Now that I’ve gotten my feet wet with a few beer reviews, I thought I’d write a quick note about what I hope to accomplish. The local (and national) craft beer market seems to change on a daily basis, with new brewers opening and new beers hitting the shelves. It has gotten to the point that walking into a liquor store with a good craft beer selection is a little daunting. There are so many choices that it becomes easy to either fall back on things you know, or to grab something you’ve never tried and hope for the best. While I like the grab something and try it method, It is always nice to get recommendations.

I hope to start each review by giving a little info, either on the brewer or the style of beer. Then I’ll go into my experience, what I see, smell and taste when I drink the beer. Finally, I am going to give the beer a score on a 1-5 scale based on my enjoyment. I know everyone has different tastes and a beer that I love might not work for someone else. Hopefully I’ll give my readers some ideas of fun new things to try, or old favorites to pick up the next time you see them. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

What’s the goal of this blog?

The goal of this blog is to share information about beer, with a focus on New England microbrews and home-brewing.

What will the blog posts contain?

I have a number of ideas, here are a few to start:

1. General info on beer, beer styles, history, important terms.

2. Reviews: The focus will be on New England microbrews, but will also cover anything else that I find. I’ll cover new and exciting beers along with some old favorites and fall backs.

3. Home-brewing: Recipes and descriptions along with general information.

4. Reviews of beer bars, brew pubs  and restaurants in the greater Boston area.

Why the focus on New England beer?

Well, I’m from Maine and I live in Boston to start. I also get a little frustrated when I read about a beer that sounds delicious, and then realize it is only available in Alaska. So, if you live in New England this blog is for you. If you don’t you should at least plan a vacation, it’s a fun place and we make some great beer here.

Will you only review New England Beers?

No. That will be the focus, but I’ll also write up anything else I come across. Everything will be available in the Boston area though (unless I come across something in my travels that is worth writing about).

Why post on home-brewing?

I think the best way to really learn about beer is to learn about the ingredients and how they affect the final product, and the best way to do this is to make your own beer. Home-brewing isn’t very hard and is a lot of fun, plus the final product is beer! So as a way to talk about ingredients and share my passion I’ll give some recipes and let you know how the final beer turns out.

Will you always use this question and answer format, it’s kind of annoying?

Hey, I’m a chemist, not an English major. I’ll mix it up and try to throw in some humor and keep it entertaining.