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ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA DELEGATES

California (big and getting bigger)

Kurt Ober, the first ever Californian Beer Delegate, nursing a hangover from 'hell'...

Kurt Ober is colourful, if nothing else... He's very passionate about his beer and this comes across strongly when he writes about his favourites...

Joseph Gelman, one of our California Beer Delegates.

...Joseph Gelman grew up in Southern California, but wants to see what the entire state has to offer...

Shamir Chauhan, one of our California Beer Delegates.

...Shamir Chauhan plans on expending vacation time and great expense while expanding his knowledge of microbreweries and home brewing...

James J. Reilly III is our first Delegate with Roman numerals in his name!

...James J. Reilly III is the first UNOB Delegate with Roman numerals in his name, which is kind of cool...

Luke Terlaak Poot is one of our California Beer Delegates.

...and Luke Terlaak Poot will surprise and delight every one of you with his theories on beer and amnesia!

Need a California beer guide? You're in good hands. Many sets of hands, in fact, since we decided to shrug our shoulders and open the floodgates to a barrage of Beer Delegate applicants, starting with the bony claws of our first Delegate, Kurt Ober.

He's in the northern part of California, about two hours south of the Oregan Border in the lush Humboldt Nation.

Humboldt County is fairly big and is home to some very, very good brews and brewhouses. In the summer around August there's a great beer fest that has been growing year to year.

It's called Hops in Humboldt and accepts all breweries that are willing to come. All homebrewers that want to share their wonderful nectars with strangers get the chance to show off their skills. It happens in the friendly town of Fortuna in Rhoner Park, which is 15 minutes south of the city of Eureka. More on this later in the year.

Our recent search for people south of the Redwood line to help Kurt has turned up gold!

First of the new arrivals was Joseph Gelman. He's looking forward to travelling all over the state in search of the best beers money can buy.

You'd think it would be hard to top that kind of dedication. Hard, yes, but perhaps not impossible.

Meet Shamir Chauhan, who says that even BEFORE he'd heard of the UNOB's California beer guide, he had committed himself to a long and expensive journey of beery discovery in the state!

It's somewhat of a relief to find a rose amongst all these thorny old beer heads, and to our delight, this lady is no stranger to bashing back the bevvies.

Ann O'Connell takes no crap from anybody and will happily speak her mind on any hoppy substance that crosses her path.

As you can see from her pic, she's not afraid of looking a huge round in the eye and working her way methodically through each and every last glassful.

We promised that we'd be appointing more Delegates in the future. Truth is, we're running out of space to talk about them all, but what they heck, it's a nice day after all! Here's two more for you.

First up is James J. Reilly III. Normally your Secretary-General gets very irritated with people who use their middle initials, but it's just so cool to have somebody who's the third person to be called exactly the same thing that we'll overlook it this time.

Not only that, his Volkswagen- by-a-garbage-can photo is too brilliant for words. Polite words, anyway. Just for fun, we'll only ever refer to him as James III, which is the least he deserves really.

Finally (for now at least) comes Luke Terlaak Poot. Luke's suffering from extreme amnesia, which he blames on the beer selection at his favourite bar in San Francisco, called... Amnesia. Go figure. Welcome, Luke. Or whatever your name is.

Truly, the Golden Beer State is coming to life at the United Nations of Beer!

Let's hear the Delegates' proposal speeches...

Kurt's proposal speech:

California should be called the Golden Beer State, according to Kurt at least... Hello fellow beer guzzlers of the world, I hail from the tiny Humboldt County area where not only the grass, but the beer is great.

I make my own beer and I am telling you I know my beers. I am not a snob either. I drink everything from Chugger's Choice to Golden Tongue.

Give me a chance to be the Humboldt delegate and I will not let you down. After all, California is a mighty big state...

Joseph's proposal speech:

Though I was raised in Southern California, I've spent most of my adult years in Sonoma and San Francisco. Through my travels, my unrivaled beerlove has gotten me into some great beertimes, and even some beertroubles -- sampling everything from the big labels to homemade brews can leave a man with a few regrets.

Follow me on my beerventures across northern and southern California as I frequent both areas and drink beer everywhere I go! Feel free to point and laugh at me as I push my body to its limit to find the one and true beertopia!

Shamir's proposal speech:

As an avid beer drinker and novice home brewer located in Oakland, California, this site is quite interesting. I have recently decided to take on a monumental research project this spring and summer to take more weekend vacations and expand my breadth of beer knowledge and home brewing.

This is not all pleasure: much vacationing and expense will be expended in conducting this research. But ultimately my goal is to discover as much of California's distinct and pioneering craft of microbrewed beer as possible.

I can offer this site a very urban perspective to a craft that has perspired from the rural hills of Northern California and made its way down to the numerous bars, warehouses, pubs, breweries and backyards of the greater Bay Area.

James III's proposal speech

If there is one lesson learned in my years of drinking is that beer is too oft underappreciated as an object of beauty, a work of art, the very elixir of life.

But its power does not only derive from a skillful combination of man's ingenuity working with nature's bounty, but from its place as the booze of the people. By far the most egalitarian of libations; the CEO and the Janitor, the fry cook and the lawyer all are welcome in beer's loving bosom.

Beer must never become as pretentious as wine, nor as demanding as liquor. It is my goal as Beer Delegate to spread the true wonder that is beer, from its endless variety to its nuanced style, its promise of equality and of course its mildly intoxicating after effects. Long live the Beerpublic!

Luke's proposal speech

Beer is taking over my life. I recently quit a high-paying job to work for a beer making wholesaler and while this occasionally seems like a bad move (when the rent is due), I couldn't be happier with my decision when sampling fresh beer straight from a fermenter, or judging applicants for local homebrew competitions.

I've been a homebrewer for one year, a beer drinker for many more and I make as many pilgrimages to beer destinations as my girlfriend will stand. As a UNOB Delegate, I would work ceaselessly to advance everywhere the cause of California's greatest resource: beer.

Welcome to you all! Keep the beery content flowing.

Join Kurt, Joseph, Shamir, Ann, James III, Luke and their colleagues at the UNOB!

Want to help reseach Californian beers, bars, breweries and festivals? Or fancy yourself as a UNOB Beer Delegate for another country, province or state?

Great! Come to our Beer Delegates page for details and an application form.