did a little calculus and agreed that January 7th was the best time to start this voyage. I said goodbye to the great tasting foods of my past. I met up with friends and had a few goodbye pops at Great Notion and pizza at Ex Novo. If you have ever watched Trainspotting, it was the first time Renton was getting clean... he needed one more hit of heroin before he began his path to sobriety.
Most articles I saw in various publications, like Men's Health and the like, described how the author felt throughout the dry times. Without "parallel thinking," I can let you know how I felt. First things first, I liked having a set of rules of what I could and couldn't eat and drink. I spent the first week and a half thinking about what I could and couldn't take in. For this first 30 days, I tried to strictly adhere to the Whole30 rules. No alcohol. no carbs, no dairy and no sugars were the tenets of the diet. It was good. It was easier for me to say no to beers than it was to have one and call it a day.
I started feeling a difference about a week in. There have been days without the drink but a consecutive period of 7 days was remarkable. I was working out a lot more. I was putting in a solid 8-hour day at work, coming in clear and not leaving exhausted. I still had homework to do, so I was able to put in another 2 or 3 hours studying and I was legitimately tired at 10 PM. During a good fitness routine, you feel good after a solid workout wherein you do the full reps. I was getting that feeling.
Going into this experiment, I was concerned about the day-to-day. Months previous, I would put $1 into a beer mug for every beer I had. Since September of 2018, I probably put close to $350 into the kitty. Over the 30 days of not drinking, it's fair to say I've saved over $200 a month on beer. Needless to say, I was saving money. Because I wasn't going out and drinking every night, I was not spending money on Grubhub or Uber Eats. Each clip would cost me $40 and if I was doing that at least twice a week, I was saving beaucoup bucks.
Without the beer and unhealthy food, I was able to drop 15 pounds. Through the good times since getting a car, a good job and a steady relationship, I had put on at least 20 pounds. I breached the 200 pound threshold and it has been very difficult to walk that back. When I stopped sipping suds regularly, I was able to lose a lot of that excess weight that had accumulated over the past 3 years.
The Whole30 lifestyle was not a long term change for me. Don't get me wrong, the energy levels I had and the weight I lost were well worth the experience. However, the last week of the diet, I had to think about an exit strategy. Every Friday night and Saturday, I thought about going to the bar and having a few drinks and watching sports. My week has been sculpted that way over the past 15 years. It was inconceivable thinking that I was going to be a teetotaler from here on out. So, the decision was to eat the cleanest as possible over the week and then have a cheat day once a week.
Balance is something that is needed. Just we all need a couple of days off after working hard, people need a time and a place to unwind with a few beers once in a while. Not to excess though. The first weekend after my 30 days off, I went to a bar and had 6 pints of Guinness. I then had a 6 pack of Rainier and a few other beers along the way. I felt like shit for the next day and got nothing done. I vowed not to let that happen again. Each time I went out on the lash, I felt like shit, so I don't want to do that again.
Balance... that's going to be something to work on.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Irish Goodbye
Have you ever witnessed a phenomenon where you're attending a party and someone has left the party without telling anybody? That, my friend, is an Irish Goodbye. Growing up in the Northeast,it was not too uncommon. After searching the Internet, it seems the origins of the saying are lost in the ether. It made sense to me, because from my experience, the Irish don't want the ado. 2018 saw some changes and departures in the Portland beer market.
At a craft beer symposium, the subject was the future and longevity of the craft beer. There's a correlation between a product and its relationship to the customer. If there is a strong connection between a person and a drink or the location, the more likely the person will keep coming back. Looking back to my grandfather's time, bars and breweries would serve a low-cost lunch in order to sell a few draught beers. This practice has endured for since over a 100 years. Today, we have our happy hours where bars and restaurants offer up lower priced appetizers and drink specials to draw people into their establishment after work. One of my favorites was Colter Bay, in Buffalo, NY. No matter where I lived in the area, Colter Bay was on the way. They had good food, a good tap list and a friendly staff. I don't think I ever had a bad time there. The same goes for Mes Que. I would spend the better part of a Saturday or Sunday at Mes Que having drinks and watching soccer. Again, never a bad time. Both of those places I try to visit every time I'm in town.
The County Cork in Portland, Oregon, was the same way. It was a neighborhood bar I tried to get to as often as possible. Before getting my puppy, I'd go and spend an evening watching a baseball game or coming up with ideas for this site. The owner was from my hometown so there was Beef on Weck and Buffalo Chicken sandwiches. Aesthetically, it checked all the boxes, high-backed booths to encourage the snug feeling most public houses are known for. One evening after work, while scrolling down my Facebook feed, I saw a notice that after 18 years, they were abruptly closing. I rounded up my friend who was fond of the place and had a few parting glasses. The County Cork had a good relationship with the neighborhood. From my understanding, the reasoning was economic. There was a new pub that came in its stead but I haven't been to it. Almost seems wrong.
