Hi there, Irish guy just joined

[end-of-green]

Hi all, just joined today. Been trying to get into brewing and sourcing classes, materials, and literature as much as possible.

Originally from Ireland (and repatriating later this year); currently based in Shanghai, China.

Nice to meet you.

 

[camonick]

Welcome from Colorado, USA. There’s plenty to read here to keep you busy for a while. A set of my great-great grandparents immigrated from Ireland.
Sláinte

 

[end-of-green]

Welcome from Colorado, USA. There’s plenty to read here to keep you busy for a while. A set of my great-great grandparents immigrated from Ireland.
Sláinte

Nice to meet you, too.

Noticed in your sig that you have a Guinness clone on tap - how is it?

 

[camonick]

Nice to meet you, too.

Noticed in your sig that you have a Guinness clone on tap - how is it?

It’s good but not GUINNESS. I have been trying to clone GUINNESS Draught for years and just can’t quite figure it out. I’m sure it has something (everything) to do with the water or some proprietary ingredient or process. It’s kind of my white whale, but maybe I’ll nail it some day. Regardless, I almost always have an Irish Stout on tap. I keg all my beer and have a nitro setup for this one.

 

[jcav]

Welcome to the community from Florida!


John

 

[bkboiler]

Welcome @end-of-green ! Lots to read and learn here...a deep rabbit hole for sure.

@camonick , I've read in multiple brewing books that Guinness mixes at packaging the young beer with a small percentage of sour beer to add complexity. Bear in mind that "sour beer" in this context likely means matured...as how "stale" in historic British contexts was not necessarily a bad thing. Often barrel aged products had some Brett activity so the older products had more funk...
Anyway...I don't know much more than just that, what I've read! Best of luck with your whale!

 

[Stand]

Welcome from North Carolina.

This is a great place to get info.

 

[krispn]

Greetings!

I'm originally from Ireland too but living in Edinburgh now! If you're waiting until you get back home to start brewing nab "How To Brew" by John Palmer and "Brewing Classic Styles" by Jamil Zainasheff. Some good reading and in both books and all the recipes in BCS's will be style correct versions and a great starting point for tried and tested recipes - all the recipes in it have won competitions! Published in the U.K. "Home Brew Beer" by Greg Hughes is a simple, well written book that will cover everything you need to know too and is frequently referred to as 'The Bible' by the HB community over here. These three books will keep you going!

As an enthusiastic newbie not that long ago myself the one thing I learned is keep it simple to begin with - there's a reason great beers have only a few malts and hops; three or four malts max (depending on the style) and two or three hop varieties.

Finally while there's loads of kit to entice a new brewer the one recommendation I'll make is what I call the 'Holy Trinity' of kit. Get an old cheap fridge, a heat pad and an Inkbird temperature controller. Having a stable, controllable fermentation will make the biggest difference in the quality of your beer and will elevate even the most simple of brew kit's.

Good luck with the move and if you have any questions feel free to PM/DM me and I'll be happy to help.

 

[ncbrewer]

Another welcome from North Carolina.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Chicago here, welcome to the obssession!

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the hobby, and the group, from Colorado

 

[Enkidu25]

Welcome. Where are you from in Ireland? My wife's family is all from County Tipperary.