We all do it. We flip the calendar from one year to the next and wrack our brains trying to think of ways to make this trip around the sun just a little better than the last one. Of course, there are the usual dreaded items on the list like getting more exercise or reading a few of those self-help books that you picked up and hid away in your closet. However, this is a beer column, so I think I’ll make a few resolutions to make 2010 a better beer year.
1. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again this year, I resolve that this will be the year that I brew my own batch of beer. I’ve been a beer enthusiast for years and I’ve tried literally hundreds of different beers, but I still haven’t summoned up the courage to create my own. With help from a few local friends, I think I can pull it off.
2. I resolve to enjoy a good beer while watching the Minnesota Twins play at Target Field. I don’t know what they’ll be offering for brews at the new stadium, but I’m sure they’ll have a few local gems there. A good beer and my Twins playing on natural grass under a sunny, blue sky—could anyone ask for more?
3. I resolve to make the trek out to Spearfish to visit Crow Peak Brewing Company. Hey, when your state only has one real brewery, you have to give it a shot, don’t you? It sounds like a perfect weekend trip to me.
4. I resolve to try at least five different recipes that include beer. I’ve always wanted to cook with beer and the recipes are easy to find; it’s just a matter of giving them a shot. I know that beer can chicken and Guinness beef stew will be two of the five. Any other suggestions?
5. I resolve to enjoy a good beer or two at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. What can I say? I’m a baseball nut and a beer guy. Somehow, I’ve never made it to the College World Series and it’s time for that craziness to stop. I’ve heard nothing but good things so it’s time that I check it out for myself.
6. I resolve to go Around the World at Jim’s Tap in Brookings. I haven’t done it since my college days over a decade ago and there’s just no way the T-shirt still fits. It’s time to take that bar stool voyage once again.
7. Last and definitely not least, I resolve to attend at least one beer-related festival that I have never been to before. Perhaps I’ll hit the king of Oktoberfests in Cincinnati. Maybe I’ll manage to find my way to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Or I may have to think smaller and hit the Brewers Bazaar in Stillwater, Minn. Rumor says that’s a pretty good time.
Just a few ways I think I can make 2010 a better beer year for me. Have you thought of how you might spice up your taste buds for the new year? Post your comments with your own New Year’s beer resolutions,
Until next time, keep your eye on the ball and your hand on a pint.
Ty Omoth is a beer scribe for The Post and lives in Sioux Falls. Reach him at tyomoth@inbox.com.
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