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Evening boys!

I am a belgian home brewer. I started about 4 years ago. I start making good ales and, most important: redo recipes quite well.
I am gowing my own hops but luckily, I can rely on one of the last hops growers in Belgium around the corner.
I don't brew very often (4X/year). Good stuff to fight stress.

I hope I will read great stories and steal a lot from you, guys :]

Leyon

Welcome aboard Leyon. Always good to get a international perspective! <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

I went past Brouwland in a bus a couple of years ago....well within sight of massive sign for it that said it was up the road.. Nearly wet myself at the size of the place. Everyone on the bus thought I was nuts when I started shouting and pointing. Nothing new there I guess <!-- s:oops: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_redface.gif" alt="" title="Embarassed" /><!-- s:oops: -->

Welcome aboard!

In fairness, Brouwland's selection is pure brewing porn <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

It's near Ikea in size and variety but I would imagine a tiny bit better generally <!-- s:shock: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_eek.gif" alt=":shock:" title="Shocked" /><!-- s:shock: -->

Thanks for the welcome, it is much appreciated.
Brouwland is pretty massive, indeed.

Can you get all you need in Ireland, or do you need to order abroad?

I am lucky, I found a malter and a hop farmer, but is wasn't easy. The malting company first refused to serve non-corporate customers. We had to group. It is much cheaper now.

For the yeast, the breweries are friendly, I usually get yeasts from the Rochefort monastry, but it doens't suit many beer styles. I mainly buy from Wyeast labs.

About the styles: I try to solve an eternal issue: brewing Belgian style ales without adding too much sugar (as they often do, here). Brewing Belgian_English_German ales is really difficult. This is what I like <!-- s:-) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:-) -->