Introductions - Start here!

Questions, answers, and comments related to brewing.

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cyburai
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Introductions - Start here!

#1 Post by cyburai » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:40 am

Introduce yourself. Tell us all what brought you here, what interested you in brewing, etc.
Last edited by cyburai on Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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cyburai
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#2 Post by cyburai » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:51 am

My name is Sean Belden, and I have been interested in brewing for about 10+ years. Ever since I tasted my friend Clint's fruit beer many years ago. I was amazed, I thought "You can make beer like this?". It had flavor. Considering I was raised on Coors, it was a big shock.

The interest subsided for a while until I met my wife, Sherry. Her and he ex-husband were some of the founding members of the Guild, and the interest was sparked again. So I joined at Brewfest 3 years ago.

I kind of hung around, attended meetings, sampled some amazing beers, and tried to absorb.

Last year, my wife wanted a Lemon Grass Rye, but Freestate wasn't going to have any ready in time for her graduation from the Social Work Masters Program at KU. With Shanes help, we figured out a recipe that would meet her requirements. It was light, crisp, and a hell of a summer beer.

I don't get much time to brew, but I appreciate good beer in all it's forms. And these guys brew some inventive and amazing beers.

Not to mention, there are many great people in this Guild. Without the patience and willingness to share experiance, I doubt I would have stuck with it.

So that's my story. What's yours?
~Cyburai / Sean

"And so it was said: that on the eighth and extra day, God did indeed create beer to prevent the Irish from conquering the world."
- Old Irish Proverb

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Greenblood
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#3 Post by Greenblood » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:36 pm

My name is John Monaghan, and I have been brewing for about 4 years now. Up until recently, I have been strictly a mead maker, but after brewing a few braggots (malt and honey) I decided to go ahead and join the guild and start brewing up some beer.

Mead is still where my obsession lies, and I am always willing and excited to talk to noobs and veterans alike. If you have not made a batch of mead yet, you are missing out.

I have had a blast in the guild so far. Everyone here has been incredibly fun and easily approachable. I hope to stick around for many years to come.

Cheers, Wassail, and other such toasting!

Greenblood

Snowman
Homebrewer
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Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:39 am
Location: Olathe, KS

#4 Post by Snowman » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:31 pm

My name is Jarrell Snowbarger, I live in Olathe. I started brewing around '88 but took about 15 yrs off a few years later. I had most of my original equipment laying around for years and tought about doing a bacth from time to time. Two years ago I found LHBG but never got involved until I met Andy Booth on another brew board. With Andy's help I got back into brewing and haven't looked back! AG was a no brainer for me as I still had my keggles with welded fittings, and a full kegging setup...Lifes been good! I've learned that brewing is still brewing but the quality of ingredients and availability of quality information isn't like night and day. Wait I've learned much more and that's that this obsession can get as carried away as you let it.

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Bill
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#5 Post by Bill » Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:44 am

My name is Bill Carruth. I started getting interested in brewing when Belden asked me if I wanted to go to something he called 'BrewFest'. I was like, hmmm, food, beer, music and I don't have to drive home? count me in!
After trying the great beers at the '05 BrewFest I started going to the meetings to see what it was all about. I thought everyone I met in the Guild was always ready to offer up some help with anything consumable, from beer, mead and wine to smoked foods and marinades.

I haven't brewed yet, but I have a double kit of Oatmeal Stout that I just got last night and I hope I produce a beer that I'm proud to say I brewed!
Last edited by Bill on Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks!

--Bill

all your mash are belong to us

blather
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#6 Post by blather » Sat Mar 25, 2006 11:42 am

Hola! My name is Randall Munden, I started brewing in December of 2004, a week after I attended a homebrew beer tasting. I had ostensibly been a beer snob and craft/homebrewing has only made it worse.

Last year I put up about 60 gallons, five gallons at a time (mostly in prepackaged extract/mini mash kits, although, I did design my own roggen and dry hop a dbl. IPA with my own cascades). I enjoy brewing not only for the beer but also for the tiny chemistry experiment included in each batch.

