"Barley Man" Nick
Good day to you! Or night, whatever the time may be. I am Nick, only 1 half of The Barley Men.
A little about me you ask? Well, I really love beer, I'd consider myself more of a beer nerd than a connoisseur. I have had a plethora of brews, ranging from local home brewers to Micro & Macro, Corporate, European, etc. I didn't always "like beer," but I have been around it my whole life. My late grandfather was weened on beer, in fact he was born in a tavern in Phil., PA. My father delivered beer, and most of my friends drink beer, which introduced me to a variety of styles and tastes. I love the history of beer and how its made, the whole beer experience. My philosophy is, finding your beer is like finding your soul-mate, you may have a long search, and learn some lessons, but there is a beer that's just right for you. My tastes have changed over the years, and in future blogs you will see some favorites, and some disappointments. At this point in my life though, I prefer Belgian Strong Ales, Stouts and Black IPA's. So please enjoy the blog! We hope to enlighten, give humor, and enhance your beer drinking experience. Take a look at Chris' Bio to get the whole background of The Barley Men. |
"Barley Man" Chris
So a little about me. I'm Chris, the second half of the Barley Men and I love Beer! And that's definitely not a picture of me. But it is of my home brew, which I feel is just as good.
I didn't grow up with beer and I only ever thought that the stuff was pee yellow and tasted like olives (which I also didn't like). Because of that it was well into my 20's that I started drinking the stuff, unless of course it was free. I decided to make my own bread and found a fantastically tasty addition from my culinary icon Alton Brown, Lager, to be specific Sam's Boston Lager. What is this golden liquid being poured that smelled of the essence of bread? And of course I only needed a cup out of that bomber. And boy was that a delicious Julia Childs moment, wait, just referencing her alcohol problem, that's IT. This certainly peaked my interest in knowing all beer wasn't yellow, fizzy and tasted like liquid Chex. My first beer epiphany was at Sunset Grill and Tap in Allston, MA. And let me tell you, when they brought out the beer menu, I thought it was the food menu. Pages upon pages of beer variety. I had no idea. I really didn't. I had to have my brother order for me, for I, I was overwhelmed. I sampled everyone else's that night with an open and blown mind. It pretty much changed my world. That sparked a snow ball affect of making my own home brew, diving into what beer was, where it all came from and the science behind the flavors. That also made it reasonable, to me at least, to have to know what every style of beer tasted like from any and all breweries, good and bad, in order to make something that I enjoyed and was proud of. My favorite styles are Wee Heavy's, all kinds of Stouts, IPA's (including English Bitters) and Browns. However, I'm really an equal opportunity beer drinker. |