Hiatus is over.

It has been way too long since I've brewed but hopefully now that I am back in Charlotte that will change. I feel like I've been living in limbo waiting to move back and finish up my Master in Accounting program at UNC. Despite having the CPA exam to worry about, I should be able to brew more often and in a much more conducive environment.

I've got two beers that I'm going to brew this week and will post pictures as soon as they're in the carboys fermenting. One is a Nut Brown Ale and the other is Pumpkin Ale that I wanted to brew last fall but (obviously) am just getting around to now. I will still be brewing these recipes on the Brewmaster's Select two-stage brewing system I got as a gift two Christmases ago now from KKW's parents. My brother has been brewing on a 1-gallon system lately so that he can experiment with different ingredients but I'm going to start saving money for an all-grain system soon as we have both wanted to venture over from using extracts to grain.

Leaving Chapel Hill and the surrounding area was hard for a number of reasons--including being further away from a hot spot of homebrewers and craft beer enthusiasts. However, Charlotte is starting to make some serious noise in the beer industry and has a number of breweries opening in the next year or two. More beer related events and festivals are popping out throughout the city and are gaining widespread support from existing craft beer enthusiasts and "new converts" if you will. It's easy to see why North Carolina is the State of Southern Beer. God Bless the Old North State.