Skyler
Active Member
I am a 36 year-old attorney and former high school teacher who has been brewing for nearly 14 years. I am somewhat active on the American Homebrewers Association forum, but have been seeking different forums of late, as the culture there has grown rather toxic (like so much else here in the US). The reason I joined this forum specifically is that I have had a deep-felt affection for British bitter since my semester abroad in London back in 2004. Other UK connections of mine are mostly friends that I made while living in Italy, one of whom had me as his best man when he was married back in 2015 (planning a stag do with a 9 hour time difference is quite challenging, btw).
I have lived in various parts of the US (San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley, Los Angeles, Central California, Portland (OR), and NYC) and spend considerable time in France, Italy, England and Spain. I've also traveled to 40+ different countries and my dad is retired in Thailand, so I go there somewhat regularly. In Britain, I have been to London (I lived in EC1-Clerkenwell), Bath, Brighton, various parts of Cornwall (stayed in Polperro for a long weekend), Birmingham (where my friend used to live, though he is from Chester), Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Isle of Wight, Llandudno, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness (and various towns in the Highlands). I have also been to Belfast, Dublin and Cork. Most of my experience in thye British Isles came after the age of 20, but some of it was from my childhood, including most of the Highlands stuff (I have a Scottish surname and that meant something to my dad). I did drive the last time I was in Britain, which was reasonably exciting for me, aside from that drivers in Wales were generally rude (drivers in Texas are worse, though).
I haven't bottled anything in years, and keep six homemade drinks on tap (currently all beer, but sometimes cider and soda). I only brew all-grain, excepting wort for yeast starters or minor adjunct additions to styles that benefit from them. I batch sparge in a large cooler and mostly brew 20L batches, though I have capacity to brew 40L at a time. My favorite styles to brew are Black IPA, Strong(ish) Bitters (~1.040-1.048 SG), American-style Amber and Brown Ales, American Porters, and Czech-style dark lagers. I have been working hard at getting better at lager-brewing and west coast IPAs lately. I used to brew a lot of Belgian styles, but got tired of them (and they are hard to serve when carbonated properly in a keg using American-style faucets). I genuinely love good bottled Belgian ale, though I rarely want 20L of it, so it's not worth bottling a batch (maybe when Wyeast re-releases 3864).
Having lived for 6 years in Portland and decades in California, I am probably pretty familiar with most of the top west coast breweries you would see sold in British beer stores or fancy off-licenses. I am probably a good resource on that sort of information.
I have lived in various parts of the US (San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley, Los Angeles, Central California, Portland (OR), and NYC) and spend considerable time in France, Italy, England and Spain. I've also traveled to 40+ different countries and my dad is retired in Thailand, so I go there somewhat regularly. In Britain, I have been to London (I lived in EC1-Clerkenwell), Bath, Brighton, various parts of Cornwall (stayed in Polperro for a long weekend), Birmingham (where my friend used to live, though he is from Chester), Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Isle of Wight, Llandudno, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness (and various towns in the Highlands). I have also been to Belfast, Dublin and Cork. Most of my experience in thye British Isles came after the age of 20, but some of it was from my childhood, including most of the Highlands stuff (I have a Scottish surname and that meant something to my dad). I did drive the last time I was in Britain, which was reasonably exciting for me, aside from that drivers in Wales were generally rude (drivers in Texas are worse, though).
I haven't bottled anything in years, and keep six homemade drinks on tap (currently all beer, but sometimes cider and soda). I only brew all-grain, excepting wort for yeast starters or minor adjunct additions to styles that benefit from them. I batch sparge in a large cooler and mostly brew 20L batches, though I have capacity to brew 40L at a time. My favorite styles to brew are Black IPA, Strong(ish) Bitters (~1.040-1.048 SG), American-style Amber and Brown Ales, American Porters, and Czech-style dark lagers. I have been working hard at getting better at lager-brewing and west coast IPAs lately. I used to brew a lot of Belgian styles, but got tired of them (and they are hard to serve when carbonated properly in a keg using American-style faucets). I genuinely love good bottled Belgian ale, though I rarely want 20L of it, so it's not worth bottling a batch (maybe when Wyeast re-releases 3864).
Having lived for 6 years in Portland and decades in California, I am probably pretty familiar with most of the top west coast breweries you would see sold in British beer stores or fancy off-licenses. I am probably a good resource on that sort of information.
Good luck with all you brew. 
