And in this corner......

Having been recently bestowed with the honor of contributing to this blog, I'd like to que off of Brian and Chris' previous posts by providing an introduction of my own.

Growing up on Long Island, you're not exposed to a variety of different microbrews. Sure, there's a few here and there, but it isn't nearly as widespread as out west. I guess like most of the country, Bud, Miller, etc. saturate the market to the point where micros don't stand a chance. Also, people back east aren't, as a whole, as passionate about beer as people out west. The people out west seems to be pickier with their choice of beers and for good reason. When I look back on the beers I drank in high school and college, beers I don't like anymore, I'm glad I've opened my eyes to the brighter side.

I'm an architect and structural engineer now working in the beautiful city of Portland, OR. Lisa and I just moved here from Tucson after our wedding in September and we love it here. I started brewing last year after Brian, Marsha and Sara gave me a home brewing kit for my birthday. Many, many thanks to them. While I've only brewed one beer since then (a cranberry nutmeg holiday porter), it was one hell of a first beer and I definitely plan on brewing many more now that we've moved into our new house.

Portland has so much to offer and home brewing is no exception. Lisa and I are heading to the Portland Holiday Ale Festival tonight and I'll probably check it out tomorrow and Sunday. There are 29 different beers to taste and, if all works out to plan, I'll have a review of each and every one of them. So stay tuned.