Happy 2012

Greetings all, and happy 2012. This is the first post of gulp! for 2012, and it's a teaser of things to come. Not only that, it's almost the one year anniversary of the blog (t-minus 7 days), so I have some fun additions to the blog to talk about. Before we get there though, here's a quick showcase of some of the beers I'll be reviewing over the next few weeks.

Showcase (Showdown): As you can see, I've made a pretty decent score recently at Total Wine and More (the GO TO place for your craft beer needs). I have an interesting mixture of beers that I'll be writing about over the next few weeks that I think you'll find illuminating.... or maybe just slightly interesting. If you've been a reader since the early beginnings of gulp!, you may remember that I've already done a write up for the Banana Bread beer. That is correct, I did one in February. But, if you remember harder (good linguistics) I was at a bar when I drank it and I didn't really have a good write up. So, I'll be bringin' a 2012 edition of the review to a computer screen near you. You'll also see a Framboise in there... the one with the bright ass pink label. That's for my wife, so, we'll see how that goes. Not a huge fan of the 'boise. Anyway, good mix that I'm sure will illuminate - er - I hope you enjoy the write ups. 

New Additions: We live in a tech age these days folks. Hell, you can read my somewhat subjective reviews of alcoholic beverages from the comfort of your own couch and you don't have to listen to my annoying voice. How great is that? That said, many people have smart phones in which they connect with strangers they've never met via apps or social networks, and even share information about themselves with said nutjobs. So, if you have such a smart phone, there are two apps that I'd really suggest you download to follow another dimension of gulp! 

Instagram: Here's my "app caveat", I don't know if you need an iPhone to use Instagram, but if not, get it! If so, well, sorry. If you have, or can get, Instagram, hit me up. My user name is "gluparama". I typically just take hipster style photos of beer, which may or may not get reviewed. So it's a good combo of two cool things: beer and photography. And you don't have to worry about reading my pointless blather. 

Untappd: Untappd is an awesome social network where you "check in" to the beer you are drinking. They have an app that is available on iPhone and Android, so there should be no excuse on this one! Basically you can search for almost any beer out there, "check in", and share it with your followers. They have silly badges you can earn based on your check ins, and they also keep track of what you drink. It's a lot of fun, and good again for beers that may or may not be reviewed here. You can also see what's trending in your area. 

So, that's what up these days here at gulp! I appreciate you stopping by, and be sure to check out those apps and look me up! You know you want to be better pals anyway, so don't act like you don't want to. Oh, and don't forget to come back for the, you know, reviews.