Beer and Lent: When World Collide

A welcomed Ash Wednesday to those of you who partake in the Christian holiday period between now and Easter. I am not a Christian by faith, but I am a believer in that we, regardless of faith, cultural background, etc., can embrace this period of the year as a time to reflect on how we live our lives and how we would like to improve the way we live. Plenty of us out there have fulfilling lives in one way or another, and that's great. But maybe we want to make a difference in how we present ourselves to others, or maybe we would like to spend more time developing our interests outside of the workplace; I for one am on board with the latter! Perhaps we should think of lent outside of giving something up for a concentrated period of time; it's a way for us to add something else in and to do so long-term or permanently. 

Now when it comes to the "giving up" part of lent, I have a simple suggestion. Give up crappy beer, beer that holds us back from enjoying the effort, craftsmanship and TLC that goes into our favorite beers. Toss out the last of your fizzy, yellow-y Keystone Light or Natty 30-rack and put the bottle opener on your key set to work! By now I hope you've learned that craft beer is something that exceeds the initial investment you make. In all honesty, can you remember your last experience that involved drinking a Budweiser? Even if you can, you're probably remembering everything about the experience apart from the beer itself. Everything going on around you enhances your experience with the beer, and therefore the beer is dependent upon the experience. 

With quality craft beer, it's the opposite. The beer is the catalyst, enhancing the consumer's experience of everything around him/her. For example, you could be watching TV on a Wednesday night — pretty regular night and all. But crack open a micro and you'll start to feel like even a common moment in your life has a special place in time. What about if your're at a baseball game and your team is losing? It will take many Miller Lites to chase away your sorrows. But if you sip on an Anchor Steam or Sierra Nevada (served at Northern California MLB stadiums), you'll start to appreciate the people you're at the game with and the reasons that bring people together for America's pastime. You see, craft beer gives us purpose in that it can make any activity or any setting enjoyable, enriching and longer lasting for our memory. 

So for lent, I give you one way in which not only you will give something up, but also you will gain something very rewarding in return. 

You Stay Hoppy California,
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