I attended the Brewfest last year at Sean's insistence and boyhowdy I am glad I went. I hope to attend again this year and spend more time picking othere brewers' brains.

This year I plan to concentrate more on recipe design and converting two sanke kegs over to a mash system, all-the-while attempting to keep beer volume high to satisfy personal consumption requirements.

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cyburai
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#7 Post by cyburai » Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:17 pm

Welcome to everyone.. Glad you could join us!
~Cyburai / Sean

"And so it was said: that on the eighth and extra day, God did indeed create beer to prevent the Irish from conquering the world."
- Old Irish Proverb

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shane
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#8 Post by shane » Sun Mar 26, 2006 9:06 am

Hello all, my name is Shane Lynn. I live in lawrence and have been brewing for 4 years,as whith anyone that has been over 4 apint ya know i love BEER ! From h2o to pint glass im knee deep in it and lovin it. From competitions to meeting countless new people and starting a few noobs in the right direction to building new equipment and brewing w/ "old"new buddys.
Its all 4 the sweet,or hoppy love in a glass called BEER happy brewing Shane

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Matt
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#9 Post by Matt » Tue May 02, 2006 4:44 pm

Hi, my name is Matt and I'm a brewer.

*Hi Matt*

I started homebrewing with my father years ago as something cool for a father and son to do. It wasn't hard to twist an 19 year old kid's arm into making beer with his Dad, and we had many great times doing it.

It was something we'd do when I'd come home to visit from college, and it was cool, because we got to have all those Hallmark father-son moments without it being awkward or un-manly. After all, we were making beer!

It was all extract brewing at the time, which was fine with me -- mainly because I didn't know there were any other options at the time. I still learned a lot as we figured things out together and have a lot of happy memories from brewing with my Dad. I recommend it for any father or son who'd like to have something really cool to do together. Afterall, it's a tradition as old as beer itself.

School got pretty crazy and I came home a lot less, and my Dad pretty much lost interest -- though I think he'd love to start doing it again now that he's retired, which sounds good to me!

Years later, and a couple of years ago, I got the bug again when I discovered all-grain brewing. Then I met a couple of you fine folks, and heard about the Guild and Brewfest. After my first Brewfest, I was completely hooked and knew that brewing was going to once again be a big part of my life. Not (only) because of the excellent beer or because it's so much fun, but because you people are all so awesome. Brewing tends to attract the coolest people. I'm glad to have met you all.

During the year after my first Brewfest, I managed to brew only a few times due to my crazy work schedule and social life, but the response I got to my first two all-grain beers at Brewfest the following year was simply awesome. (Dog's Bollocks Brown Ale, Glasgow Kiss Scottish Ale just in case you're wondering.) And having said that, I should give massive props to Shane Lynn, who made it all possible by allowing this AG-noob to break into All-Grain RIGHT. Allowing me to use his rig, and being there with some expert guidance made it a lot less intimidating and a whole lot more fun. I was completely hooked. Every first-time AG'er should be so lucky. Much props to Shane.

Anyway, my crazy workload still doesn't let me brew too often, but I'm working to change that. (I'm a small business owner in web development and graphic design, by the way.) I plan to brew a lot more starting this spring. I finished my kegerator just in time for St. Patrick's Day. And I just placed an order on the next pallate for two recipe's worth of grain. I plan to have beer on tap again as soon as humanly possible, definitely have beer on tap again at the next Brewfest and will hopefully be brewing a whole lot more between now and then. Man, if only there were more hours in a day and more space in my apartment! If only someone had garage space or something I could start building and store my first AG rig in...

But that's another post for another time. :)

Great knowing all of you that I have met, and I look forward to meeting all of you that I haven't yet.

Happy Brewing!
Matt
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Anvil Chorus Brewing

barry
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member intro

#10 Post by barry » Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:40 am

cheers all,

my name is barry fitzgerald. ive been a member of the guild since the summer of 1995, when it all started in bob's brewshop on east 7th street.

ive had the pleasure of serving as the guild president, secretary, and treasurer at various points over the years, and am pleased with how the guild has evolved since its inception. my hats off to all those who keep it going and moving it forward.

i am still an extract brewer who does boils on the kitchen stove, ice baths in the kitchen sink, and consumption on the living room couch.

