Hops and Thoughts

5th Annual Hops and Thoughts 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Football Field with Gold and Black Hops & Thoughts 2026 NFL Mock Draft Text

It is that time of the year again — the 2026 NFL Draft is just a few days away.

It is a day when football fans across the map hope against hope that the teams they have been cheering on since they were kids find that missing piece that will help them win the next Super Bowl or kickstart a dynasty. We sit on the edge of our seats watching and waiting to see if our favorite draft prospect makes it to our team’s pick. We cross our fingers, wish, and pray that somehow and someway our favorite team will finally take a WR in the first round. And we drink a few more beers when our favorite team trades back and drafts a RT.

4th Annual Hops and Thoughts 2025 NFL Mock Draft

Football Player Graphic with Hops and Thoughts 2025 NFL Mock Draft Text

The 2025 NFL Draft is just days away.

I love the NFL Draft. It is like Christmas Morning for the football fan. You sleep as much as you can the night before, but the anticipation of seeing what Ol’ St. Nick left you under the tree is just killing you, and you can’t wait to run down the stairs in the morning and rip the wrapping paper off of all the packages.

That’s how I feel as a football fan heading into the draft. The anticipation and the hope that your team drafts that one final piece that will catapult them from perennial disappointment in the second round of the playoffs to a perennial Super Bowl team. The excitement is palpitating — so let’s get started with the 4th Annual Hops and Thoughts 2025 NFL Mock Draft.

3rd Annual Hops and Thoughts 2024 NFL Mock Draft

Football Field Under the Lights with Yellow and White Hops and Thoughts 2024 NFL Mock Draft Text

It is time!

I love the NFL Draft. Maybe even more than the actual games. A high-quality NFL General Manager is like a mad scientist with dangerous elements that are used in precise proportions to build a nuclear arsenal that will devastate the competition – or in the wrong proportions can blow up in their face. I love the judgment, foresight, and strategy that are employed by GMs to create a winning combination and deliver a world championship to their franchises.

2nd Annual Hops and Thoughts 2023 NFL Mock Draft

Football on a Field with Black Hops and Thoughts 2023 NFL Mock Draft Text

The NFL Draft is here!

It is Christmas for football fans. A long-awaited night when we finally get to see what gifts the football deities will bestow upon our favorite franchises. NFL pundits and prognosticators have been at it for months – dissecting college football players, watching the game tape, examining the analytics with a virtual magnifying glass, exploring team needs, discussing potential trades and creating their own mock drafts.

Add me to the list – albeit on a less professional, skilled or intelligent level. I F*&%$#@ LOVE the NFL DRAFT. I am a simple fan that some may call simple-minded, who simply loves the strategy, analytics and future that the NFL Draft represents. I love to see the dreams of college football players realized as they get the call from their brand-new team and I love to see how championship rosters are built by each franchise.

What Are the Differences Between Bourbon, Scotch, and Whiskey?

Close Up of a Rocks Glass of Bourbon and a Bottle of Small Batch High Rye Bourbon

I am a beer guy. I love beer. Light, dark, IPA, stout and everything in between – but sometimes I need a break.

I have never been a big liquor guy, especially after a few rough nights in college (I blame my wife and a game of shot glass checkers that did not go my way). With that said, I have been searching for that replacement drink, that change of pace for when I need a break from beer.

Bourbon has become my go-to drink of choice – thanks to my friends at the Appleton Curling Club and my cousins and aunt who are bourbon “enthusiasts” to put it mildly – others might call them fanatics or zealots. I have come to love the complex aromas and flavors produced by bourbon and the sheer variety of options that are all a little bit different from the last and with this newfound love, I have found myself asking – what are the differences between bourbon, scotch and whiskey?

What Is the Best Oktoberfest Beer (Probably)?

Blue Oktoberfest Banner on Wood Background with Three Beers

Fall is here – and you know what that means. Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

Kidding. It means Oktoberfest beers are on the shelves, brats are on the grill and oom-pah-pahs are in the air.

First-Ever Hops and Thoughts 2022 NFL Mock Draft!

Helmet on a Field with Hops and Thoughts 2022 NFL Mock Draft Text

I F*&%$#@ LOVE the NFL DRAFT!

It is the most magical time of the year, when NFL franchises build for the future and the college ballers you loved to watch on Saturdays get to see their dreams come true. I love the strategies that NFL franchises use to build their teams and work towards a championship. I love to examine the untapped talent, skill, athleticism and potential of young men who played at the highest level in the college ranks and are about to experience elite competition. I love to project who will fit best where and who will help take their new team to the next level.

No…this mock draft does not mean anything…the Green Bay Packers and GM Brian Gutekunst do not care what I, a simple-minded fan, think they should do in the 2022 NFL Draft and I don’t care. I love to test my own analytical brain (or lack thereof) to see how close I can come to reality – just like all of the other prognosticators, pundits, analysts and fans in the NFL Universe – so here goes nothing.

Does Alcohol Make You More Creative?

Black Background with Beer Graphic, Plus Sign, Brain Graphic, Equals Sign and Kid with Light Bulb and Idea Text

We have all heard of those cool offices where Fridays are Bring Your Beer to Work Day – but they seem almost mythical to all of us day-to-day working drones – like a workplace unicorn. And we have all had days when we find ourselves staring at a blank Microsoft Word document thinking – f#*& I could use a beer. What if you could have a beer at the office? What if you did drink a beer or two while writing that paper?

It is no secret that alcohol affects brain power – we have all been to D.A.R.E. I mean, we all know for a fact that alcohol can make us faster runners, irresistible lovers, Grammy-winning singers and UFC fighters – but is it all bad? I am a creative writer who has spent the better part of the past two years working in the prison cell that is my bedroom. Thanks COVID. And I will admit that I have had a beer on the job a time or two (please don’t tell my boss) and it has always seemed to loosen me up and has made me wonder – does alcohol make you more creative?

What Is the Best Beer Style?

Beer snobs – well we prefer beer aficionados or beer connoisseurs, maybe even beer enthusiasts – are a tight-knit group and you will find few better ways to make a fast friend in one than by talking about the last great beer you had over a pint at your local pub.

But inevitably, the question always comes up – what is your favorite beer style – which will inevitably become a “discussion” on what is the BEST beer style. Imagine grown men and women at a pub vociferously debating different beer styles and their pros and cons, shouting over the music, until it is decided that you are right and everyone else is wrong. I like to picture Billy Madison and his logical, albeit elementary shampoo versus conditioner debate in the bathtub. Besides, we all know shampoo is better.