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classnotes
it was me. In the span of a few short months, I had traversed the road from college student to college grad to successful working adult. There is still a deep seated affection for Schreiner, but I had built a home and life for myself somewhere else. I work at the Capitol in Austin for a State Representative Jim Murphy. I started off as an intern at the beginning of the summer; and in just three months, I was hired on full time for the legislative session. This is beyond a blessing; It is an answered prayer. I want to thank all of you. You all stood by me and behind me helping me and giving me the tools I needed to be successful. Though it was not without plenty of close calls and late nights, you have all bestowed such wisdom on me and taught me invaluable lessons.
Brewing Up Success Jeff Holt, ’87, found a way to put his hard-earned English degree and his love of beer to use in one neat, educational package. Holt published his first book, “Historic Texas Breweries” in 2005. The book chronicles breweries from the 1850s to present day, beginning with the Assig Brewery in Fredericksburg, the Huth Brewery in Castroville and the Menger brewery in San Antonio. “At a point, every town had its own brewery—especially if there were a lot of Germans in the community,” Holt said. “Then prohibition happened and snuffed out all the smaller breweries—it has taken this long, but smaller breweries are popping up again.” Holt started investigating and now has a large list of breweries that once were booming all around Texas, many of which can be previewed on his website, Texasbreweries.com. As a Schreiner student, Holt, was the first to participate in an exchange program with Nagasaki Wesleyan Junior College (now University). He and another student spent the 1984-1985 school year in Japan. When Holt isn’t working on his next book or working at a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg, he can be found brewing his own beer in the comfort of his home. “My cousin got me into home brewing,” he said. “We were raised in Coors Light country, and we still drink that, but in the late ’80s to mid-’90s, there was a beer boom and you could find cool beers at any grocery store and then it kind of died out.” That’s one of the reasons Holt took matters of beer brewing into his own hands. “I brew a little of everything—pale ales, stouts and soon I’ll be making Christmas beer with lots of spices in it,” he said. “It is so ridiculously simple to brew your own beer. There is a homebrew store in Austin that features a lot of ingredients that make it really easy.” Besides brewing, Holt also likes to keep up with the latest in beer news—what the breweries are up to, when to expect new brews to debut—and he also puts his two cents in on what is on the shelves for consumers. On his blog, homebrewer2005.blogspot.com, Holt reviews beers and scores them on appearance, aroma, taste and overall impression—a beer-lover’s guide to bliss. Why spend time researching breweries, crafting and critiquing beer? The answer is simple in Holt’s mind: “It is just fun,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to put my English degree to use, and it was a good idea to get into home brewing—definitely a good thing.”
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