The breweries that constitute the Founding Fathers of Portland have seen some changes too. Alameda Brewing, which started in 1996, closed up its brew pub in Northeast Portland and put up their production brewery in Southeast Portland. I had a few of their offerings, I think I even ate at their Southeast location once. Their Black Bear XX Stout won a silver award at the Great American Beer Festival in 2008. They produced a decent product but things have changed in the Portland market since Alameda came onto the scene. Alameda was producing 12 ounce cans, which would have helped making their beer more available in stores. However, expansion takes a lot of money and coupled with the stiff competition with other breweries, it was curtains for them.
Portland Brewing is another Founding Fathers of the Portland beer scene. They closed their restaurant in 2018. BridgePort also had to make changes. I've sat on many a barstool trying to figure out if there's anything anyone can do about it. According to Business Insider, brands like Budweiser and Bud Light are failing among Millennial consumers. I can remember the 1990s where Budweiser commercials were very prevalent. Hits such as the Budweiser frogs, friends yelling WAAZZZUPP over the telephone, I Love You Man, the Bud Light penguins were all over and featured in coveted Super Bowl commercial slots. I don't think that shit will fly anymore.
The past few years have taught me a lot about the beer and liquor industry as well as life in general. First, nothing really goes away without a reason. Whether it's the changing tastes of beer drinkers or brewery expansion that goes south or places losing their leases, there are reasons why the drinks and places aren't around anymore. Secondly, people crave authenticity. It's why people like me visit the bars that my grandparents went to and have endured the test of time. Now, I can't speak for most people, but most people don't need that glitz and glamor. By and large, the beer has to do the talking. If you can provide it in a decent location and by people who care about the art of brewing, you're 10 steps ahead in creating a place that can endure the fickle palate of the American consumer.
At a craft beer symposium, the subject was the future and longevity of the craft beer. There's a correlation between a product and its relationship to the customer. If there is a strong connection between a person and a drink or the location, the more likely the person will keep coming back. Looking back to my grandfather's time, bars and breweries would serve a low-cost lunch in order to sell a few draught beers. This practice has endured for since over a 100 years. Today, we have our happy hours where bars and restaurants offer up lower priced appetizers and drink specials to draw people into their establishment after work. One of my favorites was Colter Bay, in Buffalo, NY. No matter where I lived in the area, Colter Bay was on the way. They had good food, a good tap list and a friendly staff. I don't think I ever had a bad time there. The same goes for Mes Que. I would spend the better part of a Saturday or Sunday at Mes Que having drinks and watching soccer. Again, never a bad time. Both of those places I try to visit every time I'm in town.
The County Cork in Portland, Oregon, was the same way. It was a neighborhood bar I tried to get to as often as possible. Before getting my puppy, I'd go and spend an evening watching a baseball game or coming up with ideas for this site. The owner was from my hometown so there was Beef on Weck and Buffalo Chicken sandwiches. Aesthetically, it checked all the boxes, high-backed booths to encourage the snug feeling most public houses are known for. One evening after work, while scrolling down my Facebook feed, I saw a notice that after 18 years, they were abruptly closing. I rounded up my friend who was fond of the place and had a few parting glasses. The County Cork had a good relationship with the neighborhood. From my understanding, the reasoning was economic. There was a new pub that came in its stead but I haven't been to it. Almost seems wrong.
The breweries that constitute the Founding Fathers of Portland have seen some changes too. Alameda Brewing, which started in 1996, closed up its brew pub in Northeast Portland and put up their production brewery in Southeast Portland. I had a few of their offerings, I think I even ate at their Southeast location once. Their Black Bear XX Stout won a silver award at the Great American Beer Festival in 2008. They produced a decent product but things have changed in the Portland market since Alameda came onto the scene. Alameda was producing 12 ounce cans, which would have helped making their beer more available in stores. However, expansion takes a lot of money and coupled with the stiff competition with other breweries, it was curtains for them.
Portland Brewing is another Founding Fathers of the Portland beer scene. They closed their restaurant in 2018. BridgePort also had to make changes. I've sat on many a barstool trying to figure out if there's anything anyone can do about it. According to Business Insider, brands like Budweiser and Bud Light are failing among Millennial consumers. I can remember the 1990s where Budweiser commercials were very prevalent. Hits such as the Budweiser frogs, friends yelling WAAZZZUPP over the telephone, I Love You Man, the Bud Light penguins were all over and featured in coveted Super Bowl commercial slots. I don't think that shit will fly anymore.
The past few years have taught me a lot about the beer and liquor industry as well as life in general. First, nothing really goes away without a reason. Whether it's the changing tastes of beer drinkers or brewery expansion that goes south or places losing their leases, there are reasons why the drinks and places aren't around anymore. Secondly, people crave authenticity. It's why people like me visit the bars that my grandparents went to and have endured the test of time. Now, I can't speak for most people, but most people don't need that glitz and glamor. By and large, the beer has to do the talking. If you can provide it in a decent location and by people who care about the art of brewing, you're 10 steps ahead in creating a place that can endure the fickle palate of the American consumer.
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