Taf

[Taf]

Hi All.

Thought I had better introduce myself as well. Have been brewing a bit over 4 years now, and seem to be getting more and more obsessed all the time. I started off with a real cider with apples collected from friends and neighbours, which turned out brilliantly after 6 months, although it nearly went down the drain at one point. I then did two kit brews which were okay, before starting all grain through the BBC(Breakfast Brewing Club) at the Fransiscan Well.

I'm involved in the Lee Valley Brewing Club and also the fledgling yet to be properly named Cork Area Brewing Club. One of the highlights of my year is the Brew It Yourself day that we do at the Fransiscan Well, where we brew on the day, and give out samples of beers brewed previously. This helps take out some of the mystery around grain brewing, and I know a good few people have taken that final step after attending, so I find that most encouraging.

I'm a bit of a hophead, and am attempting to grow a few varieties in this lovely soft climate of ours, which is proving a bit challenging. I usually have plenty of spare hop plants or cuttings in the spring, in the hope that others will have more success than me! I've recently scaled up my equipment to do 100litre batch's, but am having some teething issues with some of the components. Once I get everything sorted and tidied up, I hope to throw open the doors to do some joint brewdays with others, as long as they are also hopheads! I love the social side to brewing and tasting, so try to get to local meetups or brewdays when I can.