So 2017 fucking sucked, right? Yeah, it did for me too but despite all the shit I had to suffer through for the last twelve months I have to admit that it was also the best year that the Classy Alcoholic had since I started this blog back in 2014. I somehow managed to make a shit-ton of new friends in the Arizona craft beer and booze community despite the fact that I hate being around people and kinda just want to die alone really soon.
My success this past year didn’t just come from my brilliant writing and unparalleled charm. It also grew thanks to the people who were so willing to associate themselves with a disreputable character like me even if it could possibly have done irreparable damage to their brand or business.
And because this blog started as a way to promote small businesses in my lovely state of Arizona I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of these new folks I met this year and thank them for their support. If I missed anyone, I apologize. But just know that I appreciate y’all and am grateful for the love you’ve shown me this past year.
I’ll start with my buddy Justin Cross. He’s been a supporter of mine since the early days and I wrote him into a short story of mine that started at Saddle Mountain Brewing Company in Goodyear, AZ. I’ve described the man as a “terrifying Hulk monster” because he’s incredibly jacked as fuck but also loves craft beer. This year he started a collective called Earn Your Booze. He and his beefcake pals have put on a couple of events in the last few months with the goal of promoting fitness in the craft beer scene. Because you can drink without turning into a gross fat shit like me.
Not only that but the man was also involved in a nutrition and supplement store called Peak Nutrition in Scottsdale where you can buy everything you need for your beefcake needs. Don’t hold the fact that I’m still fat against Justin. He’s the best trainer you could ever hope for…I’m just the laziest drunkest bitch anyone could ever hope to avoid.
Check out:
I was also a guest on a couple of podcasts this past year. My buddy Eric Walters is following in my footsteps and paying visits to every microbrewery in the state of Arizona. It’s no small feat now that there are, like, a hundred of those bitches around. But he’s putting in the effort and he’s cataloging his adventures with the Tap That AZ podcast. You can listen on iTunes or whatever non iPhone shit you use for podcasts.
The Tap That AZ website is here.
And because this has been such a good year for me I was even a guest on a podcast outside of Arizona with the dopest name EVER. I made friends with a few guys behind the Beer ‘N’ Loathing Podcast from Colorado. They asked for any crazy stories from their listeners to fill up their holiday episode and I contributed the story of when my I peed on the door of a frat house in Tucson while hammered ten years ago. It was dope.
The Beer ‘N’ Loathing website is here.
Speaking of podcasters, I also meet a few dudes from the Hoppy Craftsmen podcast this year and while I haven’t been on their show yet, they’ve featured a few of my beer pals and I’m expecting them to get me on their show soon. The people are clamoring for The Classy Alcoholic, Hoppy Craftsmen. Get your shit together and put me in front of a mic!
The Hoppy Craftsmen website is here.
Hey, have you noticed that the craft beer scene is full of a bunch of the same fat, bearded white guys and that there’s not enough diversity in the industry? As a hard-drinkin’ Mexican I feel the same way, bruh. Which is why it was so nice to discover an Utah-based homebrewer named Mikenzie who is sharing her homebrewing experiences in an attempt to get more people into the hobby. She’s one of the pioneers when it comes to making the craft beer scene less greasy, fat white dude-centric. She posts stuff on social media under the name Bitches & Brews. She has a website but the best way to keep up with her adventures is her Instagram account.
The Bitches & Brews Instagram is here.
And finally, I made a huge leap in my blogging career this year when I started writing about AZ craft spirits. Talking to the folks who are starting up craft distilleries was like going back in time and meeting the young microbrewery owners who were trying to learn the business as they went and trying to carve out a name for themselves in a very young industry.
I wrote an article about this phenomenon called Spirits Are The New Craft.
The craft distilleries I visited this year were:
Three Wells Distilling – Tucson
Desert Diamond Distillery – Kingman
And I’ll give some quick extra thanks to James Blue, Michele & Edwin, Wendy Ford and every last one of y’all who made 2017 bearable. Let’s ring in 2018 with as much optimism as we can muster. I’ll raise a glass to wish you the best if you’ll raise a glass to wish that my ex-girlfriend drives off a cliff.
Now THAT will make for an excellent new year.
Salud!
the classy alcoholic 