Began my career over 30 years ago as an underaged drinker of swill. Back then I was always the guy showing up at parties with the "weird" beer that nobody had ever heard of. Keep in mind that a weird beer back then was something along the lines of a Grolsch or maybe a Becks Dark. Even then I could not stomach the likes of a Bud or a Miller or whatever other so called beer that everyone else seemed to be drinking up. .............................................. Second phase of my career was homebrewing and the endless quest to visit every brewpub that I could locate. Entered a bottle of my Steve’s Chocolate Stout into a contest and scored high marks. Serious discussions of opening my own brewpub or beer store kept happening but never went anywhere. Also during this time I was able to travel and taste alot of different beers - I wish now that I had kept better notes. ................................................ Third phase (I am not proud of these years but have come to accept them) I somehow lost my way. The craft beer movement gained momentum. Suddenly I could buy several varieties of local beer at the store that I liked. I gave up brewing - many of these beers were better than what I was making so what was the point I told myself. Then came the kids. I stopped getting out much and traveled much less. It was a downward spiral from there. I fell into a rut. I was somehow happy sticking with Sam Adams Lager or Guinness depending upon my mood. Occasionally I would branch out with a Harpoon, Shipyard, or other available choice in my area but nothing extreme or really all that interesting. Luckily my family didn’t mind joining me at the occasional brewpub so I did manage to taste some of the good stuff from time to time. ................................................ Current phase - I’m back! I owe it all to Dogfish Head. While dining at a nearby British Beer Company in 2008 I ordered a 90 Minute on draft. This was so much better than anything I had tasted in years. I checked around and found some in bottle at a nearby store. Still very, very good. What’s this? A Dogfish Head stout? Unbelievable and even better than the 90! What else is out there? A quick check online brings me to ratebeer.com where I learn that others are even more obsessed than me. The love for Dogfish is universal (I am not so alone after all). I quickly see that there are easily 100 or so other beers out there ranked higher than my new favorites. ................................................. Current Quest: It will take some time but I plan to not only rate as many of the beers I have tasted in the past but will also be sampling as many of the top rated beers as I can get my hands on. [ less ]

Began my career over 30 years ago as an underaged drinker of swill. Back then I was always the guy showing up at parties with the "weird" beer that nobody had ever heard of. Keep in mind that a weird beer back then was something along the lines of a Grolsch or maybe a Becks Dark. Even then I could not stomach the likes of a Bud or a Miller or whatever other so called beer that everyone else seemed to be drinking up. .............................................. Second phase of my...
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