The since-past 2024 was certainly an eventful year. The first four months of 2024 I barely had time to brew at all. I brewed one very mediocre all-grain batch and a couple no-boil batches. Coming up with New Beers Resolutions was the furthest thing from my mind.
At the time I was freelancing for TBI Pro Brew Supply and slowly building up my book of business. If I gave it more time, I very well could have made it work. Right before I left I hooked a big account, but I also lost a big account when that brewery was bought out, so who knows. It was the grind from all of my side-hustles that broke me. I couldn't imagine doing Amazon delivery in the middle of July. Driving an Uber fare to Boston and having my engine start to misfire, which required a $1200 repair, wasn't fun either.
Exiting the beer industry and going back to insurance has been harder than I thought it would be. I joked with one brewer friend that I was the only person to leave the beer industry and make less money. Going back to insurance after seven years away I felt like a defrosted caveman. If my body wasn't frozen like Ted Williams' corpse, my career certainly was. Seeing where my former peers are at in their carriers seven years later and where I am now is something I try not to think about. The only reason to work in insurance is money and advancement.
One silver lining is I do have my weekends back, which enabled me to focus on brewing again. I had a second-place showing at Ales over ALS and the North Shore Brewers Q4 in-club competition (post forthcoming). I also made a batch of cider I was quite happy with, and had a couple of misses as well.
Looking ahead to 2025 I already have half a dozen beers in the pipeline. After skipping 2024, here are my Brew Year's Resolutions.
