Happy New Beers!

Yeah, yeah... I know it's the end of January... but what are you going to do? It's been a busy couple of weeks. We ended up having to hold a second Christmas because some family could not make it up over the holidays, and it seems like we have been going non-stop since mid-November. I did, however, manage to get a few beers put away in the back pocket over the holidays so I have quite a few to post today and over the next few days. (Including the last of the #2-4beersofchristmas) I was kind of upset with myself last year especially when I realised my post count was one of the lowest over the last 10 years (REALLY!?) yes this is my tenth year. I guess time flies when you drink. I remember one of my biggest goals was to try and reach 1000 beers, and I honestly didn't think that would be too hard. But here we are, ten years in and I am only about halfway. So I decided to make a promise to myself to do at least 100 posts again this year. I did it a few years ago and it worked out fine. I think since this is not really my job, and I don't have any real accountability in posting on a regular basis, having a self-imposed quota really does help. It is hard to remember sometimes that this is just a hobby, it does take up a fair amount of time and money. I have to travel to find new and interesting beers, I have to curate them (I have a huge library of beers in the #fridgeoffame, and the closets, and the basement. I really need my own room to do this. I also have to photograph, keep the blog looking fresh, and try to have a social media image. Twitter and Instagram is a huge time suck sometimes! But I do enjoy it. discovering new beers really gets me excited. The Queen knows (all too well) that if we are travelling somewhere that if I am quiet with my phone out, looking at maps... I'm usually plotting directions to the nearest brewery. She is very patient and loving with my addiction...

Plans for the year are a little up in the air. The Headquarters needs a new kitchen so, my vacation is going to be used for a greater cause than roaming the countryside looking for new beers. I wanted to try and hit a new beer festival this year, other than our local FunkFest, but that will remain to be seen if I can work that in. The other goal this year is a big family vacation South, way South... I will tell you more when I have tickets in hand (It's exciting! and yes there will be beer!)

As for the blog this year I have been thinking of some changes. I enjoy my current format but I am always looking for something that could streamline the process for me and help encourage me to write more. I may try a few new formats out this year but the content will still be the same. I am pondering dropping the numbering system. It was there for my original goal of getting to 1000 beers, but it seems to have lost it's meaning and doesn't add anything to the process. Plus it does seem that most people read the blog out of order anyway. So don't be surprised if that goes away I may retire it at beer # 500. I have also quietly added some embedded Google brewery maps that go mostly province by province. I have a few more to put up and I will try to revisit them regularly to make sure they are up to date. I am also working on the photojournal of breweries I have visited. So check out the new content. Hold on for some changes, because like George Lucas I just can't leave well enough alone. Have a good year Sportsfans and try to be nice to one another, it's a pretty tiny rock we live on.

Cheers

CJT