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It’s been two days since I made a vow to myself not to drink beer for an entire year. I’m not going to make this the entire focus of the blog from now on, but I will post occasional updates on how strong my will is. Beer is delicious, but I am hoping I shall prevail.

So, Thursday night, my guitarist and I had a bit of a writing session and then went for a drink after at the Toad in the Hole, my favourite establishment in Winnipeg and probably the place where I consume the most beer. It was a virtual gauntlet-running for me, as I had to deny myself of routine: typically the first thing I do when I walk in the door is step up to the bar, and I don’t normally have to order. Cliff, the friendly neighbourhood beer-slinger, knows when I step up and give him a nod, it’s his cue to slide a cold pint of Keith’s my way.

Needless to say he was a little thrown off when I ordered a red wine. I happen to quite enjoy a glass of red wine, but it’s definitely not what the Toad is known for, as far as quality goes. Despite this, it was surprisingly potable. Delightful, even. But for fuck’s sake, it wasn’t a beer. I was met by confused looks from the regulars I normally see. What’s with the vino, bro? Oh, you’re not drinking beer for a whole year? Are you fucking insane? Yes, yes I am. And I’ll thank you to curb your follow-up questions.

The rest of the night was spent making my quest to avoid malts and hops a point of every conversation, getting advice on what the best low-cal drinks are, and trying some of them. Red wine turned to long island iced tea (definitely out, too much sugar content) and then to ceasars (also ixnayed, for its hangover-inducing qualities).

Last night, I tried a rum and juice on for size, which I’m also tossing out as an option, as the juice is just too heavy. I could only consume one before getting that feeling you get when you drink too much juice. You know, where it just sits in the pit of your stomach, sloshing around and reminding you not to drink too much juice? Yeah, that one. I ended up back at the Toad (I told you it was my favourite), and without a clue what to try next, stuck with water.

I have one concoction to try still, before I give in to just drinking vodka/waters, which I have a feeling aren’t particularly tasty. It’s something that my new twitter friends at Boozeblogger wrote a whole post on just for me … and it’s called The Resolute. Thanks boys! I’m going to give it a shot.