I think I'm a noob's noob...

[phrogpilot73]

I was reading on one of the other forums I frequent (an aviation forum) about some of the homebrews the guys were working on and it got me interested. Don't have any equipment, books, or ideas yet. My wife and I are moving from Maryland to Virginia the beginning of next year, and I told her that I was going to give it the old college boy effort when we get there. She gave me the go-ahead!! I've got The Complete Joy of Homebrewing on my Amazon wish list and I'm planning on learning as much as I can before we move. I'm even excited to find out that this is located in our future town!

I'm going to wait until I've read more before I ask if an IPA is a good first beer!

 

[Shonuff]

Welcome. You possibly have a fun, exciting, and obsessive road ahead of you.

 

[farmbrewernw]

Don't try it! I repeat do not try to homebrew! It will lead to many many happy hours of making and drinking beer and obsessively crawling on every possible HBT thread you can

 

[JoeMama]

What part of VA you moving to? There are quite a few Virginians here. Welcome to the obsession!
-Me

 

[DragonTail]

Welcome

 

[Nurmey]

Welcome!
Another good read is How to Brew - By John Palmer. He has the printed book to which would be a nice addition to your library but the online book is free and available now.

 

[The Pol]

A pilot? Oh gees... that is all HBT needs, another one of THOSE types!

 

[phrogpilot73]

Thanks for the warm welcome, and yup - I'm looking forward to the obsession... I think my wife said OK so that I'll stop thinking and dreaming about building a kitplane! (that'll never happen)

To answer the questions - we're moving to the Norfolk area, looking right around the VA Beach/Chesapeake line for houses.

Yup, I'm a pilot. I spent 9 years on active duty in the Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot, and now I'm in the reserves. Still haven't found a flying job on the outside...

 

[The Pol]

I fly into ORF on occassion...

Not a lot of flying jobs out there these days with people downsizing and scaling back. Many pilots out there walkin the streets.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Not a lot of flying jobs out there these days with people downsizing and scaling back. Many pilots out there walkin the streets.

Yeah, we've got several reservists that are spending more time at the squadron now... It's not as bad (it seems) in the commercial helo world, the only problem is having operators/insurance guys realize that the days of the Vietnam-era guys with a bajillion hours are slowly coming to an end.

 

[The Pol]

True true, military pilots are highly uncommon out there today. If fuel prices stay in check, and this market of ours starts to rebound in 2009... there will be another hiring boom...

 

[Flyin' Lion]

Yeah, we've got several reservists that are spending more time at the squadron now... It's not as bad (it seems) in the commercial helo world, the only problem is having operators/insurance guys realize that the days of the Vietnam-era guys with a bajillion hours are slowly coming to an end.

Welcome to the obsession, there are a lot of experienced homebrewers in that area, as well as a prominent club (the name escapes me at the moment).

There seems to be some decent helo jobs up here in Richmond, check into Helo Air at RIC (not sure if they're hiring, but they do a lot of flying).

 

[jagg]

Welcome to HBT and the obsession of homebrewing, good luck with your move and thanks for your service in the military.:rockin:

 

[Homercidal]

I was reading on one of the other forums I frequent (an aviation forum) about some of the homebrews the guys were working on and it got me interested. Don't have any equipment, books, or ideas yet. My wife and I are moving from Maryland to Virginia the beginning of next year, and I told her that I was going to give it the old college boy effort when we get there. She gave me the go-ahead!! I've got The Complete Joy of Homebrewing on my Amazon wish list and I'm planning on learning as much as I can before we move. I'm even excited to find out that this is located in our future town!

I'm going to wait until I've read more before I ask if an IPA is a good first beer!

Welcome! A good question to ask is: What do I like to drink? Well, you won't know until you try some! There's many, many great beers out there, and many, many recipes you can use to make them yourself.

 

[bull8042]

Well, even if you are one of "those pilot types", you are welcome here. The Pol has been here long enough that we have almost given him some degree of normalcy! hehehe

 

[jmulligan]

Whoa, a fellow Odentonite! Sorry to hear you're leaving, but I hope your move is for the better.

