Rather than reinventing the wheel I am going to lift, paraphrase and amend a blog post I wrote for Boundary Brewing (more on them in future posts).
So probably best to start with what attracted me to beer; let me correct that, good beer!
Like most in their youth I supped the standard fare; cheap, available and fairly tasteless lager in Northern Ireland pubs. Through partaking in Katy Dalys’ post-work Friday Ale Sale I became aware of better and tastier beer. Around the same time I was becoming a lover of wine and attending a wine club. In buying this wine I was frequenting local independent off-licenses, off-licenses that stocked more than their fair share of good beer. And it was as I began to sample this range that my love affair started!
Now everywhere I go I look out for new beers or firm favourites and get annoyed if presented with the same standard fare from my youth (probably at the expense of becoming a pain in the ass to my drinking companions).
Not just content with buying great beer I wanted to start brewing my own. Researching how the process worked; ingredients, styles and equipment. Initially using kits, and then modifying them. More recently, with the assistance of the ever helpful Michael, I have gone all grain!
Taking all that on board, the recent upsurge in local breweries (15 to date) and the appearance of Beer Club Belfast it is a great time to be into beer in Northern Ireland. Looking further a field, it is a good time to be into beer full stop!
So what is my intention with this blog? Well the clue is in the title, it is simply a channel for me to share some of my thoughts and musings on beer and beer related topics. Reviews of beers I think are worthy of one, thoughts on the local scene in Northern Ireland, tales of my beer related travels, my adventures in brewing and some general opinion pieces. All opinions are my own, honesty is the policy and no offence is intended.
So I hope you find at least some of my posts of interest.
They call me Bruce!
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