Hi All! I just got here and will probably be around a while. It’s great that the AHA got itself a forum. It’ll be the first homebrew forum I plan to stick to.
About me - I’ve been brewing for 15 years or so and have been an AHA member for 6 or 7 years or something like that. I’m a recent convert to all-grain (2 years), mostly because it’s the only reasonable option in my adopted homeland of Belgium. Yes, I live in Belgium and yes, I still brew my own. In the USA, I usually preferred to brew bigger, more Belgian-like brews. Here, I’ve been sticking to lower ABV, American-ish/German-ish styles with perhaps a Belgian twist. My latest was an IPA-ish sort of beer brewed with a hint of rye and yeast harvested from a Saison Dupont.
If you don’t mind Theo I’m going to glom onto your thread and introduce myself as well. I brewed for about three years before life caught up with me and I had to take a break. It’s been about three years since I’ve done any brewing but recently I’ve gotten the itch (and have some time and a bit more space) and am planning on making my entry back into the hobby. Before I stopped I was doing as big a partial mash as I could but I was working with a kitchen stove so that kind of limited me. I do have a big blue rectangular cooler with a hose braid that I’m working on refurbishing.
Anyway just figured I’d throw out my intro before I started posting. This looks like a great board and I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can from you guys and maybe eventually passing a nugget or two of my own along. Cheers.
Why yes, that is a silly question. Yes, homebrewing is legal, but getting the supplies isn’t so easy. There’s only one reasonable shop in the country, nearly an hour away for me. They do have small distributors spread around, but you pretty much have to order ahead then go pick it up. I always change my mind when I get to the shop, so that doesn’t work for me. Also, the store is nice, but they’re way behind the convenient American model, I think. All the malts are pre-weighed and packaged (no “little of this, little of that” or tasting before you buy) and the equipment is expensive. Still, I get by.
