logicalparadox

Having been a huge foodie for quite some time, I started getting into craft beer back in 2011 and was amazed and overwhelmed at discovering a whole new world of flavors and experiences.

I'm here to continue exploring that world, as well as to find others with whom I can share my revelations--and learn from theirs. As with any true art form, I think beer is a medium through which we can find and express the deepest and most profound truths about ourselves and the human condition. Or maybe that was just some shit I thought after having a few too many. Either way.

In any case, I'm just a fan. I don't brew (though I'd like to someday). I don't claim or profess or even aspire to be anything close to a true expert in this space. I want nothing more than to be a well-informed, well-educated, humble, but passionate, fan of beer and all things beer-related. Being a snob is fine, even desirable, I try to avoid acting snobishly. An optimist tries to see the pint as half full.

My personal favorite style is probably wheat beers (German hefeweizens and weiss beers especially, but also Belgian wits). I also really enjoy saisons, sours, wild beers (anything funky, pretty much), and I tend to be inexorably attracted to anything exotic, eclectic, or outlandish, which is why I really like fruit/spice beers and beers with unconventional ingredients or style deviations. They may not be as posh, but I'm also a really big fan of cream ales, kolsch, and ESBs.

When I first got into beer, I didn't care for IPAs--mostly due to the over-emphasis on bitterness. I initially learned that hops = bitter. I've since learned to appreciate, and then love IPAs as a style, and while I've aquired a taste for bitter hops I've also been re-educated so that I now know hoppy and bitter are not necessarily synonymous. I am more enamored by the juicy, tropical, and especially floral category of IPAs over the piney, resinous, and extreme bitterness varieties. Regardless of the current trends, I've been really digging IPAs and DIPAs lately, just not quite to the level of obsessive exclusion that some others do--hence, my leaving it for last on my list of faves.

Other than beer, I am also a fan of wine, cider, cheese, and all food and culinary stuff in general. As I've said, I'm a foodie.

Non-edible/drinkable interests include hip hop music, films, science, technology, and history (especially military history). My interests are multifaceted and I'm something of a contradiction in terms. But nothing is more fun over a few beers than a prolonged discussion about geopolitics followed by watching a rap battle or two. I enjoy being outside as much as possible, to appreciate the many beautiful things there are to see and do in this world. I'm always interested in learning new things from new people and conversing in general about pretty much anything and everything.

Feel free to hit me up to ask about a trade or just engage in some random conversation, beer-related or otherwise (all conversation is better over a beer, of course!).

Cheers.