RH 028 The 6 Stages of Retirement and Goose Island

Retire Hoppy Podcast

Show Notes

Retirement Segment

• I’ve produced an article and video presentation on the 6 Stages of Retirement. It is the most popular subject I have ever produced. At the time of this posting, theYouTube video has over 8,300 views.
• The 6 Stages were developed in 1975 by Gerontology Professor Richard Atley.
  • Pre-retirement
  • Retirement
  • Disenchantment
  • Reorientation
  • Retirement Routine
  • Termination of Retirement
• We didn’t discuss pre-retirement because I have covered both the financial and non-financial aspects in previous posts and podcasts. Note that I consider the 5 years prior to retirement, regardless of when, to be the pre-retirement stage. What defines it as a stage is the conscious effort to link actions and preparations to a planned retirement date.
• Stage 2 is retirement and is further subdivided into 3 paths that retirees take.
  • Honeymoon (I took this path which is the most common)
  • Immediate retirement routine (Roy took this path)
  • Rest and relaxation
• Stage 3 is disenchantment where some experience regrets about retiring
  • I experienced disenchantment while Roy did not.
• Stage 4 is reorientation. It applies to those who experience disenchantment and those who took retirement path 3 because eventually you need to do something purposeful in retirement.
  • In order to reorient my retirement (Retirement 2.0) I started by taking an inventory. I asked myself a series of questions such as did I miss work, did I miss my paycheck and did I miss feeling productive.
  • Ultimately I determined that my disenchantment wasn’t tied to work-related issues but to a life-long personal issue that resurfaced now that I had more personal time.
  • In March 2012 I read a book called Forgiveness is a Choice: A Step by Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope by Robert Enwright. I worked all the exercises. Through that process I was able to effectively deal with the issue that was affecting my retirement satisfaction.
• Stage 5 is retirement routine where life is comfortable. In fact, I wrote one of my favorite articles about my retirement routine: Live for Today – Routinely.
• Stage 6 is termination of retirement. No further explanation offered or needed.
• The 6 Stages helps us understand what is normal. It helps prepare us for what is coming.

Beer Segment

The beer segment begins at the 13:10 minute mark.

• Our beer is Goose Island Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout from 2017 meaning it has been aged for over an additional year.
• GI was a pioneer using bourbon barrels to age beer. They use barrels that have aged bourbon for 8 years and then they age their beer between 8 – 12 months in those barrels. The process takes place in a non-climate controlled environment in Chicago to allow the barrels to expand and contract. Each barrel is used only once.
• Beers that have short shelf lives are not good candidates for aging.
• Dark beers such as porters and stouts are good candidates for aging.
• Aging doesn’t make a beer better just different.
• The ABV is 14.1% and the IBUs 60.
• The aged beer is extremely dark, smooth and with no bitterness. Flavor notes of bourbon, coffee and caramel. Excellent!
• A great way to experience aging beer is to buy two bottles and drink one immediately and take notes to compare with the eventual aged one.