Jackson Free Press

When beer aficionado Craig Hendry is asked what his favorite brew is, he always hesitates.

"My favorite style is imperial stout and Belgian beers, but I don't really have a favorite (beer)," Hendry says.

The Gilbertown, Ala., native and Jackson resident enjoys drinking locally and, until recently, some of his favorite beers couldn't be bought at home in Mississippi.

"As I traveled, I saw a wide beer selection," Hendry says. "I always wondered why Mississippi was lacking. I always had to buy my beer out of state and bring it home."

So in 2007, Hendry, 41, and a few of his fellow beer lovers started Raise Your Pints, an organization committed to bringing high quality beers to Mississippi. The nonprofit has grown rapidly in recent years, partly thanks to last year's grassroots campaign to raise the alcohol limit in beer sold in Mississippi. After that legislation passed last July, Hendry took over as president of Raise Your Pints.

Hendry, who graduated from the University of South Alabama with a degree in information science in 1997, says the beer-brewing process fascinates him even more than the array of styles and flavors. He has been a great advocate of homebrewing for many years, after getting interested in the hobby himself. "It was a case of liking beer so much that I was given a homebrewing kit for Christmas--it just snowballed from there," Hendry says.

In addition to actually brewing the beer, Hendry also builds many of the parts needed in the homebrewing process. A self-proclaimed craftsman, the hobby allows Hendry to display his workmanship as well as his beer--to be a part of the brewing process "from start to finish."

Hendry's eyes light up when he recounts his favorite brewing moment: winning Best in Show at a home-brewing competition in Hattiesburg, just one of the many competitions he's taken part in. As he puts it, if there's a competition, he's probably there.

"It's a challenge to make great home-brew," Hendry says.

So when his home state of Mississippi was left being one of only two states that had yet to legalize homebrewing, Hendry rose to the challenge. "I spent a lot of time at the Capitol," Hendry says. "I put on a coat and tie and shook a lot of hands. We were just amateurs going down to the capitol, trying to change a law."

Hendry isn't the type of guy to waltz around in a suit on a regular basis. An IT analyst by day and homebrewer by night, Hendry is more of a T-shirt and jeans type of guy, but spreading the gospel about his favorite past time was more than reason enough to pull out his Sunday best.

"Homebrewing is a safe, fun hobby," Hendry says. "It helps build an appreciation of craft beer."