Welcome to HBT! As others have suggested, the best beer to start with is one you know you'll like. Hops and Vines has a few decent brews to select from and you can do mixed 6-packs. The real goods, however, are at the liquor store at Staples Corner at the intersection of 424 and 450 in Crofton. If you like IPAs, go for it!

 

[The Pol]

I spend more time brewing and building my brewery than I ever do working... so I am basically a brewer, that flies to support his habit. That make sense? It pretty much flies itself anyhow.

I am there because they need an individual that can read and write english to sign the flight release before flight.

 

[menschmaschine]

Yup, I'm a pilot. I spent 9 years on active duty in the Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot, and now I'm in the reserves. Still haven't found a flying job on the outside...

Welcome, Leatherneck! 46's I take it. New River? I was an airframes mech. on sh!tters back in the early to mid 90s in Tustin, CA (remember that base?). Never had to fly on a phrog and I was happy not to after seeing one crack in half (at that mod joint) in Okinawa on a hard landing.

 

[KingHippo]

Welcome Brother

 

[phrogpilot73]

Whoa, a fellow Odentonite! Sorry to hear you're leaving, but I hope your move is for the better.

Welcome to HBT! As others have suggested, the best beer to start with is one you know you'll like. Hops and Vines has a few decent brews to select from and you can do mixed 6-packs. The real goods, however, are at the liquor store at Staples Corner at the intersection of 424 and 450 in Crofton. If you like IPAs, go for it!

The move is definitely for the better, my wife is Active Duty Navy and just got promoted. This will move us to a better job for her, and closer to the Reserves for me. Instead of having to drive 3 1/2 hours each time I go to my reserve squadron, it'll only be 30 minutes.

I've never been to the liquor store at Staples Corner, but H&V is where I do most shopping (Piney Orchard resident). They do have quite a few nice brews, and one of the beers I'm going to attempt to replicate (after a good IPA of course) is Leinenkugles (sp) Fireside Nut Brown. Now that's a good beer.

Welcome, Leatherneck! 46's I take it. New River? I was an airframes mech. on sh!tters back in the early to mid 90s in Tustin, CA (remember that base?). Never had to fly on a phrog and I was happy not to after seeing one crack in half (at that mod joint) in Okinawa on a hard landing.

I've never been to Tustin, although when I was a young enlisted guy ('92-'94, before I went to USNA) I went on det to El Toro twice and Tustin was still open... I moved from being an analyst in an F/A-18 squadron to being a 46 pilot in New River (how'd you guess?) Funny thing is, I feel the exact opposite when it comes to Sh!tters. HATE riding in them. I don't like their little tail wag... I'd rather have the vertical 1-per of the Phrog any day!

I've been doing a lot of reading (howtobrew.com) today, as well as checking out the site. I've got questions - but I'm waiting to see if I can find 'em before I ask!

 

[bull8042]

Don't sweat it bro, ask away. This site and the people here are great (especially me) and don't hammer to noobs too bad.
The only time you may catch a bit of crap is if you ask a question, get answers from some really knowledgeable people, then argue with their answers.

 

[jmulligan]

I've never been to the liquor store at Staples Corner, but H&V is where I do most shopping (Piney Orchard resident). They do have quite a few nice brews, and one of the beers I'm going to attempt to replicate (after a good IPA of course) is Leinenkugles (sp) Fireside Nut Brown. Now that's a good beer.

Yeah, I like H&V for convenience (I'm also a Piney Orchard resident), but you should definitely get over to the other store before you move. They carry a great variety of bombers, 750's, and six-packs. They've got Avery and Stone, Rogue, Ommegang, and a ton of others. If you're looking for a good IPA next time you're in H&V, go for the Heavy Seas Loose Cannon (Clipper City) if you haven't tried it. And if you've got time before you move, take a tour of the Clipper City brewery - just southwest of Baltimore.