Beer Hobby Website Launches to Build Community and the US Economy

I launched a new website with my buddy Damian Raffele. I enjoy craft beers and decided to mix business with pleasure. Here's the story as told on the Beer Hobby site:

Beer Hobby was started by Damian Raffele and Michael Daehn. Raffele and Daehn met in college and hit it off right away talking about hard core Christian bands like Mortal, Deitiphobia and The Prayer Chain. When they weren’t moshing they worked on some interesting projects together.

Today Beer Hobby is a website devoted to sharing stories about beer and getting people together to learn how to make their own. Stay tuned as we continue to ferment this idea and create some killer batches of fun stuff to do with brewing.

One day they decided to start something new. While talking over beers they developed the idea of Beer Hobby. Beer Hobby is a place to share their love of beer and get together with friends. Maybe even make a business out of it. At worst, they would have fun a few good beers in the process.

I have written several posts over there, including:

I Drank a Pilsner and I liked it Since I’m a big IPA guy you probably think I wouldn’t be caught dead drinking a measly Pilsner. Well that’s what I thought anyway. Last Spring I was talking to the very cool beer guy at Whole Foods in Town & Country, MO. We chatted often and I would always ask him what to try. [...]

American Craft Beer Week 2012 – Get the Memo? I admit I am knew to the craft beer universe, at least beyond drinking. I found out yesterday that this is American Craft Beer Week, there’s even a website. Sounds like something I would be interested in, right? I was oblivious. Either they need to do a better job of marketing or I am lame. [...]

Bottles or Cans? Just Clap Your Hands The more I learn about beer the more I think canned beer is a good idea: It protects the beer from light and air It’s easier to transport You need to pour your beer into a glass, even if it comes in a bottle, to open up carbonation and flavors Cans are cheaper Cans are [...]

San Diego Brewery Trip April 2012: Stone, Lost Abbey, Port Brewing and Pizza Port   I got to take a nice trip down to San Diego to visit some of my favorite breweries. Speaking of San Diego, my friend Diego was a saint and did the driving – what a guy! View Larger Map First stop was Stone Brewery. Stone is the nicest brewery I’ve ever seen. The environment [...]

Calling All Beer Lovers: Write for the Beer Hobby Blog   I would like to invite you to add something to the Beer Hobby blog. It could be: Pictures Reviews How to shop for beer How to make beer A brewery tour How you became a beer snob Anything fun and beer related You can send your ideas to michael(at)beerhobby.com or damian(at)beerhobby.com. Here’s to brew!

Bottling Our First Beer Damian and I were able to bottle our first batch of beer this week. Much to my surprise, it didn’t taste terrible. I know it takes some time to get good at brewing, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong and spoil your brew, but it tasted good. It’s the Mr. [...]

Beer Hobby Logo Ideas OK, these are rough and I made them myself. I’m not a full fledged designer. What do you think of what we have so far? Any recommendations?

How I Went From Beer Slob to Beer Snob Growing Up In An AB Town I grew up in the beer capital of the world, Saint Louis, MO. Home of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch. I started drinking beer when I was in High School (don’t do it kids). When we had money, we bought the good stuff like Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Dry. [...]

Take a look and let me know what you think - especially if you like beer.