-barry

Mr. Blues
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Hey Sherry, Barry & all!

#11 Post by Mr. Blues » Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:23 pm

They call me Mr. Blues but I'll sometimes answer to Bill. I'm another inaugural member of the Guild who's dropped out of the membership for around 6-7 years.

Just started brewing again about a year ago when a friend showed some interest in helping. He's now doing his own wine besides helping with the homebrew we do here at "Baseball Bat Homebrew Co."

Some of our mottoes/slogans:

"Anything worth brewing is worth brewing to extremes"

"It's a HIT to your tastebuds!"

"Winners of nothing but maximum flavor"

Still brewing the Bluesblaster ginger porter/stout; Cherryball porter/stout; the spiced Hey, Mr. Porter!; Rock 'N' Billy bitter; Mr. Blues Brown and the Holiday Humbug Mojo which turned out to be closer to a holiday barleywine at 8.5%!

Say hey to Dwight for me!

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Glenn
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Location: Lawrence, KS

n00b alert!

#12 Post by Glenn » Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:22 pm

Wow.

<does a Wayne's World I am not worthy!>

It's all Clint's fault as to why I'm here. Up until the time the dude with painted toenails started working where I work, I was what Sean called a BMC drinker. Clint showed me the error of my ways. I guess Buelevard was my "gateway" beer, and from there it was short walk from 8th and Mass to Free State. I haven't looked back. Then I heard about this "brewfest" thing, and I attended my first Brewfest last month. Un effing believable (can we curse here?). So here I am, still a brewing virgin, but getting ready to pop that cherry.

I'm a transplant from St. Louis with no ties to KU on any level, been in Lawrence since August '02. I used to hardly ever go out at all, but Clint wouldn't have that, so I have him to thank for introducing me to you fine people. Like many have said already, it's the people as well as the hops that makes this all so interesting. Every single person I've met associated with the LBG has been truly fantastic. A special big thank you to all the friendly people I met at last Thurday's meeting.

This is going to be FUN!

Cozmo
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#13 Post by Cozmo » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:06 pm

Hello My Name is Tony I have been interested in brewing for quite some time. I met clint and Xan at one of Sean and Sherry's many bashes and he talked and talked and talked about brewing and did quite a good job on selling the brew idea.

In reading the forum it sounds like Clint is the local pusher here get um hooked on the good beer...(come on in the beer is cold) and idea of making your own and then POW you can't go back to regular beer again...

In speaking with Sean at freestate one nite he seems to be the brewmister with all his scientific jargon, he was doing his best to use small words that my small brain could understand like DME, sparging, dry hopping and hydrometer. I mostly just nodded and smiled not really knowing what the hell some of his words meant.

I would very much like to visit anyone when they are brewing to see how its actually done. And possibly drink while watching :) :D

All in all everyone I have met at either the local party's hosted by Sean and Sherry and freestate have been very welcoming and helpful. Look forward trying my hand very soon.

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cyburai
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#14 Post by cyburai » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:10 pm

Welcome to the Club.. ;) I will try and keep the words small.. :D
~Cyburai / Sean

"And so it was said: that on the eighth and extra day, God did indeed create beer to prevent the Irish from conquering the world."
- Old Irish Proverb

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supersloth
Homebrewer
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Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:30 pm
Location: Topeka

#15 Post by supersloth » Thu Jan 25, 2007 1:46 pm

Hi! My name is Gordon. I found out about the Lawrence brewers guild from Doug at Ale-N-Vino. I have been brewing for almost 4 years. I mainly do all grain and I batch sparge. I fly sparged once and it was bad! Real bad! I think my PH was wrong. I learned how to brew by reading books and forums (B3 and northern brewer). But it is nice to have a forum close to home.


Gordo
BEER!! It's what's for dinner!

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