Perhaps you’ve noticed, “Hmm, there hasn’t been too much going on on the ol’ Hair of the Dog Blog. I wonder what happened to Dave?”

Well, I’ve been busy with another project, consulting and helping to build the fantastic new California Beerzine, which just launched last week.

This site is a great resource for anyone who lives in California, and even for those out-of-staters who are planning a trip to the west coast. There is a California Beer Events page for keeping up with beer tastings and festivals across the state, a California Beer Blog Aggregator for quick digestion of all your favorite Golden State beer blogs, and even a job engine for finding beer-related jobs in California.

But probably the most exciting feature of California Beerzine are the California Beer Forums, a venue for California beer enthusiasts to connect and share local beer info.

Behind the project is an old friend of mine from my Santa Barbara days, Ed Westin. Ed is a great guy with a love of all things hoppy, and I wish him the best with his awesome new site.

In launching the beerzine, Ed is bringing together great beer bloggers from across the state, and giving them a platform to promote their writing and to elevate public awareness of all the fantastic beers that are being made in California. In the first issue, I’d say so far he’s done a pretty successful job.

So far, there are some great articles up, my favorite being Blessed Are the Beer Dorks by Jay Hinman of Hedonist Beer Jive. Jess, the Thirsty Hopster, contributed a great piece about converting your friends into craft brew drinkers, and Steve Sage of Summer of Beers wrote up a piece on his recent trip to the Russian River brewpub.

Head on over and check out the brand new California Beerzine, and tell them Dave sent you. Bookmark them, subscribe, and check back frequently!