Detoxtober

You can probably guess most of the content of this post from the title. It's a bit whingey and whiney. Oh, 'whingey' and 'whiney' are very similar words. Similar meanings too.

But read on only if you're prepared to wade through the complaints.

It's October. The ending of the bitterly cold days and the introduction of the warm, sunny ones.

Starting to get to those afternoons that are perfect to crack a cold beer and enjoy.

But I've decided that I would not take part in that just yet. I thought I'd take a month to detox myself. A sabbatical from all things unhealthy. A decision to lead a more healthy lifestyle in general, starting with 31 days of sacrifice and effort to establish some ground work.

Removing beer from my schedule for a month is not a daunting task for me. A stubborn nature and stoic pride give me the idea that this won't be a challenge.

This made me want to add an element of sacrifice to this little exercise, so I decided to make it during October because I know that this tenth month holds some enjoyable activities would would be a shame to miss.

Not much happening in August, too much happening in December.

October it is. Or...... Detoxtober.

I don't like the name “Octsober”. It's usually used by the kinds of people that I wouldn't care to associate with. Oooh, he's precious, I bet you're thinking. Well it's just what I've observed thus far.

“Octsober” also suggests that it's purely giving up the drink for a month, but I've tried to make a much more rounded and balanced effort to better health.

So, Detoxtober. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Don't worry about it. Not important.

Struggling to think of relevant pictures for this post...

I already eat quite well so there hasn't been a great deal of diet change. Maybe a bit more fish and raw vegetables added. A more active lifestyle is what's required. Jogging is going from an irregular folly to a more habitual activity, the punching bag is getting a bit of work put in to it.

Another related event that led to me to this month of good health was triggered by a trip in to Bentleigh for some breakfast and a coffee. It was a sunny Sunday morning and I had a hankering for cafe Bent's homemade baked beans served with poached eggs. Delish.

I got in the car and headed down the back streets along the railway line toward Bentleigh. Nightmare. Quiet backstreets in gridlock. I'd not realised that this particular sunny Sunday was market day at Bentleigh. Mayhem.

Sat in my car waiting for traffic to pass in a short trip made me frustrated. I shouldn't have to drive these short distances. Decision made. The bike was to get reinstated as the method of transport for shorter distances.

Jogging, biking and throwing punches at a hanging bag. That's a good start at establishing some more activity.

The next challenge was going to be resisting the fun elements and events that October would bring.

The month got off to a flyer, too.

The first weekend of the month saw Chapel Street Cellars host a bonanza clearance sale. This was a minor challenge, because after some immediate panic at an opportunity missed I realised there was nothing stopping me attending and picking up some goodies to enjoy come November.

Crisis averted.

I did stock up on some lovely beers including a swag of Moon Dog's Perverse Sexual Amalgam at a knockdown price. A case of Thornbridge's Jaipur IPA was also snapped up, so early on in my month I had an army of delicious IPAs greeting me whenever I wandered past my beer shelves.

That same weekend I found out that Slowbeer still had some bottles of Red Duck's collaboration with Anders Kissmeyer. My favourite beer of the year so far. So joining the army of Jaipurs and collection of PSAs is three Hop Bachs. Quite the gallery watching my performance.

The first weekend of the month also brought about the time that an APA that I have brewed would be ready to drink and it tasted excellent out of the fermenter as I was bottling it, so my anticipation was already high and now there would be 31 more days to wait.

Oh, this is kind of relevant!

Next up we have Mountain Goat's 15^th birthday. Now I love the Double Hightail so the idea of a Triple Hightail was mouth watering! The birthday launch at the Great Britain Hotel would have been wonderful to attend, but alas I was probably doing something wonderful like washing dishes or mopping the floor. Rock 'n roll, son.

The Holgate launch of their new 500ml seasonal range occurred at Slowbeer and they had The Empress on tap. The Empress. I mean, this was probably the biggest tempter of the month.

One little gem that was coined and established by James and Jenn Davidson was a novel themed day. October 21. Brown Ale Day. A day to celebrate the oft forgotten and misunderstood style, the Brown Ale. I was active spruiking this idea and would have liked to have participated. Watch this space. Brown Ale Day 2013 will be a bigger day. A group of beer lovers gathered together to enjoy some fine brown ales, some delicious food which recipes include brown ale, a tasting of some home brewed brown ale and so forth.

It will be fun, just you wait and see.

The biggest event that October brings is the one I had in mind in the beginning of my sabbatical as my biggest sacrifice. The Victorian Microbrewery Showcase at Fed Square. Always a cracking event. A great chance to mingle with all the personalities of our great little community and to sample the wide and ever increasing gamut of beers being produced in this state.

So 25 days in to the month and I'm feeling great. Not really struggling with anything, and I haven't felt as healthy in a long time. I'm really happy that I've made this decision and adhered to it because I do honestly think it's a launching pad to a more healthy lifestyle in general.

This isn't relevant, but who doesn't want to see Crafty and two idiots dressed as pirates?

November 1 is just a week away and I won't pretend that I'm not looking forward to a lovely Hop Bach and a Jaipur or two.

Now I can't imagine that anyone is still reading this post now so I'll finish on some nonsense that's completely unrelated.

Beethoven, Beethoven, chocolate milkshake, Nova Scotia.

If you know the correct answer, send your entries to Locked Bag 7002, Sydney, NSW, 2000.

Once it's sent in don't forget to put you head in hands as part of the realisation that you have wasted your time.

Signing off.