The Founders Brewing Mug Club membership. It is often said that “membership has its privileges”. There was a time when I had a great deal of issues with their membership. The issue? I didn’t have one! 🙂 After suffering through a few failed attempts, I finally got in the club. Prior to ordering my first beer in that mug, I was aware as everyone else was of the benefits of their membership program. At the time, little did I know that it would bring even more for me. It was in March or April of 2012 that I was asked to write the occasional article for I’m a Beer Hound. I’ve never really enjoyed “writing”, but I do enjoy the subject which I write about the most: craft beer. In hopes to make up for what in my mind is a lack of skill when it comes to good writing, I thought maybe there’s a chance I could separate myself from other craft beer writers with better photographs of beer. I’ll be the first to admit I am extremely lucky man in that regard. I was dating and am now married to a photographer. I started with phenomenal equipment and an extremely talented and inspiring mentor: Lynell.

How does this all fit in with my Founders Brewing Mug Club membership? An obsession. Or as I have come to call it, a Mugession. As displayed in the gallery here, I have taken a simple mug and turned it into an obsession. Some of you make look at these photos and see several pictures of great beers. Some of you may see a variety in colors, brightness, exposure, etc… For me, it was a combination both. One I’ve loved for a while and one I had come to love in the last year and a half. With my desire to take better pictures of beer and doing so with beer I love, my Founders mug provided a constant for taking pictures, along with constantly experimenting with the legion of settings the camera has to offer.

More than a year later, I have yet to stop taking photos of all the great beers my mug has been filled with. Is it a bit obsessive? I think I have to say yes. But until I stop loving to take the pictures, I have no problem with that. Thank you Lynell for all you’ve done for me and with me and the amazing amount of support you’ve shown without displaying any signs of “really…another picture of the mug?” And a huge thanks for Founders for always providing something great to fill it with. And as an added bonus, it has led to joining my wife and becoming a wedding photography team, craft beer event photography, having my photos displayed in the Thank You, BEER exhibit in the Grand Rapids Public Museum and one incredibly special use of my photos that I never dreamed of. Sorry to keep you in the dark, but once I actually see it, I’ll share.

Click on any photo to see the full image and easily browse through them which includes details about what each beer is.

Here’s to continuing my obsession with trying to make craft beer look as good as it tastes. Cheers!