You never know where you might find your next exiting pint, the next star in your personal rotation. You will see some familiar, trusted brands while scanning the shelves during a trip to the adult candy store, but the familiar can become the routine, and routine can become stagnant - a word we try to avoid in the pursuance of Life Well-Lived. Our taste buds are continually regenerating, so let's go ahead and give those new recruits a chance to shine. The NFL draft started last night and continues today and tomorrow, so I thought we'd choose a few draft picks of our own this week. Enough with the set up: the first pick in the inaugural CTBites Beer Draft 2012 is: Magic Hat Encore.

Peace, as elusive as it can be on a macro scale, is oftentimes attainable with three simple elements: a comfortable chair, a glass of something within easy reach, and a good book. The difficulty of holding the tenuous balance of a yoga pose forces one to focus mind and body on that one action. If the mind wanders, so too does the body, and suddenly there's that worn out spot on your mat, and oh hell - everyone just saw that didn't they? You topple not just out of your pose, but back into reality. For the moments before, though, there was only the confluence of mind and body floating in a meditative innerspace. Withdrawn from the world's nettlesome preoccupations, there was peace. Similarly, good stories allow us to disengage from reality; to take a restful break from life. Actively experiencing food and drink, really thinking about what you taste, also takes focus.