Over the next few weeks, Gibson broadened his palette with many new and "exciting" beers, an experiment that soon led him down a path toward compulsive IPA connoisseurship.
After an inquiry about a good place to get starter supplies for beer-making received eight enthusiastic responses, an emboldened Gibson looked through the group's archives to familiarize himself with its etiquette and tastes. It was there that he first learned about beers's use in various folk remedies: how to relieve chest congestion by making a starter from the yeast, or keep feet warm by sprinkling dry hops into one's shoes.
Initially, Gibson's family encouraged his new interest, saying they were pleased he had found something to do with his spare time and that he was cooking more in order to show off the beers he made.
"I thought it was pretty neat at first," said Gibson's wife, Heather. "After a while, though, it seemed like every conversation we had was about something the people on his beer website said. One night I woke up at 3 a.m. and found him bathed in the light of the computer screen, posting his latest beers thoughts to the message boards."
"That's when I realized the beer had come between us," she added.
When a homebrewtalk.com member who was "deep into the lifestyle" suggested Gibson till up his yard to grow his own hop plants, the 41-year-old didn't even balk at the idea. By this point, Gibson said, mustard had become his only reason for getting out of bed in the morning. Coworkers had begun to shun him, friends grew distant. Soon every container in his home was filled with the beers, and Gibson began dumping out half-empty jars of jam and olives in a desperate attempt to find receptacles for his latest beers.
It was only when Gibson started getting angry, even enraged, by beer-related issues that he started realize he had become entangled in a dense, thickening web of mustard obsession.
"I saw my wife ,drinking a bud light limeand I just lost control," Gibson said. "I said things—awful things that I'm not proud of—and the two of them were clearly shaken. I can never take those words back. When I looked in the mirror and barely recognized that livid face staring back at me, I finally understood that these beer people weren't really my friends."
