Hey, so I guess I should introduce myself.

This blog was started with the intention to inform all the people out there of the great beers being produced in the country. As a College student, I feel as though there is a lack of information for students on beers other than Coors, Bud, Miller and the like. I hope that this blog will be able to give you all a little more information on what is out there.

Unlike Ryan, I have the privilege of growing up in what could be considered Beervana, that is, Portland, OR. Coming from a region that has no shortage of crazy microbrews, I am blessed with the opportunity to try some very unique brews. Unfortunately, I was never big on beer until coming to Penn State when I met Ryan. I believe that the first beer that introduced me to the world beyond light beer was the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. That beer still holds a special place in my heart.

My good friend Ryan is the one that introduced me into the wonderful world of Beer and I hope that we will be able to do the same for you, the readers.

Introductions are in order

So we've welcomed you to the place, but we forgot some vital info: Who are these guys?

As my creative handle makes clear, my name's Ryan, and as I alluded to in the first post, I'm a college student. More specifically, a senior at Penn State, smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania -- not exactly a beer lover's haven, but we'll talk more about that another time. (SC is making big strides.)

My favorite beer? I probably haven't tasted it yet. I like a big, hopped-up monster of a beer, but I really respect when someone can brew a complex, tasty, low-alcohol session that intrigues the taste buds without overpowering. There's much to be said about subtlety. I also tend to lean domestic rather than imported. Decades ago America's cities boasted a bounty of small, local breweries producing palatable -- not great by any means -- beer. In 1910 there were nearly 1,600 active breweries dotting the American landscape. By 1980 that number dwindled to 82... only 82! That seven-decade span, buffeted by Prohibition, was nasty for American beer. But we've been saved from that calamity by a surge of American craft brewers making very good beer, so why not, as a way of saying thanks, support them?

Though I won't pin down a favorite, a few have piqued my interest more than most. A year ago, Phil brought a bottle of Hair of the Dog Brewery (Portland, Ore.) Blue Dot Double IPA, 7% abv., back to State College after Winter break. Citrusy, pineapply-deliciousness in a glass. Thing is, you can't get Blue Dot anywhere near Pa., which might actually be a good thing. Getting a taste of it only once a year, if that, adds to its hoppy mystique. Hopefully Phil's nice enough to keep supplying me with my yearly fix.

Well, that's enough for now. I'm really not that interesting. Beer, on the other hand, is.

Hi Folks. Welcome to our inaptly named blog, the Perfect Batch.

Is there really such a thing as a perfect batch, a perfect beer? No, probably not. There's a mood and setting for everything. What tastes great in the dead of winter will lose some luster come summertime. Time and place means everything when it comes to really, really enjoying a great beer.

But I digress... back to the welcome.

This is a place to talk beer, in all its sudsy glory. No snobbery, no high-minded ramblings about hard to figure out criteria -- none of that. Sure, we'll tell you what we like and why we like it, but it's open season for disagreement. This is an open market of ideas about what makes beer the greatest, most interesting of all earth's liquids.

We'll post some reviews and pics, talk about our favorite watering holes, hopefully travel a bit, and dabble into questions about altering America's crazy drinking culture (as college students, we have an interesting perspective).

Most importantly, we'll drink a hearty amount of beer and share the results of our noble experimentation.

Let the games begin.