A BeerBlog Profile

Michael Carter is his name and planes and beer is his game. Ok, so that will be the last corny line I hopefully will purposefully write. I stumbled upon this blog when I first started conceptualizing my own, and found it helpful in a couple ways. The best things Mr. Carter does are pictures. More then words, pictures take up the majority of the page. This blog is clearly a secondary site to his main blog about airline photography, which he is obviously skilled at. If you have any interest in “SoCal Aircraft Spotting, Douglas Aircraft Company (DAC) and Gulfstream News, plus Domestic and International Airline News,” then most certainly check this out. His beer blog, entitled “Awesome Microbrews, Microbreweries, and Brewery / Restaurants,” is new and not quite as developed. With only about ten posts, at first glance seems to be fairly lacking. But Michael is no amateur, he has been posting since 2007, and it shows in his use of links and easy to follow formatting. The words are used as only brief descriptions and suggestions, the photo gallery and brewery/restaurant suggestions are the real content. This guy clearly knows his beer, but he doesn’t choke you with overloaded analysis. He’s the beer drinkers’ blogger. Microbrews carry an ostentatious implication. If you talk to an antagonist, they will attack the high prices, the snooty over dissection of flavor, and the flamboyant drinkers it attracts. But this blog seems to find a happy balance. His pictures show a rough, storied drinker whose motive is clearly selfless. With his hat on and pint in hand, he just loves the beer and the people he meets along the way. His posting is not to boast about his talents and general expertise, but to share his passions and travels.
My favorite beer that he profiles is Bear Republics "Racer 5" India Pale Ale. I was thrilled when I found this post, as only a few days ago a friend of mine introduced me to this first-rate brew. He describes it perfectly saying it “never disappoints starting with a citrisy nose as you open the bottle and a crisp flavor that builds with every sip.” These are the kinds of words I hope to conjure in my lyrical attempts. What I most enjoy about his writings is that he lets the breweries do their own talking. If he likes a beer, he will briefly describe it, but then redirect you to the company site to hear it directly from the mouth of the bottle. He’s not selling these beers, only sharing their artistry. This is technique that will be utilized regularly by myself.
Like I said, this blog is relatively undeveloped, and focuses only on a small portion of the beer spectrum. Because I don’t know an extraordinary amount about the different types of beer, I will also like to discover how they are made, and what makes them different. Instead of only reviews and situational accounts, I will like to get more detailed in the brewing process. But thanks to my new friend Mike, I now have some great new brewskis on my taste bud inventory. My most anticipated is Coronado Brewing Company's "Islander,” which Mike classifies as his premier IPA. I will end with his illustration of this beer for one last gulp of this wonderful blog. “It has a mild hoppy nose, deep golden color, medium body, and when you take that first taste this well balanced IPA explodes in your mouth as the Hops and Malts tickle your palet with a citrus blast.”


And as Mr. Carter nostalgically signs off,

“Cheers”

JuicyZeus