Happy New Year again.

This must be my fourth or fifth new year as a homebrewer by now.

First, thanks to anyone who got in touch this past year to leave comments or ask questions. I hope I was helpful, and will try to do more of the same this year. To that end I'm:

• a few weeks off becoming a BJCP approved beer judge
• putting my name on the judging list for the NHC
• taking an online course in Beer Chemistry from Oklahoma University
• still brewing many and varied beer styles
• growing ingredients to make some very personal beer

But I won't be doing the following:

• a dry January.

Firstly, and with huge thanks to certain members of the National Homebrew Club here in Ireland (with a supporting part played by Bus Eirann), I'm well on my way to becoming a beer judge. With only a few more weeks until the beer tasting exam (with no less than BJCP President Gordon Strong as proctor), I've to continue tasting beers (harder work than it sounds) and sit an hour-long online exam.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to feel out-of-my-depth learning about beer biochemistry, with words like Polysaccharides and 1,4 - alpha linkages.

Brewing Botanicals

I've beer to brew, including some for the March 1st Nationals held by the National Homebrew Club in Dublin, and I've been promised a Brewferm Mash Kit by HomebrewWest.ie to review.

Finally, I'll be growing Yarrow, Wormwood, Sage, Tansy, Hops, Bog Myrtle and so on, in order to make the most interesting beer Mov-town has ever tasted.

For now though, I'm going to finish up my notes on Lipids, have a cup of tea, and think about the next blog post: "How to be come a Beer Judge".

If you find any of the above interesting, there's a good chance I'll mention it some more in the following posts. For now though,


Happy New Year.