The first issue, in the summer of 1992, was a 24-page newspaper grayer than a London morning, with editorial copy written for advertisers and such attempts at beer humor as "Something's hoppening."

The latest issue is a 28-page full-color newspaper with livelier copy; ads from Belgian, Czech and German beer makers; columns on beer, Scotch, poker, coffee and cheese; and a better sense of humor.

"What a long strange brew it's been," trumpets one headline.

So maybe the humor still needs work, but Ale Street News means business. The bimonthly newspaper out of Maywood, N.J., which covers the craft and microbrew industry, is the largest-circulation beer publication in the country, outselling California-based Celebrator, which calls itself "America's premiere brewspaper."

"You don't have to be a beer geek to read our paper," says editor/co-publisher Tony Forder, enjoying a beer at the Gaslight Brewery & Restaurant in South Orange, N.J. "Even a non-beer drinker can pick it up and find something of interest. Our view is that beer relates to everything."

What beer lover would argue? It's been a long strange trip to brew bible status for both Forder and co-publisher Jack Babin. Forder is a former newspaper editor and reporter; Babin's background is in sales and marketing. They are both in love with the same woman, but that hasn't affected their business relationship.

OK, so the woman happens to be Sue Babin, Tony's wife and Jack's sister. Forder met his future wife at a bar in San Francisco; they attended Humboldt State University and the College of the Redwoods. Forder was the one who introduced his brother-in-law to home-brewing.

"All their friends were into home-brewing; I said, "What the hell is this?' " Babin recalled.

Forder bought him a home-brewing kit; Babin didn't have the proper bottles, so he bought jugs of apple juice, emptied them, and used them. They ended up exploding in the place he kept his beer - his bedroom.

"I decided to look into the process a little bit more," he said, smiling sheepishly.

The Forders moved to New Jersey in the late 1980s; Forder and Babin started home-brewing in Babin's basement. Forder would scrounge for empty bottles behind the bar of a local tavern. "You're a home-brewer," the bartender, Bill, told him once. Bill; his friend Alby; and Forder and Babin formed the Worthogs home-brew club, and Forder and Babin started thinking about a beer newspaper.

They pasted up a four-page sample issue, printed 3,000 copies and brought it to the Boston Brewers Festival. The two asked 40 brewers at the festival the same three questions: Is this a good idea? Will it help you succeed in your business? Would you advertise?

About 25 said yes to all three, and the two decided it was time to get serious. They thought about calling their "brewpaper" the Ale Street Journal, but didn't want to run afoul of the Wall Street Journal, so they settled on Ale Street News.

"We want to be more blue-collar, more out on the street," Forder explained.

Despite the first issue's somber look, the paper took off. Forder and Babin did it all - wrote copy, solicited ads, even rented a truck and dropped off issues. Brooklyn Brewery distributed the paper in the five boroughs, and ASN was off and hoppin'.

The paper suffered in the late 1990s, when microbrewing hit the wall. There was too much product, and much of it was inferior. Advertising dried up. "We had to tough it out," Forder said.

Today, circulation is at a healthy 90,000 copies. ASN is published in three editions - New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest/West. The days of advertiser-centric copy are long gone; Forder and Babin don't even accept beer-specific ads from Budweiser, Coors and Miller, although they will accept generic ads from the Big Three, like the Anheuser-Busch-sponsored "Here's to Beer" full-page ad on the back of the 15th anniversary issue.

They may not be beer geeks, but Forder and Babin know their stuff. "There are something like 68,000 beers in the world," Babin says. "Mississippi was the last state to have a brew pub," Forder adds.

Babin calls his brother-in-law the "conservative" editor type, while describing himself as "more spontaneous." One guess who came up with ASN's Beer Goddess line of T-shirts and thongs. Definition of a Beer Goddess, according to ASN: "Possessing an inner beauty beyond description, elegance, confidence, poise and a look that will stop traffic on Times Square. A woman who lets no beer stand in her way and can party with the best of them."

High Point in Beer Goddess History: Kit Hoover, co-host of ESPN's "Cold Pizza," wears a Beer Goddess T-shirt on air.

ASN has branched out in other ways besides Beer Goddess. The paper has led trips in this country and Europe, and hosts the annual Ultimate Belgian Tasting, an event featuring Belgian beer, cheeses and chocolates. Tickets for the high-end affair, held in New York City every March or April, cost about $100 a pop. About 500 people attend every year.

One measure of how far ASN has come is that brewers hire Forder and Babin as consultants. Another is that they don't do layout and paste-up anymore; it's contracted out, to a firm in Montreal. A typical issue will include columns by The Brew Chef (Tim Schafer); Ms. Mug (Lauren Clark); the Cheese Monger (Patrick Jones); and the Beer Predator (David Gilbert). There are columns titled Coffee Break (Bob Funk); Cask Beer (Alex Hall) and Over the Top, Woody Packer's poker column. Other columns cover the latest brew news in particular states or regions.

A year's subscription costs $18.95 (call 800-351-ALES), but most readers pick it up free at bars, liquor stores and elsewhere.

The toughest question asked of the two: What three beers would they take to their desert island?

Forder: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Troegenator Double Bock, St. Bernardus Abt 12.

Babin: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Chimay and Hoegarten.

"I hope it's not too hot on that desert island," Forder said of his rather heavy-bodied choices.

Ale Street News has come a long way since 1992, and its founders look forward to the next 15, or more, years.

"People ask, "How can you write about beer?"' Forder said, smiling. "That's never a problem."