Greetings from West Michigan!

Guilt finally got the better of me so I decided to finally come out of the closet.

I have been lurking through the forums for a few months now as I have been researching equipment to restart my home brew operation.

Its a long story. Basically I did a lot of extract brewing in the 1990's but somehow allowed my priorities to change after buying my current home...five years ago! I know, its hard to imagine what could be more important than brewing and drinking your own beer for five years.

This forum is hands down the best resource I have stumbled on for advice on equipment, techniques, and attitude. I look forward to stealing more advice and hopefully contributing something useful....

Cheers from the zoo!

Welcome Zoo!!!

These guys/gals will steer you in the right direction. Welcome to the madness!!! This is a fantastic place to learn for sure. Hey, drink a Oberon for me!!!

Cheers!

John

Primary: Empty
Secondary: #1 Autumn Amber Ale
On Deck: Octane IPA

Welcome Zoo! There's a lot of good info here, and don't be afraid to ask questions!

Welcome from another Michiganian, no need to ask where you're from eh!

This is a great board with a lot of helpful people, you'll be building a kegerator and brewing all grain in no time.

Cheers.

Flyin' Lion said:

Welcome from another Michiganian...

Click to expand...

I thought you guys were Michiganders???

Welcome to the forum!

homebrewer_99 said:

I thought you guys were Michiganders???

Welcome to the forum!

Click to expand...

Apparently both are acceptable.

From: Wikipedia

An individual from Michigan is called a "Michigander" or "Michiganian".[32] Also at times, but rarely, a "Michiganite".

And:

A resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula ("the U.P.") is often called a "Yooper" . In turn, residents of the lower peninsula are referred to as "trolls" — because they "live below the Mackinac Bridge".

Hello from Bangor! Welcome to the madness.....yes, this is a fabulous resource of friendly help and even friendlier insults.

When I went to MSU in the early Seventies, the Yoopers were also known as Yoopenites, and sometimes even Yoopanians!

Great to see such a strong sense of community on these forums from all over. Obviously the rumors of Michigan's demise are overblown as well. "Michigander", "Yooper" its all good to me. For many of us from southern Michigan, heading north to all the awesome woods, lakes, rivers, etc. is the best.

I doubt I can ever contribute enough to equal what I have already taken away from the forums, but I will try:

I would happily buy a beer at Bell's in Kalamazoo for any out-of-towners passing through (its just off the business loop of I-94). For some strange reason the bar- keep's seem to recognize me and take my orders a bit quicker. Two Hearted, Kalamazoo Stout, whatever - there is no bad choice...

Since I brewed @35 batches on the stove in the kitchen of my last house I have been relegated to the garage of my current home. I decided to invest in equipment that would allow me to migrate to all grain. The equipment forum has been instrumental in guiding me to purchasing the best equipment for this goal. Thanks!!

Cheers, Zoo