No solutions, only tradeoffs… getting back in shape, again

If there has been one silver lining that came from crashing out of the beer industry, no longer traveling and going back to the 9-5 insurance grind, it’s been being able to fall into a routine and get back in the gym for the first time years. 

Memorial Day Murph, 2025. I’ve made a ton of progress even since then

I’ve been back at the gym pretty regularly for over a year now. I’ve definitely gotten stronger and better conditioned. Pounds and inches have been a bit harder to drop. The past couple of months I’ve made an effort to be even more consistent with my workouts, trying to get 7,000 steps in a day, intermittent fasting, drinking at least 80 ounces of water per day, and yes, drinking less beer.

12x12 Tuckerman Pale Ale

Beers included: Tuckerman Pale Ale

Purchase date: 6 September 2025

Purchase price: $16.99

Initial Impressions

When I resolved to start this 12x12 series, and earlier deemed the 12-pack the workhorse of the beer fridge, I wasn't sure if I specified 12-pack cans or not. Even if I had, I still would write the post. Either way I am glad that Tuckerman Pale Ale is the first 12-pack of bottles to be featured. 

Revisiting a pamphlet from Homebrew Con 2019

Hard to believe this was over six years ago, but I was hit with a bit of nostalgia when I found this old Muntons pamphlet from Homebrew Con 2019 in Providence. 

 

Tasting Notes: Maximilian Lager

I was weirdly excited to brew this recipe when I wrote the original brew day post as a stand-alone. I was able to taste the first batch of this recipe at Homebrew Con, but that is not the same thing as being able to enjoy a full pour. Needless to say, I couldn't conduct a side-by-side of that batch either. 

This time I gave the beer a name.

I bought the tins of extract during a Black Friday sale last fall. When I purchased lager yeast for my recent Pale Kellerbier, it only made sense to re-pitch it for a batch that was already in the pipeline. 

The batch did get three weeks to ferment extra cold, before going into a keg for lagering. When I tasted the beer at that time, I picked up some diacetyl. I let the keg warm up to cellar temperature and sit for a week as a crude diacetyl rest. Then the keg lagered all summer until there was space in my keezer to put it on tap.