Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Today, I decided I'd look back on my 12 favorite beers and books of 2014! I think I read more in 2014 than in the previous three years combined, which is pretty sad if you consider the fact that from 2011 through early 2014, all I was doing with my life was making overpriced deli sandwiches for rednecks... :/ The important thing is that I rediscovered my love of books and stories and am hoping to read over 50 books in 2015!
January
2014 also decided to start off cold and snowy; so snowy, in fact, that Jimmy John's even closed early one day, a rare event! I decided to join the twitter trend of chilling my beers on my snow-covered deck. Here's a photo of some of my favorite local wintertime brews. Mother's Winter Grind and Holy Mole are both fantastic seasonal beers! I really loved the spiciness in Holy Mole, which was more assertive than the hot notes in beers such as Piney River's Hot Date (shown in photo) or Ska Brewing's Autumnal Mole Stout.
February
In February, my boyfriend and I celebrated our first anniversary, so we went out for a date at The Royale and I sipped on Schlafly Vanilla Milk Stout, which is brewed in collaboration with The Royale! I can't say enough good things about this beer, and I look forward to it every February. I also read City Water Light & Power, a short novel I picked up at Armadillo's Pillow, my favorite used bookstore, while on a soul-searching trip to Chicago in 2013. This is a beautiful little book about two people and their lives in Chicago.
March
In March, I finally got to sample Urban Chestnut's Wolpertinger, a beautiful and sour barrel-aged beer. I'll admit, my initial motivation for trying it was the amazing label art- I think the Wolpertinger might be my favorite cryptozoological entity. In keeping with the spooky theme of the month, I re-read one of my favorite books, Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None. Murder mysteries linger with me and creep me out far more than your average slasher flick, and this one is no different. Imagine being trapped on an island with 9 strangers during a storm, and one of you is a murderer... I like to re-read it every year and a half or so, so I have enough time to forget whodunit!
April
In April, Mother's came to Rolla to do a tap takeover/keep the pint night at one of the town's most popular bars, so I wrangled all of my friends into going, which was the perfect way to end a Friday that had also included a tie-dye party! We tried numerous beers, but my favorites were Pulp Fiction, an orangey farmhouse ale, and Pale Rider, a nice hoppy APA. I also finally got a chance to read American Psycho, which I found much more engaging than the Christian Bale-led film based on the novel. If you've got a strong stomach, I definitely recommend reading it!
May
In late May, I packed up my life and moved back in with my parents so I could go back to community college in the fall. It's not glamorous, but it has its perks. I decided to read this book of advice and self-help from Cheryl Strayed, whose solo hike memoir, Wild, I absolutely devoured over the summer of 2013. (Sidebar, I went to see Wild's big-screen adaptation this year on Christmas, and it was one of the best movies I've ever seen, let alone a movie adapted from a memoir. I'm not ashamed to admit that it made me cry a few times.) tiny beautiful things is definitely on my list of books to buy, be it on paper or as an ibooks download, so that I can have it with me whenever a panic attack or moment of doubt rears its head.
I also was fortunate enough to guest-host Public House trivia for a couple of weeks, and when the regular host returned, he gifted me a few beers, including my first can of Yuengling lager. I'm not entirely sure why my Rolla friends and I go nuts of Yuengling, but it might have to do with how straightforward it is. It's a basic lager, but somehow tastes better than your Coors, your Miller High Life, and your Budweiser. I chose to save this beer until my first day of unemployment after leaving Jimmy John's, and had it for breakfast around noon in the shower. It was magical.
June
In June, I began working in oncology research and tried to put myself out there to make friends in Saint Louis. I also renewed my library membership and began devouring any books that caught my eye. I finally got to try Six Row's Whale Ale, a beer I was very excited about due to the dj nickname that had been bestowed upon me by a friend of mine one Saint Pat's. It's still one of my favorites, beautifully blending hops and wheat flavors, and since it comes in cans, you can enjoy it in Saint Louis City Parks! I was also very excited to read Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, a memoir from a construction worker who made the decision to go to medical school. This book was really important to me because it helped me make the difficult decision not to pursue a career as a physician. As much as I would love to attend medical school and as fascinated as I am by the many workings and problems associated with the human body, I simply don't have enough time left in my life to get an adequate return on that investment. It's still hard for me to accept sometimes, but I know that if I truly want to learn the in-depth medical stuff, I can find info on the internet or ask my awesome big sis, currently a second-year med student, if I can skim some of her textbooks!
July
In July, I read a sci-fi collection of short stories within a larger story. Bradbury's The Illustrated Man tells stories of human nature, the growing presence of technology in our lives, and space exploration. Some of the stories were more stimulating than others, but it was a fascinating book that made my commute go by quickly! July was a sunny, yet enjoyable month, so I ate a lot of breakfasts and dinners on our back deck, including some lazy weekend breakfasts that featured beer. One of my favorites was Big Muddy Blueberry Blonde, an easy-drinking ale that paired perfectly with some almond-buttered toast and fresh blueberries! I drank quite a few fruity beers this summer, but Blueberry Blonde is near the top of the list.
