Four guys from Nashua are spending their free time traveling New England to drink beer – and tell you about it. 
Mike Rego, one of the founders of BeerEncounters.com, runs the Web site with three of his friends: Matt Zukowski, Jim Messier and Dan Archambault. The four travel all over New England to visit breweries, and they share their experiences on the Web site through stories, videos and photos.
“(We’re) a couple of beer enthusiasts who like to sit on our back porches or on each others couch and enjoy different beers,” Rego said.
Rego and his buddies have been traveling to a different brewery every month and documenting their experiences on the site for the last two years. The goal of BeerEncounters.com is to show viewers some of the best craft brews in New England, as well as to give New England beer lovers somewhere to go and connect with other beer enthusiasts.
Rego and his friends all have full-time jobs, but devote a lot of their free time to traveling to these breweries. They even have a map in their office that shows where the yet-to-be-visited breweries are located.
“You have to make time for the things you enjoy,” Rego said. 
Rego and his friends have traveled to breweries outside of New England, but devote their site to this area’s breweries only.
“We’re all prideful of New England,” Rego said. “We believe that it has never been a better time in history to be a craft beer lover or innovative beer brewer.”
In addition to reviews on the local breweries, the site also features a Beer Blog, including useful information on brews, as well as videos to accompany their brewery reviews, all edited by Rego. BeerEncounters.com even has an interactive Brewery Map, where visitors can click on a state and see what breweries the guys have visited in that state. The site also has a weekly microbrew review, from breweries around the area, in addition to their monthly brewery reviews. 
Rego admits that one of the main reasons he enjoys this hobby is because the owners and brew masters here are simply in the business to make and enjoy delicious beer and share their passion.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of beer they (brew); there is little competition with other local breweries,” Rego said. “it’s just about a passion for making a good quality product.”
BeerEncounters.com also gives viewers a more in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at local breweries that many people would never get on a guided tour. The guys normally send a destination brewery an e-mail or standard letter, and specify that they want to feature that brewery on their site. Usually, breweries are happy to oblige.
“We’re able to encounter the brewery on a much more intimate level,” Rego said.
The guys even host events, including their upcoming second annual Great Pumpkin Ale Beer Tasting & Halloween Party, so far sponsored by Magic Hat, Red Hook and Shipyard. The event takes place October 25 at the Holiday Inn at Nashua.
Rego, Zukowski, Messier and Archambault are just a couple of close friends that have a passion for good, quality beer, and they want to share their love with other beer enthusiasts. But don’t worry: Rego and his friends still enjoy an ice cold Budweiser every once and a while.
“We don’t hate on commerical breweries, we think that it’s either a good beer or not . . . quality is quality.
