About Us
The DeVine Family
Who are the DeVines? Well… just fellow beer drinkers such as yourself with a desire to explore the world of beer, learn it’s tantalizing secrets, and share and discuss them with you on our blog BeerIsDeVine.com. We also just like to celebrate beer so that's why we created this site and these products to have fun and sport some gear as we sip our favorite beverages around town. Cheers!
Matt's Story
My long time buddy, from high school waterpolo, had free airfare through work and I had been itching to explore. We embarked on a month-long journey of little planning, sleep, and restraint. The experience would change my life forever, in more ways than one.
The love affair began in Munich, Germany at an unknown restaurant near Marienplatz. It was our first day touring the city on borrowed bikes, and we stopped to rest for the afternoon. The food, beer, and deserts were incredible! Having the foresight in knowing I would need pictures a decade later, I snapped shots of the Aventinus Eisbock, the first beer to kick it all off.
It’s a blurry whirlwind of beer experiences from there. We visited the Hofbräuhaus for breakfast the next day, and again for dinner. It was equally as excellent as the first place. Franziskaner Weissbier served in ridiculously large glasses. Mugs the size of my head. What was this magical place? I also remember the Hofbräu Dunkel very fondly and have many times cited that beer as the most influential in my journey. There were some other things on the menu I couldn’t pass up: a Radler/shady, beer and lemonade mix, and the Colabier, a hefeweizen with cola. These were completely unheard of to me.
My brother’s wedding was held just over a month after I returned home. Disappointed by the beer I was surrounded with once again and desperate to share my newfound love, I was found telling tales of German excellence. And for those willing to try, pouring Coke into random beers in an attempt to recreate the experience. Needless to say, that missed the mark, but a beer advocate was born. And my quest for exciting beer was on!
Becky's Story
I’m from Buffalo. That’s almost enough said about my relationship with beer. It is known that Buffalonians love and drink a lot of beer. We’re a hearty people in a cold world. Beer provides the warmth and comradery you need to survive the harsh winters in a rust belt city. The first beers I started drinking were mostly about that, the people, and the experiences I shared them with. The beers weren’t great, but I didn’t care. When you’re with a group of friends in a loud bar, it’s much easier to say, “Four Bud Lites, please?” than, “May I have the barrel aged stout, the mango wit, the double IPA, and what’s your funkiest gose?”
It wasn’t until a friend introduced me to one of her favorite beers that I realized there were options and those options could be delicious, not just cheap and easy! That gateway was Sam Adams, Octoberfest. It was full of flavor and had a smooth mouthfeel. Before that, I didn’t realize you could actually ENJOY beer. I looked forward to Octoberfest season every year and got giddy when I would see it on the shelves. Another of her recommendations, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, remains one of my absolute favorite staple beers. Thanks for the good beer, May!
As the craft beer revolution exploded, so did my thirst for great beer. It became fun to find the delicious! Searching the shelves of the grocery store refrigerator section the way a great scholar would browse the halls in the Library of Alexandria. The best part is, it’s a passion I can share with my family and strangers alike.
Our Story
… begins worlds apart, Matt in Austin, TX and Becky in Buffalo, NY. The catalyst being Matt’s lust for adventure and wanting to see Niagara Falls first hand. It just so happened that his roommate at the time had family living nearby. Who would pass up a free place to stay am I right? Well that is where we met and things went rather well. Our first official date, a two-week backpacking trip around Puerto Rico! What next? Couchsurfing the Yucatan Peninsula and then Chicago. What’s not to love? We finally decided to move in together, Becky making the giant leap of faith to Texas. Several more backpacking adventures were soon to follow in the Dominican Republic and Washington State before settling down. And that is when we made the leap into homebrew in 2013. We’ve never looked back. :)
Brown Betty – American Brown Ale
Re-purposed Danby from Craigslist