Introductions...

Before we go on this "beer journey" together that I've promised you all, it only seems appropriate that I tell you a little about myself and why I've decided to start this blog about craft beer.

I'm 21 years old, happily married to my lovely "high school sweetheart", with whom I live in the wonderful city of Guelph, Ontario along with our two "placeholder children" (two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels). I have a somewhat varied job history, though the majority of my experience is in the field of landscaping and lawn care, and more recently turf and sports fields. I very recently made the decision to go back to school (I have been to college already once before for something unrelated), and am now doing a 2-year Turf Management associate's diploma at the University of Guelph. Aside from my "professional interests", I have a lot of interests and hobbies on the side, including: film, music, art, science, and most recently... CRAFT BEER!

The end-all-be-all of beer! ... Really?

When I started out drinking beer (and maybe even up to as recently as a year ago) I generally drank the big brand name lagers like Heineken, Corona, Molson, Budweiser, etc..., as most people do when they first start drinking beer. But, being the adventurous and curious individual that I am, it was only a matter of time before that small section at the back of the local LCBO's beer room - with all it's unique and interesting looking bottles and cans of beer - called out to my inner need for exploration, and every now and then I'd sneak a couple of these so-called "micro-brewed craft beers" like Mill Street and Creemore Springs into my basket alongside my trusty 6-pack of Heineken. I soon found myself beginning to grow fond of the amplified flavours, sense of authenticity, and wide variety of different styles of beer offered by these craft brewers, as opposed to the light and bland "industrial lagers" that the big name macro-brewers promote as being the end-all-be-all of what BEER is (I'll go more into that in the future I'm sure). Very quickly, these craft beers completely dominated my shopping basket, as I began wanting to get deeper into discovering everything that they had to offer.

My brewing logo

This was the tipping point for me, where that "casual, light, non-complex, thirst quenching drink with a bit of alcoholic kick that you guzzle down a couple bottles or pints of on a hot day when you're out with friends" that the majority of people have come to view as "beer" ceased to exist in my mind. Soon I was watching documentaries on the history of beer and the beer industry, buying and reading as many books as I could find all about beer, buying and trying as many different craft beers as I could possibly get a hold of, even taking up brewing my own beer (under the name of "RijzeBrew"), and along the way discovering that there is SO much more to "beer" than I could have ever possibly imagined. Perhaps more than any other drink in history, the range of styles and flavours that are encompassed under the term "beer" are so incredibly varied that the different options are near limitless. From light, session-able, easy drinking thirst quenching lagers to dark and roasty stouts, sour and fruity lambics, bold and bitter pale ales, and even big, high-alcohol, extremely complex beers like Belgian tripels that have just as much right as wine to be served in nice stemmed glassware alongside a fancy meal. There is a beer for absolutely every occasion and every taste, male or female, young or old, from partying college student to the most sophisticated armchair scholar in the world. When I hear someone say they "don't like beer", I am quick to point out that they more than likely just havn't found a style of beer they like yet, and encourage them to try a few different styles until they find the one for them.

So many CHOICES!

I know it may seem like I'm preaching here, and I've really had to try to hold back, but I just can't hide my passion for, and obsession with, beer. Unfortunately, almost none of my peers are into craft beer, or just haven't bothered to even try to get into it, and so I really have no one to share this passion of mine with. So I've decided to start this blog, in hopes that I can share some of what I've learned about the world of craft beer in the pretty easy to follow and relaxed form of a blog. I hope to keep subsequent posts shorter and more entertaining, but with a good dose of "beer-ducation" as well, as I show you guys some different styles and do some side-by-side tastings of both big name, macro-brewed beers and their craft brewed counterparts. Hopefully readers will be entertained, and more importantly I hope this blog sparks some interest in people who have never bothered to look past their 24 of Budweiser to see the world of beer they have been missing out on.

I now invite you on my ever-continuing journey through the wild and untamed world of craft beer. Until next time...

Enjoy a craft brew!

- Sid Ryzebol -