Welcome!

This should be straightforward enough given the title of this blog, but I am in fact Belgian. I was born in Brussels many moons ago and am very proud of my heritage. But I guess that goes without saying since I’m also a beer snob, and we all know Belgians love their beer.

So, welcome! I mean it. I hope this will be a great journey, and I really would love for everyone to be part of it. I thought I’d give you a little background info on who I am and how I got here (and maybe you guys can do the same in the comments section of this post). Like I said, I was born in Brussels, Belgium in December of 1986. I grew up there, went to school there, made friends there… and drank lots of beer there with my friends as well. You know Belgium’s got quite a few. Right around 500 different ones just in case you were wondering.

I moved to the United States at the age of 18 (not really well thought out from a beer perspective) and first went to school in Boston. Back then I had to be happy with a glass of Stella Artois to defy the laws in place so my beer discoveries were put on hold. After my first year in Boston, I moved to California and continued on my sad beer-free journey until I reached the incredible age of 21. It’s almost like I had become an adult twice. Once in Belgium and once in the US. Beer was never really a thing for me here on the new continent. I didn’t think much of it. But then one day, I quit my job. Isn’t that how all good stories start? Someone quits their job and then lives their passion? Well not exactly for me but it sure awakened some senses.

I quit my General Manager job in the hardware industry last August (in 2018) and took a trip back to the mother land for about three weeks. There, I realized I had been missing out on quite a lot. When I got back to California, I promptly started looking for another day job… but also decided to share some of my beer passion with others. I, very unassumingly, started an Instagram account called @ABelgiansBeerDiary. It really wasn’t much at first. It still isn’t really. But it means a lot to me. It’s what I like to do. It’s what I like to learn. I eventually decided I’d take the Cicerone Certified Beer Server test to legitimize my drinking (sic). That, also, isn’t much but it’s something. Ultimately I think beer is what I’d like to live off of. I have set up some goals for myself for these upcoming months. I will be brewing my first beer at home by the end of the year. It may be sooner, but you know… the day job… I will also come up with a brewery name (suggestions welcome in the comments) as well as a website. Finally I may try to start finding investors, but that has yet to be figured out.

Again, welcome!