TOPIC:

Whoami : Brian

Location : Cork

Age : 33

Job : DASD Tech support

Started Brewing : 2006

Brewing Level : Kit

Favourite Beers : Porter,American microbrews , Real ales, Belgans, German. Bottle Guiness or Beamish . Anything that is not mass produced yellow fizz.

Why Brew : Like to give taste buds a shake up.

Other Interests : GAA, hillwalking, skiing, travel

Who am I? : Nick

Location : Dublin

Age : 29

Job : Finance monkey

Started Brewing : 2004

Brewing Level : I'd like to say intermediate. Unhopped extract, speciality grain steeping, hop additions. I also make a good unpasteurised mead.

Favourite Beers : So many good ones out there but a recent trip to the Zythos Beer Festival in Belgium opened my eyes to Belgium beers, and in particular the delights of Lambic: Drie Fontenien and Cantillon to name but a few.
Redmonds have a few delicious beers: St. Bernardos Belgian ale, LaChouffe, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and stout, Rochforte Trappists, Duvel. I also like Froach Heather Ale for some strange reason. English light ales are nice anytime. Forboden Frut with the picture of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is very tasty too.

Why Brew : I got tired of the limited range available, and believing that I could better those beers decided to tackle brewing. So far I've done a pretty good job....and the great thing about brewing is that it can always be better.
Also I need something to occupy my mind or else I'd go insane.

Other Interests : Quite a relaxed person really but I like hillwalking, bike touring, camping and cooking, a good sci-fi movie on the big or small screen. I'm a beginner kitesurfer for the last two years (no car!!) and will soon be making my own cheese to eat with my strong ales.

I'm also on a lifelong quest to find the perfect seafood chowder. I will never find it of course, but as they say its not the destination that matters but the journey...!!

Whoami : Les

Location : currently Livingston, near Edinburgh but will be relocating to the Dublin area soon.

Age : 47 but I'll be 48 tomorrow (25th).

Job : Chemist. Currently chemistry patent analyst but my new job in Dublin will be a return to research and development, working on developing a new electronic display technology which will be much more fun.

Started Brewing : 1978 I think. I think I tried my first full mash in 1979 and it was a real comedy of errors but the end result was the best beer I'd ever brewed at that time. I suffered the poor quality of the kit beers at the time for a few more years before biting the bullet and investing in a Bruheat and starting mashing with some proper equipment. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I still use the old Bruheat as a hot liquor tank.

Brewing Level : My latest brew was my 183rd full mash brew. It is at least 15 years since I brewed a kit beer, but I've tasted some good kit-brewed beers more recently so the quality has certainly improved so I may well try one again at some stage (to save time maybe). My brewing kit has improved and expanded over the last 10 years since I've lived in Scotland, mainly as a result of my membership of Scottish Craft Brewers.

Favourite Beers: My favourite style is pale ale and my favourites are Timothy Taylor Landlord, Fullers London Pride and Black Sheep Bitter but I also like stouts, wheat beers, Belgians and occasional lagers. I'm not a big fan of the Lambics.

Why brew? : Because it is great fun, very satisfying and I am still learning. I think I learn something new with each brew.

Other Interests : Photography, Fishing, Writing, Railway modelling, Hi-Fi, Music, American football and doing anything (except clothes shopping) with my darling wife, Mariana (aka Mara).

Whoami : John Stephens
Location : Live Clondalkin, work UCD.
Age : 51
Job : Senior Technical Officer
Started Brewing : a brief excursion in the 70s/80s
Brewing Level : retired, now an enthusiast
Favourite Beers: Still on the search
Why brew? : I don't
Other Interests : Beer, Beer travel, Beer related....
Cycling, athletics (used to run a bit, now a little)
food, music, natural history.

[b:2wk147bx]Whoami [/b:2wk147bx]: David
[b:2wk147bx]Location [/b:2wk147bx]: dublin
[b:2wk147bx]Age[/b:2wk147bx] : 37
[b:2wk147bx]Job[/b:2wk147bx] : Software Product Manager
[b:2wk147bx]Started Brewing[/b:2wk147bx] : start of this year
[b:2wk147bx]Brewing Level[/b:2wk147bx] : unwarranted cockiness - my first three went better than I expected!
[b:2wk147bx]Favourite Beers[/b:2wk147bx]: St Peter's Cream Stout, IPAs, Goose Island, SNPA, Brooklyn Lager, Rodenbach (when in Belgium), etc. etc. etc.
[b:2wk147bx]Why brew?[/b:2wk147bx] : Have been an enthusiastic cook for a long time, and brewing seems like an interesting extenstion to that.
[b:2wk147bx]Other Interests[/b:2wk147bx] : When I get a break from work: food, wine, hiking, music, travelling.

Whoami : Peter
Location : Baldoyle, Dublin
Age : 22 (Youngest of the group <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D --> )
Job : I've taken a Break from college and have been working in an Off Licence for the last 2 years. Was doing : Computer Science. Target: Computer Animation
Started Brewing : Only starting. Will be hitting here for lots of expert advice!
Brewing Level : Amateur
Favourite Beers: I love so many beers it's hard to choose..... [b:117rujnw]From A[/b:117rujnw]ugustiner [b:117rujnw]to Z[/b:117rujnw]yweic!
Why brew? : For the love of it. The history, the colour, the smell, the taste. I find it all really interesting. Possibly the oldest drink know to man so why shouldn't I join in the fun!
Other Interests : Computers, Photoshop, Cinema 4D, 3D Studio Max, Music, Art, Rugby, Cycling