Making the family proud

For my final beer of 2010, I wanted it to be memorable. Something that was cheap, something that I wouldn't want to drink a ton of at once to make it last for most of the month, and something that I could store outside. It is getting cold enough outside to keep beer on the balcony in the deck box. It makes me think of home a bit. Granted, it isn't beer stashed in a snow bank, but a close second.

I went out and bought some Busch Light. I know, I know. Why? Why in the hell would I do something like that? We drank it a ton in Seattle this past fall and I kind of fell in like (not love) with it. It's better than Bud Light, cheaper than PBR and not as trendy. Plus, I think of it as the family beer. Whenever we go home, that just seems to be what is lying around the some of houses when we visit relatives.



It makes me smile a little bit and it is the time of the year to be extra happy, what with all the snow and cold weather and whatnot....

These nuts

Beer for the month of Novembeard is Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown. This is the tastiest winter beer I have come across. Once again, as I have stated numerous times, Leinenkugel's makes my favorite microbrews and this is no different. I was really excited when I saw this flavor in the store and had to buy it.

One more month for the beer a month year. I have been doing okay with it but I have bought more than eleven cases of beers so far this year. We have gone out to other people's houses for parties or dinners and brought beer. I have bought bottles of scotch or whiskey so there has been more than just beer in the house throughout the year but for the most part, I am quite proud of the fact that I have curtailed the amount of alcohol that I have purchased so far this year.

dreams and beer

I went out and bought my tenth case of beer for the year. A thirty pack of Budweiser. I felt a need to buy a surplus of beer for my weekends off with all the sports that are going on, mainly football. There is also playoff baseball going on, so it isn't just the pigskin.

Last night I had a dream that I was a vagabond. Not only that, but I was trying to convince others that they should lead the 'vagabond lifestyle'. A vagabond lifestyle spokesman if you will. I feel that I should pack a rucksack, grab some Jack Kerouac, and hitch hike back and forth across the U.S. while doing random drugs. I know, I know, not everyone digs Kerouac, but The Dharma Bums was awesome. Even better than On The Road (yeah, I said it). The Beat generation was on to something. Who needs a job, steady income, and a family. Why not wander around the country doing drugs and having sex with random people?


Oh right, diseases.

Oktober(fest) in September

For this month, I went out and purchased a seasonal beer for the ninth beer of the year. It is Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest! I have had a hesitant approach to seasonal beers ever since I have branched out from my Coors Light days (which are now referred to as the 'dark time'), but with Leinie's, they have hit the mark every time. Oktoberfest, 1888 Bock, Summer Shandy, and the Fireside Nut Brown are all wonderful changes of pace when they come out throughout the year. The Summer Shandy was the most difficult to get use to because it is real heavy on the lemon, and it almost tastes like a Mike's Hard Lemonade the first couple of times you drink it. However, the beer flavor comes out after you have had a few, so it all balances out.

The other big company that puts out so many seasonal and special beers is Sam Adams, but there are several of their beers that I just have never enjoyed, so Leinie's is what I stick with because it is reliable and extremely tasty throughout the year no matter what type of beer I am drinking.

August beer

I am proud of myself for going eighteen days into the month before buying my beer of the month. I don't know if it is something to be really proud, going eighteen days into a month before buying beer, but I'll take it. Now, because I have made it through the majority of the month, I went with just a twelve pack. It's Labatt Blue. It's cans so I can take them to the pool and enjoy them because we are not suppose to have glass there.

July beer

I have cheated somewhat cheated in the beer department this month. I had people over for Canada Day and supplied the beer. I went out and bought a two four of Labatt Blue, but it fell under something of a loophole when I set out on this year long conservation of money and liver in which I stated that anytime I have people over for visits or parties, the alcohol I buy does not count towards my beer of the month. Lame? Yes, but if I didn't write this loophole in I would have bought and drank my beer of the month in less than twenty four hours thanks to some friends that came over to celebrate.

It isn't like this is a law, it is a test of self. Is it possible for me to do this? So far, I have done well. I think anyway. So this month, I bought a twelve pack of Hamm's (go ask your dad about it). It's bottom of the barrel, cheap, watery beer. I enjoy it. It tastes okay, and what more can one ask for? It's not mainstream cheap like Pabst Blue Ribbon or Natty Light. It is on the cusp of cheap fame. So that's it for July. Close to half way through the month and my beer supply is almost gone.

Sixth beer and hipsters

I went out and bought a two four of PBR for my sixth beer for the year. I have been on the PBR bandwagon for about six years now. I cannot claim to have loved it since I turned twenty one, but have enjoyed it ever since I bought it on Mackinac Island in 2004. Why is this important? It's because I don't want to be a hipster. I try not to include myself in this group for the main reason is that I am not smug enough. Hipsters love PBR, thinking that it's the cool beer to drink. I have since moved on from needing PBR to be cool. It was convenient for the time and Schlitz wasn't available in cans.

Schlitz is my favorite cheap beer now and if the hipster movement tries to claim Schlitz as their own, there will be less smugness in the world.

