Well its about time we can chat about one of my favorite beverages! There's so much to talk about, I wonder where to begin...so I'll let everyone know my basic preferences. I prefer ales over lagers; I do not consider Bud, Miller, Coors etc to even be beer, although I know it (techincally) is. I am very fond of hoppy brews, such as the IPA style, and I also like the less hoppy Pale Ales. During the summer time, I really like Wheat beers, which I find very thirst quenching. My long time favorite is Celis White beer. The history of Celis is that he (Pierre Celis) worked at the Hoeggarden brewery in Belgium, then moved to Austin Texas and started his own brewery. He chose Austin due to the minerally rich water, that was similiar to that found at Hoeggarden. So for years, he was an independently owned micro-brewery. Some years ago, Miller bought a majority position of the company, then bought Pierre out completely. Within a short period of time, Miller closed 'em down. There's another reason to hate Miller Not-So High Life! Anyway, last year I found out from Mr. Doubleblank that Celis was once again available and was being brewed in Michigan. For some reason, it was available in Texas, and Randy brought me a bunch of Celis for last years Bourbon Festival, for which I was very grateful. In about 3 weeks, a friend of mine has family coming to NY from Michigan, and they've been told to leave all suitcases and other typical travelling stuff home and bring as much Celis as the vehicle will hold. I think that kids will be riding on the roof, the dog will be strapped to the hood, the wife'll be riding on the trunk, just so we can get some Celis here in NY!
So, plan on seeing a bunch of posts from me here regarding beer. Once upon a time, I had a newsletter called Malt Madness, from which I'll be referring to many of the great beers I've had from all over the country. This will be FUN!