I'm David (AKA RanchCat) and live in Livermore, CA (SF Bay Area). I got into homebrewing around 2010 when I lived in Santa Rosa, CA and went to college at Sonoma State. Anyone familiar with the area knows it's surrounded with some incredible breweries so it was an awesome way to get started. One day I'll tell you all the story of my extreme ignorance the first time I went to Russian River after I just turned 21. "What do you mean you don't have Pliny the Younger on a Saturday night in January!?!?!?" haha man I had no idea back then.
Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself to the forum and say a HUGE Thank You to everyone on here. I've been a listener for about 3 years now and the forum has provided me with far more advice and direction than any other resource. I went all grain about a year ago and it's been an awesome experience building, tinkering, cussing, head scratching and learning every step of the way. I really couldn't have done it without the knowledge and humor of this forum.
I got married this June and was lucky enough to have the time and resources to brew about 50 gals (10 gal batches) for the wedding. Most of the beer was decent but there was one batch that EVERYONE loved and it was a Janet's Brown Ale. Everyone was drinking it and couldn't believe there was a "dark" beer that they would like. Of course I wanted to take credit for making a beer that everyone liked, but the real respect and admiration all goes to Tasty. Tasty, not sure if you'll ever read this but I personally want to thank you for your gift to the homebrew community. It's a great recipe, fun to make and an even better story to tell.
I can't forget to give a big shout out to my LHBS, Hoptech! Roberto and Jane have been wonderful to me and were a huge contribution to my wedding. Awesome people that care about you making quality beer and will do more for you than you'd ever expect.
Well, that's my story; thanks for listening. Looking forward to meeting more of you and getting more involved in the homebrew community.
Cheers!
-RanchCat