More of the same

Once again, I didn't go to crazy with buying my beer of the month.  I went with another case of Budweiser.  It worked really well for me just because it went well with watching baseball.  Now, with the baseball season in full swing, I felt it was another great move to get some more.  This could become a regular thing throughout the summer months.  It just has happened that Budweiser has been on sale the past two time I have gone to the liquor store. 

I feel no shame, it could be worse.  I could scrape the bottom of the beer barrel and bought some Red Dog or Old Milwaukee.  But whatever. 

Beer four

The last two weeks have been stressful at work and what better way to wash away the stress than going home and having a beer.  Oh wait...I finished my beers for March half way through the month.  BAH!  The first true test of the case a month theory.  It was tough, but I made it through.  This makes me sound a bit of an alcoholic, but I swear I'm not.  I didn't break out into cold sweats, wasn't overly irritable, or withdrawn. 

Normally, I'm all about the quality of the beer that I am drinking but this month I am going with quantity.  The main reason behind this is baseball.  When I watch baseball, whether it is live, at home, or in a bar, I am all about Budweiser.  My friends I go out with on Tuesday nights know me as a Guinness drinker, but when it comes to baseball, it needs to be something light that goes with nachos, hot dogs and peanuts.  Budweiser is that beer for me.  Now, if this were hockey we were talking about, it would be Labatt or Molson.  They just go hand in hand. 

Beer cubed

I went out and bought my third case of beer for 2010 (that's two thousand ten, not that twenty ten bullshit the government wants you to call it. That's right, it's a conspiracy! They have your houses bugged and every time the words twenty ten are uttered, the tapes start in the hope that they will record something. Wake up people!). It is Leinenkugel's spring brew, titled 1888 bock. A bock beer. It is tasty. I didn't know what to expect because I hadn't heard anything on it. Once again, it was a choice of quality or quantity. I must say, it is a better beer than their red beer.

While I was home, my friend Matt convinced me that Old Style is a great cheap beer and I had it in my head to go and buy it. One problem...I couldn't find it. I went to two liquor stores and didn't feel like trekking all around Wichita to find it. I'm sure that some liquor stores close to the college sell it, but those stores have bars on the windows and well...I don't roll like that.

So maybe next time I will scour the city for it.

Second beer choice of 2010

In January I chose to buy PBR for my beer of the month. It was tasty as always and the reason I bought it was because it was cheap and I could get quite a bit for the month. It's not that I got sick of it, it's just that if I know I am only buying one case or twelve pack for the month, I can ration it all out. With that in mind, why not go with a better beer?

For the month of February, I have gone with Leinenkugel's Red Lager. For the longest time, this beer was the end all be all for me. From the first time I had it I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it more than Killians, and anyone that knows me knows I went through my Killians phase. You can't always say that about the beers you drink. There are beers that I have needed to get use to and some beers I have never enjoyed. IPAs, for example, have never been my favorite. I have tried several different kinds including IPAs that have been crafted at breweries. I have never developed a taste for them. Which is okay. There are many different types of beers I have found that I enjoy, so having one that I don't like doesn't break my heart.

I don't know if this is much of a problem, but the Leinie's only comes in twelve pack form down here. So there is going to be some uber rationing going on. Twelve beers in one month. Of course it can be done.

Quantity or quality

Case number one of the year: a two four of PBR. Now, as I was searching for my first case of beer of the year I had to consider quantity or quality. My fall back beer has always been Labatt Blue. Crisp and tasty. A full head and neck above any other beer I have ever tried, outside of Guinness. The problem is that the whenever it is that I find some Blue is that it is a twelve pack (cans or bottles, both are prevalent here in Wichita), and no two fours. If this case of beer is going to last me throughout the entire month, it won't be twelve beers. Twenty four beers can get me through the month, twelve cannot.

I am going to enjoy this challenge I have set out for myself.

Inconceivable!

In an attempt to start saving an uber-amount of money I went through the last six months of bank statements and found where I can cut costs. Beer. Scary, right? So I have come up with an insane idea. One case of beer a month. Twelve cases for the entire year of 2010. Can it be done? I think so. Same thing goes for bottles of booze, but because they are so much more expensive (at least the ones that I buy) than a case of beer I will only buy them on rare occasions. The number of bottles will not exceed six, so one every two months.

As always, there will be exceptions to the rule. I will not use this as an excuse to go crazy and buy several cases just because we have family coming into town. Whenever we have family or friends coming into town, I will go out and buy another case. What kind of host would I be if I didn't supply beers and booze? A horrible one, that's what kind. Another exception to this pseudo-rule is camping or float trips, which we only take once or twice a year. Getting a beer at dinner while eating in a restaurant does not apply to this, but I don't go too crazy when we go out anyways. Some may look at these exceptions as loopholes, but I am not using them as loopholes. I figured I would lay the ground work for future events. I don't want to be the guy that tries something like this only to go back because I don't have any booze for a float trip or no beer in the house when family comes to visit.

In the coming year to keep everybody up on my progress, I will write twelve posts about beer (and some other posts dealing with booze) in the year 2010. So, in the coming months, look for the '2010' tags to the right of the posts and follow my trek in money saving ventures.