Beer Compurgation

  Dear Reader / Bend when you can / Snap when you have to / Dear Reader / You don't have to answer just 'cause they asked you   My beer stash still mostly lives in the shed. In 2022 it was subjected to varying temperatures across 50°C. The argument about beer storage has always been one that I have longed to debunk. Whilst temperature control is beneficial to the beer, it also stands alongside the myth of "Drink Fresh" in its importance. I had a couple of beers over Christmas that have lived through July's 39°C and December's -11°C and lived to tell the tale. Not just lived but enjoyed themselves. In beer terms, that was all I could remember from 2022; aggressively tapping my foot at my work desk as I wondered whether my beer at home had evaporated or frozen. Then I went to the pub after work and didn't drink any of it anyway. The previous 12 months were supposed to be the year that we came out of a post-lockdown, post-quarantine Britain into

    I began 2022 with a couple of dry weeks in the month of January. It wasn’t the entire month but still the longest I’d gone without a pub visit for a good number of years. I needed it. I’d actually  looked forward  to it.   It was a necessary break to hit reset. I was drinking too much. I hadn’t handled a couple of big personal losses in 2021 well and this was an extension from excessive drinking during the lockdowns of 2020. I felt awful and needed some time away from beer; concerned that I was spiraling  into reliance.   A short break served as a reset. I realigned my attitude to drink. I had defragmented my inner workings. My dry days were more frequent again. My wet days were not as heavy. Balance was restored. Breaks are good.   And so it is that we arrive in January 2023 and I find myself requiring the same optimisation program. Towards the end of the last year my number of post work pints increased by one or two and my visits became more frequent. It is time for another min