A beer with your book? You can't go wrong!
The year is just about over. Tomorrow is New Years Eve and projects are wrapping up nicely. All of our books that are set for release in June 2024 are nearly finished. With one complete, three that just need a final look over, plus one that requires a final edit near the end, we're set to go. And thank Christ, because I'm over it. The last six months have been nothing but working, either writing to pay the bills or editing/designing and putting together these books, there has been no time to write or create for pure pleasure. After these books are done I swear we're only going to publish like, one or two books a year. That's it! No matter what my partner says.
I understand now why publishers tend to get tired and give up because it is a lot of plates to balance. But all is not lost! Since starting this publishing odyssey I have turned to beer as a reward for spending 6-8 hours a day at least 5 days a week dealing with nonsense. Beer, really? Yes, really. It's funny because I have spent the last 38-odd years hating beer. By nature I'm a wine drinker until my partner said, hey I bet you'd like fruit beer or sour beer and I thought pffff doubt it.
But he knows me better than I know myself and it turns out beer can be fucking amazing! And I'm sick of bitching about publishing and books so why not praise delicious (slightly overpriced) beer? I'm not a connoisseur or anything but I know what tastes good.
Probably the greatest discovery is the existence of One Drop out of Botany Bay in NSW. Not only is their product superior to all other beers I've tried but their artwork is wicked cool!
Sadly their stock comes and goes so when you want it you can't always get it, so its a smart move to get it while you can. My first introduction to this brand was with a flavour called Bougie. This moscato sour was enough to cross me over from wine drinker to beer drinker without a second thought (I haven't bothered to by wine since).
'Ok Darling, a sour wine hybrid ale with chardonnay free run juice, fresh passionfruit, and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin.' the can reads.
'Fermented cold with a new lager yeast and conditioned on lightly toasted American Oak, it's highly carbonated with free run juice added back in during conditioning.' I don't know what that all means but I know it good.
The can finishes up, 'Expect a spritzy sour with a fine balance of kettle sour bacteria, tangy passionfruit, moscato sweetness, and oaky vanilla character. Bougie or what?' Yes very and oddly enough I'm completely okay with that.
So good! And I don't even like chardonnay!
From there the obsession spiralled out of control. I started following them on instagram and ordering their delicious beautiful product delivered to my door.
As much as I love pretty much every one I tired the best is probably this newer flavor called Cooked: a jam cookie dough sour. It is lactose heavy and tastes like the best possible cookie you can imagine. Think of tart raspberry and gooey strawberry topped with heavy rich icing, white chocolate, and cinnamon. Its like a cookie explosion in your mouth.
I ordered it once, had my mind blow, went to order it again, it was sold out. Then it came back in stock and I ordered a few to be safe. Who knows if or when it will ever be available again. I feel like the Bougie one is long gone. RIP.
It would be amazing to one day publish a large table top picture book of this amazing artwork on some of these cans. Wondering where all the good artists went? For awhile it seemed like they were designing wine labels now it looks like the breweries have scooped them all up.
If you're looking for a drink to enjoy with your next read, don't overlook the award winning combination of a book + beer. Life is good.