I Love Beer…

Lee from I Love Beer

Lee

1) What inspired you to start your own beer blog?

I had a friend who moved from Austin to Norway around 2002 or so, and she began writing a really interesting blog about the experience. Being a professional writer, I felt the creative itch to do something like that, but I couldn’t decide what my theme, if any, should be.

I’m a big fan of good drinks, including good tequila and whiskey, but especially good beer. I tend to babble a lot about things that interest me, and finally a friend of mine said, “Good grief, Lee, you talk about alcohol all the time!” Which doesn’t sounds so good when I see it in print (LOL), but I thought, “She’s right. I think I just found my blog idea.” That was in 2006. I’m pretty sure I was the first beer blogger in Austin, but I could be wrong.

I just intended it to be a hobby, a way to discuss great beer with other craft beer lovers, and figured I’d probably get bored with it quickly and forget about it, but since then it has morphed into me taking up the craft beer beat for The Austin Chronicle, for which I was already covering politics.

2) Do you have a favorite post on your blog?

I guess it would be the post where I introduced to the world the concept of the Number 3 Bus Pub Crawl, which I created to celebrate my 40th birthday. Sadly, YouTube stripped the audio from the video, but there’s a link there to an audio-equipped version on Facebook. It was a really fun day and a very funny video.

3) What is your favorite hobby besides blogging? Why?

Swimming and bicycling. I used to be a pretty serious runner (I had a brief and highly undistinguished career with the Texas Longhorns, and I do some freelance writing for Track & Field News), but after I developed problems with my toes, legs, and back, I had to switch to sports with less impact on my body. I bike both for to exercise and commute, and I’ve learned to really love swimming.

4) If you could narrow it down to one answer, what do you love the most about Austin? Why?

I like the fact it’s both of Texas and yet different from Texas. I’ve often said, Austin is where kids go when they’re too weird to live in Texas, but too Texan to live anywhere else. I grew up in a little Texas town, but at some point realized I didn’t really fit in with the conservative culture. Yet, I also love to put on my boots and go dancing to a honky-tonk band. Austin is a liberal place, but it has the Broken Spoke and Ginny’s Little Longhorn. It’s the perfect fit for me.

5) What does “being local,” mean to you?

Taking pride in what’s here, rather than always looking to some other city with envy. Great things are happening in Austin. We could learn from other cities, but we can also take a lot of pride in what we’re doing right.

6) What are some of your favorite local independent establishments?

Wow, too many to name, so I’ll just stick to the ones relevant to my blog: breweries and great beer bars. Consider this a mini-guide to the Austin beer scene. (I apologize if I missed any.)

Microbreweries:
Live Oak
Independence
(512)
Austin Beerworks
Jester King
Thirsty Planet
Circle
Real Ale (near Austin, in Blanco)

Brewpubs (restaurants or bars that brew their own beer):
North by Northwest
Black Star Co-op
Draught House
Lovejoy’s
Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que

Bars I really like:
Ginger Man (okay, it’s a DFW/Houston/Austin chain, but doesn’t feel like it)
Whip-In (also a convenience store)
Billy’s on Burnet
Dog & Duck Pub
Scholz Garten (also a great restaurant, with about 150 years of history)