Welcome!!!!!!

Hi, and welcome to my blog!!!

I'm not exactly sure how this is going to work, so I'm just going to give it my best shot.

       It's really funny how things change. Something that originally appears to be insignificant suddenly takes on new importance in your life. I suspect that we all have something like this, whether it be a relationship to a person, a move to a new location or even an object.

       My object is BEER.

       I know that those of you who settle for those little-flavored, fizzy straw-colored concoctions think that I'm a bit crazy and really couldn't have a passion for this right? Well..... you are right, because the beer that I am talking about has quite literally changed my world. It isn't little-flavored, but tastes of ingredients from the farthest reaches of our planet. It can be cloyingly sweet, or lip-wrenchingly bitter. The beer I enjoy ranges from a pale gold, to the darkest "1,000 league under the sea" black, as well as every hue in between. Some of the beer myself and like-minded beer afficianados or "geeks" (as we often say proudly), enjoy can even border on being flat.
       I was sixteen and looking for a hobby (don't be crazy, I wasn't drinking it yet!). I began my journey into the beer world by collecting coasters which up until that time I had assumed were for simply resting your glass on when one wasn't sipping. I was fascinated by the different shapes, the many different styles, the advertising and the stories behind these brands (most of which were foreign to me). I wanted to know as much as I could about this strange concoction that was currently off limits to my teenage lips.
       I began to search for information about my coasters and the companies that they came from. I wrote letters to many different breweries asking for coasters and information, two things which I had an unquenchable appetite for.
       As time went on and I became older, I began to drink (and brew) a lot of beer-I simply couldn't get enough of the stuff. Not only could enough of it make me act like even more of an idiot than I was at the time, I actually found that it tasted quite good. I tried everything and really began to build my knowledge of what made good beer, and the people behind these great ideas.
       That's where this blog come in. I've read enough so that I feel that I'm ready to share and to pass along my love for the sudsy stuff. I'd like a spot where I can permanently affix my feelings and opinions about this wonderful nectar that was sent down from above solely to please me :). This will be a blog about my exploits and excursions across the map that is beer in my backyard. I will focus first-and-foremost on my home state of Connecticut and what we are brewing. Secondly though, I will explore my "backyard" be it from a neighboring state, or my "backyard" on a future (hopefully really neat) trip. I know that there are a ton of blogs out there about reviews and information, so naturally you will see a bit of this too. Who knows, maybe I will learn to blog while I learn to drink.....
       I thank you for reading, and I really hope you visit often. I plan on doing this well (me.... ego????), and will put a lot into it especially if people find it enjoyable and helpful. Let me know what I can do differently or change, blogging is new to me.

Very Truly Yours,
         Dustin Aston, The CTbeerfiend

p.s. Don't forget to add me @CTbeerfiend on Twitter