DINING

New Beers Resolutions: Make 2018 your best drinking year yet

Five ideas for imbibing in 2018

Jake Brown
South Bend Tribune

Four days into a new year, I wonder if alcohol is even on your mind.

You might still be nursing the effects of whatever happened on New Year’s Eve. Understandable. When you do come back around to booze — it’ll happen, all in time — this column will come in handy. If done correctly and, of course, responsibly, 2018 could be your best drinking year yet.

Disclaimer: I don’t have a hangover cure hidden somewhere in this copy. Please read on, anyway.

All you need is a set of New Beers Resolutions (see what we did there?!). Recently the In the Bend staff kicked up our feet — OK, that was just me — in the office and talked about some things folks could do to enhance their lives when it comes to imbibing.

Behold, a list for your consideration:

• Get out of your comfort zone

Let’s face it, beer drinkers: Although the craft industry gives us a plethora of choices, we oftentimes don’t take advantage of this bounty.

Winter is undoubtedly my beer season. I love porters, stouts and basically all the variations therein. Those beers are robust but also heavy. They’re not great for summertime. Who wants to sip on a Russian Imperial Stout when it’s 90 degrees outside? Nobody.

Clearly, I needed to try something new.

So I spent the better part of 2017 exploring sours. I had Tequilacerbus, a sour aged in tequila barrels by Avery Brewing Co. out of Boulder, Colo., before a concert back in the summer and it was surprisingly delightful. Just over the holidays, I tried Peach, a lambic by Upland. Solid.

Did I love every sour I tried? Of course not. But it helped to expand my palate and introduced me to some new beers and different breweries. I encourage you to do the same.

• Plan a beer trip

This is something I’m going to explore in-depth during the spring, at which point we will all thaw out and taking a weekend to visit breweries in a nearby Midwest city won’t sound like such an atrocious idea.

Until then, I leave you to do your own research. Just know that Chicago, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Detroit and Cleveland are all close and offer much in the way of alcohol destinations. Start thinking about it now. By the time spring rolls around, you’ll be eager to hit the road.

• Study up

Bear with me if the subtitle doesn’t register.

Your significant other, if you have one, might be super-impressed to see you sometime this winter sitting on the couch, book in hand. Sure, that look of amazement might disappear from his/her face when he/she realizes you’re reading about booze. But don’t let their judgments get you down.

This suggestion is brought to you by a book I read in early 2017 called “The United States of Beer: A Freewheeling History of the All-American Drink” by Dane Huckelbridge. It was a thoroughly entertaining and detailed look at the history of beer in our country.

It caused me to think: Why didn’t I know more about beer before diving into the book? Well, the answer was pretty simple. I’d never read much about beer specifically or alcohol in general. They don’t teach it in high school history, you know?

There is one beer book I’m keen to get my hands on in 2018. It’s called “Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch and How Craft Beer Became Big Business” by Josh Noel, a writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Noel is one of my favorite follows on Twitter (@hopnotes) for insight into the craft beer industry. I have a feeling his book will be a worthy read.

• Drink a little wine

I’ve written on multiple occasions about my lack of wine knowledge. It’s true. I really don’t know much about it.

As a result, this is probably the resolution I’m going to put to greatest use over the next year. The best way to learn about wine is to dive into the product a little bit more regularly.

Our area is fortunate to be near one of the most fertile wine areas anywhere. Why not make better use of it?

• Pay homage to a classic

Let’s face it, we would not be where we are in the beer-drinking world today without some of the old-school brands that don’t carry their former clout.

Pabst Blue Ribbon has, of course, surged in recent years as a trendy mass-produced lager for those that just can’t bring themselves (for one reason or another) to drink Bud Light, Coors Light and the like. There are many others, however, that date back more than a century and are cut from the same Midwestern cloth as PBR.

What’s even better is if you go to the right bars or find the right liquor store, they’re still readily available.

I’m talking about Hamm’s. I’m talking about Schlitz. I’m talking about Stroh’s. I’m talking about Old Milwaukee and, to a lesser degree, Old Style.

These are beers with history. These are beers with character. These are beers and breweries with amazing stories (seriously, Google the Forbes piece from 2014 on the Stroh family). And you know what? Under the right circumstances at the right time, these are just damn fine beers.

We should never forget about them. Let’s make a point not to in 2018.

And, yes, I’m selectively leaving out that many of these beers are owned/produced by Pabst Brewing Company, which is now based in Los Angeles. Back off, I’m feeling nostalgic.

Craft breweries such as Bare Hands, which is based out of Granger, offer all sorts of different varieties. Why stick with one or two styles? Make it a point to branch out in 2018 to expand your palate. Tribune File Photo/MICHAEL CATERINA
Wine tasting looks like fun, right? This is a shot from Free Run Cellars in Berrien Springs, where Drink Up columnist Jake Brown sat for a tasting in the summer. Free Run is one of several wineries in the area that can help you build up wine knowledge in the coming year. Tribune File Photo/BECKY MALEWITZ
Pabst Blue Ribbon is an old Midwestern beer that's made a resurgence in recent years. But let's not forget about some of its less popular contemporaries, including Schlitz, Hamm's, Stroh's and Old Style. Tribune Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN
Are you mainly a beer drinker? That's fine. But take a cue from the folks in this photo and pour the occasional glass of wine in 2018. Tribune File Photo/MICHAEL CATERINA