So being the procrastinator that I am, I am writing this on the day we go to print, January 22nd, 2010. Today is also my birthday, and I am overwhelmed with the Twitter and Facebook birthday wishes from my friends, but even more so, my beer loving acquaintances. That’s awesome.

Memories.

There’s a photo of me sitting on my Grandfather’s knee as a young boy and he is giving me sips of his beer. As I remember it, it was my first beer; Gibbons brewed in Wilkes-Barre, PA. For those of you who have been fortunate enough to know this now defunct beer, you know it is nothing special and far from the exquisite beers that comprise the Philly beer scene. Yet, that beer for me is still always my first. It is a beer that represents a very close bond between me and my Grandfather who passed away last year.

Wow, what an issue we have here! I really hope that reading our magazine is as exciting as it is writing it. Half a year in and still plugging, we are really thrilled by the support that we have been getting on every issue and we owe it all to you, our readers in Philadelphia and beyond. It hasn't been the easiest issue but maybe that makes it all the more satisfying to see the end result.

Here we are two issues deep now. Ask me a year ago if this is where I thought we would be, and I would have told you you’re crazy and that I know nothing about the magazine industry aside from reading them. All in all though, for four guys who have no journalistic background, ad-sales knowledge, and very little magazine experience in general, we’re pretty pleased with the product we’ve turned out.

Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love, home to Love Park. A city as passionate about its sports as it is about craft brewed beer. This city we love has its own heartbeat, and it beats to a different drum.