Brew Years Resolutions. Or New Beers Resolutions. Or New Years Resobrewtions.
Maybe Brew Beers Resobrewtions just to get real obnoxious with my portmanteaux obsession.
I took the week between Christmas and New Years off from the blog because my life had been and was so hectic that I needed to take something off my to do list. I missed it and I hope you did, too. I resisted the urge to start posting my own "Best of 2016" lists or "Top These Things of 2016." However, I can't resist the urge to set some beer-related goals for myself for 2017. I can't help it - being goal-oriented is a habit I can't shake. So without further ado, here are my top 7 Brew Beers Resobrewtions:
Pass the Advanced Cicerone. I mean, duh, if you've been reading my blog, you'll know it's pretty much the only thing happening in my life right now. I love a good challenge, and this has been a very big one for me. There have been a lot of times when I thought about giving up and having my free time and brain space back. At this point, I've come too far and studied too hard to not take it.
Become a Certified BJCP Judge and work towards attaining a National BJCP Judge certification. I'm currently a Recognized BJCP judge and the next rank up is Certified BJCP Judge. To become a Certified BJCP judge, a person needs to have a score of at least 70 on the Tasting Exam and have at least 5 experience points, which are usually earned by judging at beer competitions. I currently have about 3.5 points and will earn an additional point in a couple weeks when I judge at another competition. I scored a 75 on the Tasting Exam, so I should be able to advance to the Certified BJCP Judge rank once I earn the needed experience points. Advancing to the National level is a little trickier and will involve retaking the Tasting Exam to earn a higher score as well as passing the Essay Exam and earning at least 20 experience points. It may all seem like a lot, but I like the high standards the BJCP puts on their ranks. I learn something new each time I judge and look forward to working toward attaining a National rank.
Take wine appreciation classes. Before anyone else (besides my husband) rolls his or her eyes (he already rolled his at me), I'm not wanting to study wine as my next challenge. I know very little about wine and think that learning more about it will benefit my beer studies, particularly in learning how to taste and evaluate wine. Also, I'm pretty much an adult now and feel like there are some things all adults should know at least a little about and wine is one of them. Literature and how our government works are two others, if anyone was wondering.
Learn more about liquor and craft cocktails. This goal is similar to the one above in that I think it will complement my beer knowledge and allow me to bridge the gaps between liquor drinkers and beer drinkers. I have several people who are close to me who exclusively drink liquor and I would love to harangue them into drinking beer. Not actually harangue them, but I like having additional tools to introduce people to beer, and learning about liquor and cocktails is one tool I'd like to have. Plus craft cocktails are an easy way to slowly introduce people to beer.
Practice food and beer pairing. I am still in the very beginning stages of pairing beer and food. I don't feel like I've developed my skills enough to think of a pairing without consulting several resources, nor do I feel as if I have the skills to take a pairing about which I've read and extrapolate it to create my own unique pairings. Frankly, it's a skill that has fallen to the wayside with my studies and I don't devote any time to planning a dinner far enough ahead to think of beer pairings to go with it. There is something very elegant about planning a meal that is designed to be enjoyed slowly and deliberately. I eat like I'm in a food-eating race and probably horrify most people around me with my slovenly manners, so this resobrewtion will also be a good exercise in reminding me to slow down and appreciate the present instead of rushing through to get to the next thing. Also, there isn't a lot of information out there yet for pairing vegetarian food with beer, but I know there is a demand for it, one that will continue to grow worldwide as craft beer continues to expand into new markets like India and China.
Enjoy my beer "cellar." My cellar is actually my hall closet with a few boxes overflowing into another closet. I think a lot of beer people have this problem: you get a beer but then don't want to drink it or trade it because then you won't have that beer anymore. Some beers do need a little age on them, and we have our share of stouts, barleywines, and sours that we're holding onto for those reasons. However, each time we think about opening a beer of which we only have one, we debate on whether we should wait. I feel like the special day to drink particular beers will probably never come for most of my cellar, so this year I resolve to make the special days be the ones I decide to drink a special beer.
Detach from the hype. I'm like Veruca Salt - I want it all and I want it now! That attitude gets very expensive, very quickly.
I have shoes that are falling apart and I continue to wear them because I don't want to spend the money to buy new shoes, but I don't blink an eye at spending $100 in a bottle shop for whatever beer just came out or caught my eye. If I added up all the money I spend buying beer, I could probably have paid off at least one student loan this year. So this year, I will focus on enjoying my beer cellar and not worry as much about running out to buy the newest beer or chasing whales. Maybe I'll even pay off a student loan or two with my beer money savings.
What are some of your Brew Beers Resobrewtions?