The days stretch out in front of us with the final horizon unknown. Our hours flow by as beer to the glass and the final moments often descend as a curtain, to applause, love and praise for a job well done. Other times it is sudden and unexpected, out of the blue when the end comes and we are left with no time to say goodbye.
Maybe a little dark for the beginning of December, but once again we find ourselves at the cusp of Beer Advent and for our 5th annual daily present of beer we turn to our cellar and the gems found therein. I hear so many of my friends say they are saving this and that beer for a special occasion and often fall victim to that myself, but as the years begin to pass and 50 seems closer than I realise, I have found myself looking more and more to the little things I can celebrate and enjoy each day. What began in 2015 when Kat brought me home 24 assorted American craft beers from her Black Friday trip to Buffalo with my mom morphed into a celebration of Ontario Craft beer the next two years, stuff I would buy at the LCBO and have Kat wrap up and number randomly for me to enjoy over the month as Christmas approached. Last year I looked into our rather modest beer cellar and decided on taking advantage of a whole whack of "special days" to give myself permission to drink what otherwise might sit long past it's lifespan. This proved to be a most spectacular time and this year we return again to this format because it truly does bring great joy for a little bit of each day as the sun sets before dinner and the winds howl outside.
The concept of saving a beer was so bizarre to me even 4 years ago that when I first put an Amsterdam Brewing Double Tempest Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial stout away and opened it a year later to spectacular results, I was immediately hooked. I loved being able to compare the differences a few months or years could make to a barrel aged or wild fermentation beer, not to forget the high ABV gems from Belgium or brett beers lounging in my basement. What troubled me was trying to decide when to drink them. What day was special enough to pull one of them out and celebrate with?
Many folks choose life accomplishments, their kids achievements or family birthdays or milestones, all worthy choices to be sure, but for me so many of those will never be present and I wondered what my track would be to deliver these aging wonders to my glass.
As with everything we do when it comes to beer, we always are looking to what will bring us the most happiness and decided to start having these beauties just because. Random week day off together? Break out an Imperial some thing or other. Had a great day at work or conversely a bad one? Why not enjoy a Belgian Quad that has been biding its' time just for you. Seemingly ordinary days can be transformed by the simple acknowledgement that being alive is something to celebrate in and of itself. This became our guiding force, not too often but just often enough to retain the feeling of being a "Moment", writ large by what was in our glass as opposed in response to something else. It worked but still left us with more stock than we were comfortable having lie around, just waiting to be lost to time.
Enter Beer Advent and the Cellar Pull of the day. This conversion of a childhood daily treat to a grown up version has now become a way for us to clean out the last year (or beyond) of stuff we bought and make way for the new things to come as the calendar turns. We have given ourselves the chance to embrace a live in the moment mentality while maintaining a little patience to save up 25 different big, boozy bastards with an eye to December. It's fun and to be honest, Life is far too short to leave good beer behind when your time has come to an end. You can't take it with you, why not share it with someone you love, celebrate life now and be joyful at the season to come. I know it makes every day this month have something to give me joy, at least as long as my glass is full and my heart is open.
Cheers!
