The Beer Rules

The Beer Rules

If you know me, you know that sometimes I can be a stickler about rules (don’t get me started about Scrabble).  So I thought it was only fair that I give myself some rules to follow regarding drinking a different beer every day in 2011.  So here they are:

1 – A Different Beer Every Day

It doesn’t have to be a beer that I have never had before, it just has to be a beer that I haven’t logged yet for 2011. That doesn’t mean that I can only have 1 beer a day, but I do have to pace myself and spread out the different beers.

I’ve never counted the total number of beers I’ve consumed in a year before, but I’m sure in several years it has topped 365.  But I know I have never had a beer on every single day of any of my 47 years on this planet.

I haven’t quite considered all the challenges this may create, but I’m sure they will pop up.  Think about it – I’ll have to have a beer every day, including days when I’m sick, hungover, traveling, whatever. 

2 - What Is A Day?

A day is a day – the 24 hour period that begins at midnight and ends at 11:59:59 PM.  

So that gives me a little leeway if I’m out late drinking (which doesn’t happen too much these days), so that a beer consumed after midnight counts towards the next day.  Days will be recorded in the time zone that I am currently in, which will usually be Eastern Time.

3 - What is a Beer?

I’ll set a rule that I need to drink at least a 7 ounce portion of a beer in order for it to count.  Why 7 ounces?  Because it’s generally the smallest container of beer you can buy.

And beer is beer:

·         All styles  – ale, lager, pilsner, bock, porter, stout, etc.

·         All brands, grades and qualities – from Rogue to Strohs, Dogfish Head to PBR, imports, exports, draft, bottled, canned, brewpubs and homebrews.

·         Hard cider, lemonade, wine coolers are not beer.

·         Coors Light is not beer – it is flavored water.

4 - No Drinking in Advance or Arrears

While I have certainly enjoyed sampling several different beers at places like The Lost Dog Café in Arlington, VA, or The Flying Saucer in Houston, only one of those beers consumed each day will count towards the daily log & blog (unless I have another after midnight).

I can’t have 5 different beers in one night, and then log them on the next 5 days.  (I can, and I will have those 5 beers, but only 1 counts for that day.  If I have another of those beers on a different day, then I can count it for that day.)

So… dem’s da rules.  Keep me honest, or just enjoy the blog.

JD