Hadyn GreenIt’s dark days and beer is always there. HADYN GREEN is down and drinking.
I’ve been drinking a lot more. Like, a LOT more.
Before going into lockdown, we stocked up on supplies and I did some calculations about how much beer I should get. I thought I had enough for the whole month but blasted through it in half that time.
I even dipped into my cellar, drinking some aged sour beers that I was keeping for an occasion. This wasn’t the occasion I was thinking of.
I have since restocked beers three times, once from the supermarket and twice getting deliveries direct from the breweries; then fridge beers for daily drinking and fancier hefty beers for after that.
Our glass recycling bin is well past overflowing. We’ve started a second bin just for wine and whiskey bottles because the beer bottles stack nicer in the council’s bin.
I’ve been crushing the cans so they fit better in the regular recycling bags. This is how I learned that ParrotDog cans are made from thicker aluminium than Garage Project’s. Crushing a Garagista ripped the can and I slashed my thumb open where it joins my palm.
It took me until the third week, a million days into lockdown, to realise how much my consumption had gone up.
Just a beer after a particularly long and frustrating day suddenly became a few. And every day is long and frustrating. With video meeting after video meeting, suddenly a beer sounds like a nice pick-me-up. I’m down so often these days that being picked up sounds good.
I feel for the bars. The hospo business is tough enough without trying to run when you’re not allowed to have customers. If you haven’t already, remember to check if your local is doing anything to raise funds to keep itself afloat.
The breweries can at least sell stock, an essential service sending out care packages across the country. I have another order coming that includes beer from Nelson and Auckland as well as Wellington.
Breweries are helping in other ways, too. Those with the means are creating alcohol for hand sanitiser. We were lucky enough to be given a bottle of pure alcohol from a local brewery the day before the lockdown.
We will come out the other side of all of this. And everything will be different when we do. Hopefully different doesn’t mean worse. But there’s a chance it might, so we need to be careful and watch out for each other and support our friends, including those you may never have met that make and distribute beer.
And take care of yourselves.
There’s an edge to everything right now, just below the surface. I saw it described as the “hell zone”: that depressive lull where everything is a bit much and your brain is shutting down certain thought processes and you just can’t do anything. Beer helps with that. The trick is to make sure that’s not a crutch, not your go-to every time.
Remember, if feel like you are developing unhealthy drinking habits or addictions during this crisis, there are organisations that you can contact for help.
