Most everyone that reads this even semi-regularly is fully aware that I like beer, a lot. My digital beer wall is rather incomplete right now; I have more than 15 new beers to add to the collection, I just have not made my way to setting up the lightbox and taking more photos. Eventually, I will re-shoot everything anyway.

So, now that we have established that I enjoy beer I’ll introduce the new hobby. Brewing my own beer. Countless hours inside The Ginger Man in Austin, Texas, put me in contact with brewers and other beer enthusiasts in Central Texas. When I moved to Houston, one of the first beer-related events I attended was a release-party of sorts for the Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 8. I was surrounded by home-brewing beer fiends. The creator of the Divine Reserve 8 was seated directly behind me. Hearing the men that made the recipes for, and brewed, the beers I loved sparked something inside me.

For months, I did not really do anything about this spark. The fuel was added when I stumbled into a thread on my favorite motorcycling forum about brewing one’s own beer. Fuel plus spark equals a full blown fire. Fortunately for me, my parents took note of all the talk about brewing my own beer and got me a Mr. Beer kit. At this very moment, I have a 2.5 gallon batch of their West Coast Pale Ale fermenting in my closet.

Something tells me as I read, and learn, more about brewing beer I will end up with an inordinate amount of equipment. My goal? Creating my own Belgian Tripel ale.