Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Introducing: High on Hops

Lee Heidel
By

It seems there’s no good way to introduce yourself as the author of a beer column.

“Hi. My name is Lee. I drink a lot of beer.”

Recommended Videos

It sounds far more like an admission of guilt than the basis of a writing gig. But it’s also very true, no matter how plainly stated.

Related

Lee Heidel - High on HopsMy journey into beer started innocently enough. The first taste was a sip of Lowenbrau from my father’s can after desperately, incessantly begging him for a try. Looking back on my five-year-old self, I recall a lot of whining and leg pulling on my part in an attempt to distract him from the football game on TV. To shut me up, he graciously allowed the tiniest drop to hit my lips. I found it disgusting and went back to playing with my Star Wars TIE Fighter.

My next meaningful beer experiences were in college. My roommates and I sought to distance our parties from those in the fraternity houses by buying “good” beer. We didn’t know where it was made, what hops were used or how big the brewery was. All we really knew was that it was more expensive. Instead of Bud Light or Miller Genuine Draft, we bought kegs of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Abita’s Purple Haze. Bottles of Pete’s Wicked Ale were in the fridge. We considered ourselves serious beer drinkers – scholarly even – buying seasonal releases and trying everything we could find. Admittedly, in mid-90s Athens Georgia, that wasn’t much.

Skip ahead a few years and I’m a reasonably well-adjusted husband and new father looking for a hobby. After a few amazing trysts with Belgian White ales at my local brewpub, I found a passion project in home brewing. Making my own beer led to searching out and trying new styles with interesting ingredients, reading everything I could about the process and visiting breweries around the country. I fell in love with beer.

Drinking all these extra calories, both homemade and those for “research” purposes caused my waistline to expand. That led to a new hobby: running. Once I found a routine for burning off those additional calories by pounding pavement, I started BrewDrinkRun.com with friends who were in the same club. We brew, we drink, and to stay fit, we run. Our website and podcast led to more opportunities – even getting paid to drink beer.

I’m happy to report that I like beer much more now than I did when I was five or even twenty-five. I not only enjoy the varied tastes and the inevitable surprises that a new bottle holds, but I also enjoy the people and places driving America’s craft beer movement ever forward. The men and women in this industry have a true passion for the perfect pour, and I hope to do them justice with my coverage of the field.

Thank you to The Manual for asking me to come on board and share my beer ramblings under the banner of “High on Hops.” I’ll be reviewing beers, highlighting upcoming brewery releases, forecasting industry trends and writing about some of the best places on earth to grab a pint. And I promise not to pull on your leg or whine. At least not too much.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lee Heidel
Lee Heidel
Lee Heidel is the managing editor of Brew/Drink/Run, a website and podcast that promotes brewing your own beer, consuming the…
A guide to all the different types of whisk(e)y
Now you can enjoy all types of whiskey (or whisky) on a whole new level
Pouring whiskey

To say that whisk(e)y is a complicated spirit is a ridiculous understatement. First and foremost, only the U.S. and Ireland even use the 'e' when describing the spirit. The rest of the world opts for calling it whisky. That being said, you still have to distinguish between bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, Scotch whisky (and all the various types of whiskey offshoots), Japanese whisky, Canadian whisky, Irish whiskey, and every whisky from random locales throughout the world (including Taiwan, South Africa, Sweden, and beyond).
The six most common types of whisk(e)y

Lucky for you, we're here to help. Today, you'll learn a little bit about the different categories and subcategories, where they're made, what they taste like, and everything in between. We could write a dozen or more articles diving into the definitions and descriptions of white whiskey, blended whiskey, and more. But today is just a start. Below, you'll learn about the six most common types of whiskey. Clearly, there are other whisk(e)ys to be discovered, but this is a great way to start your whiskey journey.
Bourbon

Read more
Kolsch-style beers are perfect for spring, and these are our favorites
Perfect for spring, this beer style is known for its hoppy, criso flavor.
Close-up of a glass of beer

If you’ve never heard a Kölsch before, what are you waiting for? Not only is this beer style great any time of year, but it’s also particularly fantastic during the spring months. Made with top-fermenting yeast like an ale before being conditioned at cold temperatures like a lager, this hoppy, crisp beer has its origins in Cologne, Germany. But there’s a little more to it than that.
Kölsch is more than a name

Kölsch is similar to Cognac, Scotch, or Tequila in that, as of 1997, it has a protected geographical indication. Just like those other forms of alcohol that have specific geographic parameters, technically, Kölsch must be brewed within 31 miles of the city of Cologne. This hasn’t stopped American brewers from trying their hand at this fresh, crisp style. While some don’t pay close attention to the rules and call their beers Kölsch, others pay tribute to Germany by calling their brews Kölsch-style beers.
What does Kölsch taste like?

Read more
The best gins and gin mixers for no hangover
The best hangover cure is to never get one in the first place
Spanish gin tonic

No one drinks alcohol because they’re looking forward to a hangover. Most people drink because they enjoy the flavor and maybe want to get a little bit of a buzz on at happy hour. Sadly, even with the best intentions, sometimes we overdo it, forget to drink a few glasses of water and take a few ibuprofens, and end up with a headache so bad it feels like our head is going to explode and a gurgle-filled, upset belly that makes us think that we ate a bowl of lava the night before.

And while having a few too many beverages is a guarantee you’ll end up with at least a little bit of a hangover (especially the older you get), there are ways to reduce those chances. If you’re sipping on alcohol with more congeners, there’s a better chance you’ll have a headache the next day.

Read more