45yo... been brewing for 24 years. Started at Bell's, then known as Kalamazoo Brewing Co., about a month and a half after my 21st birthday. I had read Papazian's book several times before that, but didn't have the $ to get started. I worked in packaging first, but observed brewing pretty much daily and could have brewed successfully on the little brewhouse that was there at the time before I got my home brew stuff together. I made a few beers at home and Larry was impressed enough with what I was doing to move me over to brewing about 6 months after I started. That was a fun time in my life
I have been brewing sometimes home, sometimes commercial, sometimes both, ever since.