August
August was a busy month, between trying to squeeze as many hours in at work as I could and picking up textbooks for my first semester of school in 3 years. However, I managed to find the time to go on a trip to Kansas City to visit one of my best friends! We went to a beer festival, ate a ton of food, and went to a special showing of The Warriors at Alamo Drafthouse. I decided to enjoy a glass of Great Divide's Rumble, for some pretty obvious reasons. Rumble was also the first barrel-aged IPA I ever drank, and remains one of my top 5 favorite beers. I also decided to read as many books as I could, even through the school year. I eventually settled on Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy, a suspenseful sci-fi series that explores human interaction with nature. While I enjoyed the first book far more than the second and third, I found the entire trilogy interesting. Paramount has acquired the movie rights to the series, so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of that.
September
In September, things really got underway with school, and I had to do some reading for my history class, which covered the history and culture of the US during the 20th century. I wasn't expecting it to be my favorite class, but the subject material and my professor's engaging lecture style made it so. The first book we had to read was River of Doubt, which covered Theodore Roosevelt's expedition through a hitherto unexplored river in the Amazon rainforest, and the many challenges that faces his crew. This fascinating tale was quite interesting to read, as planning for a wilderness adventure of that magnitude today would be rather simple. I would love to see this story told as a big-screen historical epic.
I also decided to start my blog! The first beer I chose to review was North Coast's Old Rasputin, and that might take the cake for favorite imperial stout. Such a tasty, heavy-hitting brew! I'm so pleased to have stumbled upon it at Craft Beer Cellar. For my full thoughts on it, you can read my first blog post.
October
In October, I began to read The Circle, an optional extra-credit book for my history class. While the novel definitely has some flaws, I found it an engaging and mesmerizing read and was able to write a very successful 7-page essay that impressed my history professor. In fact, I've been carrying it around in my purse since he gave the graded copy back to me, just so I have something to look at if I have a crappy day at the lab.
I also took a trip to Columbus, Indiana with Meramec's Architecture Club (a trip I wrote about here) and was fortunate enough to stumble upon a craft brewery during my free time in the town. Powerhouse Brewing serves up big-city beers in a fairly small town. I tried their Diesel Oil stout and a small-batch hibiscus wheat, Pink Houses, which is pictured above. It reminded me quite a bit of Boulevard's Hibiscus Gose. I look forward to returning to Columbus and picking up a growler sometime in 2015!
November
November was a fairly difficult month, with finals looming and growing unrest in my city. I stepped down to The Royale for a Thanksgiving nightcap and enjoyed Perennial's ever-popular Abraxas while I made some headway in The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, a powerful book about a Yale graduate tragically gunned down in his hometown. It explores a lot of relevant topics, like racial economic disparities and finding human connection across sociological differences. Like many of the books I read this year, I checked this one out from the public library. I was fifteenth in line for it when I requested it, and there were nearly ten people waiting for it when I returned it, and after reading it, I'm not surprised. This was a great, heart-wrenching story.
December
With the semester over and the Christmas madness reaching its full peak, I decided to attend the Ugly Christmas Sweater party at Morgan Street Brewery. I was pleasantly surprised by my first time at Morgan Street, which effortlessly blends the roles of a craft brewery, a sports/party bar, and a great place downtown for a bite to eat. I tried their Winter Lager and adored it! I'm looking forward to stepping down there sometime in early 2015 for lunch. Since Morgan Street Brewery is located on Laclede's Landing, it's easy to get to from the Metrolink.
I also read the story of The Container Store, which was founded on the principles of Conscious Capitalism that also drive amazing companies like REI and Whole Foods. Reading this book made me want to re-do my entire organizational system- if only I had the budget or space! I'm hoping to make some small changes that will help me streamline my daily life, since I'm planning on being quite the busy bee in 2015.
I think that just about sums up 2014, which seems to have gone by incredibly fast! Seriously, it seems like just yesterday I was snuggled up with my honey to watch the Maple Leafs beat the Red Wings in the NHL Winter Classic. In 2015, I'll have a lot going on between school, work, The OG, volunteering, hitting the gym, and traveling, but I'll definitely be making time for Netflix, reading, quality time with my pup, and of course, my beloved beer blog! I'll be posting every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday with beer reviews and discussions about books, pop culture, and other topics that happen to catch my interest! Already on January's itinerary: A road trip to see one of my favorite albums performed in its entirety, some exciting OG news, and I'm hoping to attend Cicero's weekly Beer School! Until Friday, I hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's Eve.
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