Beer Obsession: An Introduction

I suppose everyone has some form of obsession. Something you’ve become so interested in, so passionate about that you find your mind always returning to it . And while I often make fun of myself for my intense infatuation with, of all things, beer, I realize and have accepted that it truly is important to me.

There are so many enjoyable elements and aspects to beer drinking. Its not just the idea of getting drunk, although that can be a plus (or a negative, depending on how much you decided to drink). But no, its not just about that.  I guess it used to be. Back when I was young and didn't know any better. I don't recall being very picky about what got me to that point in the night when I was "relaxed" enough to have the courage to do things I would have never done sober. Given just right the dosage, alcohol can be a wonderful elixir for a shy college student. But I matured a bit and moved on...to liquor and mixed drinks. Then to wine, the most sophisticated of all inebriants. And finally I transitioned back to beer, but beer of a different sort: craft beer.

As a Chicagoan, Goose Island Brewery was my introduction into craft beer. As I suspect it was for many people in the area. It seemed to be the beginning of a bigger movement. Its hard to really pinpoint when this craft beer “explosion” happened. Everybody seems to have a differing opinion.

A member of beeradvocate.com joked:
“It really took off about a year after I got into it.” — Everybody

Funny…because that’s what I thought too. So, yeah, I got into craft beer. And then it seemed to boom. As if just for me. I started with wheat beers and pretty much stayed away from anything else. The last thing I wanted to subject myself to was a bitter IPA. Then witbiers (white ales) became my thing. It honestly wasn’t until about 4 months ago (November 2012) that I dived into pale ales, IPAs, and then imperial (or double) IPAs. Now that's pretty much all I drink. Once you start drinking beer as complex and flavorful as Imperial IPAs and you acquire that taste (and trust me, it is an acquired taste) its really hard to return to any style with less flavor. Your taste buds evolve and will not settle for less.

So that’s the history of my obsession. I know there are many out there that can relate. As is evidenced by the more than 1,900 new breweries registered world wide last year alone (#1 according to RateBeer.com's recent Best Of is Chicago’s very own Pipeworks Brewing Co., a brewery you will find featured often on this blog). My goal is to provide news, opinions and reviews of both local and not-so-local beer and to share my passion for and discuss with others the greatness of beer. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions and I hope you enjoy the blog. Here's mud in your eye!

In the next post I’ll elaborate on how to enjoy beer to its fullest.