It’s kinda hard to do a running blog when you haven’t run much, isn’t it?

It’s not to say my mileage for the last few weeks has been zero, but once I accepted that my half-marathon in Ohio probably wasn’t happening, it’s definitely dropped off. But despite the physical demand of the new job, I’ve managed to get a few runs in here and there. As the mileage has gone down, I’ve done something I should’ve done a lot more of when I WAS training for races; I joined a gym and started hitting the weights again. I decided that I have one too many shirts that doesn’t fit and started putting a little more effort into getting a little smaller. I won’t lie…it feels good to be doing push-ups and goblet squats and planks again. I suppose I have to do something to offset all the beer I’ve been drinking the last few weeks.

My head has not enjoyed much of the last few weeks since I got back to Illinois. A few weeks ago, I was a groomsman in my best friend’s wedding. The wedding was a grand occasion, the bride was beautiful, and I got to see people I haven’t seen in nearly a decade. So where was I? Spending the entire night with my date, Sam. A pretty blonde with a decent body. Better than mine, at least.

Social gatherings and other get-togethers are still pretty hard. Everything was beautiful and went according to plan, but the only thought that kept rattling in my head was how I’ll probably never get to experience this again. I’m sure you’ll tell me that it’s only temporary and all that…but I’m not so sure. People like the idea of a fixer-upper car or a house with “a lot of potential.” A fixer-upper boyfriend? A husband “project?” Not so much. So Sam and I got pretty cozy. Yes, I broke one of the Wedding Crasher rules. But, well, I wasn’t crashing the wedding.

But this past Monday, I started my new job in the brewing industry, and got to pick up a lot of where I left off a few months ago. This place is a big culture shock from my last few breweries. I’ve gone from a place that made a million barrels a year to one that makes a couple thousand. From 1500 employees to about 15. I’m not big on hats, but I wear several here. And that’s not such a bad thing.

It’s a very different setting here. In my Lagunitas days, I was part of a department of 10 that worked strictly on quality. There were enough people and resources to cover brewing and packaging without us. Here, there are four of us during the daytime hours. We do it all. Brewing, cellaring, packaging…it’s all on the four of us (with a little bottling help from a few folks from the taproom, thankfully). With a company this small, getting the job offer didn’t feel like getting hired to a company. It felt more like getting asked to join a band. They wouldn’t have offered me the spot if I didn’t mesh well with the other three brewers. Think about your favorite band, and how they would sound if they had to replace someone in the band. Sometimes, you get a Kirk Hammett. Other times, you get the guy who replaced Keith Moon. (I don’t know either.) So not only do I have to mesh well, I have to contribute something of my own. That’s the fun part. I’m a guy who’s spent his entire career in labs working with guys who…well, haven’t. So I get to contribute the little bit I’ve learned working in beer labs. Things look promising in the first week. I got to do some trend analysis, apply some tried-and-true technique, and in the process, got to learn the brewing side of the job. Better still, the daily brewing duties are a pretty good workout. It’s a good gig so far. Looking forward to more.

But it’s time to get ready for tomorrow. It’s a brew day, so we’re getting a little dusty. See you at fermenter full.

Cheers.