I’ll remember the winter of ’23-’24 as a difficult time for me – professionally, not personally.
This turbulence, which seems to be gradually receding as temperatures rise, has derived primarily from professional uncertainty.
To begin, it’s important to understand that Pints&union was always more than just another job to me. It didn’t matter that I was a hired hand with no direct financial stake as an owner, and about as little say over daily affairs as a dishwasher. P&u was a logical extension of all my previous lives in the beer business, and I took my position there very seriously.
In terms of working for others, I always believe in what I do – and I believed fully in P&u. During my tenure, the beer program there was both financially and artistically exemplary given the available resources, and it blindsided me to be forcibly cashiered in November, which was neither my choice nor a decision I somehow “shared” in making (as seems to have been mistakenly reported in some circles).
And so that word again: “Professionally.”
Since this is my first go-around as a 63-year-old, trying to make sense of the past few months includes sorting through all sorts of feelings about the meaning of...Read more
