Homebrewing

When I'm not spending time selling Charlotte Real Estate, I concentrate on my hobby of homebrewing(yes, I brew my own beer). I have been brewing for 12 years. What started out as a curiosity, turned into an obsession of sorts.

I made some really bad beer in the beginning, but thanks to a local homebrew supply store, Alternative Beverage(www.ebrew.com) I was able to buy prepackaged recipes in styles that I preferred. Once I became more familiar with process, I made the conversion to all grain brewing(like the big boys do) and began formulating my own recipes.

Then I joined the Carolina BrewMasters, Charlotte's homebrew club(and I am the club President for 2008). I thought I knew a lot of about beer before I joined, but I learned quickly I didn't know near what I thought! The Carolina BrewMasters belongs to another larger club with other Carolina clubs, both NC & SC. Each club holds a competition during the year. That's correct, we enter our beers for judging by certified beer judges. I have won ribbons at several of the Carolina competitions.

This past weekend, we hosted the U.S. Open competition. There were over 350 entries in 20 different categories of beer. I was fortunate to take a 1st place ribbon for my ESB(Extra Strong/Extra Special Bitter).

This morning I was on a local radio station WFAE discussing the U.S. Open, homebrewing, and craft brewing in general. It was a great experience. If you would like to listen visit www.wfae.org click on the Charlotte Talks tab at the top and look for the today's date May 12, 2008. I think you will find it interesting and informative.

Cheers!
Rick

Charlotte Oktoberfest 2008

The Carolina BrewMasters, Charlotte's non-profit homebrew club, proudly announces the 10th annual Charlotte Oktoberfest Beer Festival will be held Saturday, September 27, 2008. This year, we will be back at Memorial Stadium which offers a spectacular view of Uptown Charlotte.

More than 350 breweries will be represented locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. In 1999, Charlotte Oktoberfest was launched to help expose the Southeastern craft brewing community to a wider audience. What started out as a very small event(200 people) has grown to over 6,000 people in 2007.

Major benefactors of this event are our local charities. Last year we gave $50,000 to 3 local charities: National M.S. Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and A Child's Place. This year's charities have yet to be determined, but it is our goal to keep all money in the local community.

Please visit our website www.charlotteoktoberfest.com for additional information as well as volunteer opportunities. Tickets are not yet on sale, however, all sales will be processed online. Be sure to get your tickets early as it will sell out once again.

My first Blog

Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at blogging. I hope this will be a fun and rewarding experience for all who read and reply.

I am a REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. The Charlotte market has been an awesome market for residential real estate for many years. We have nearly 75,000 people who move to the Charlotte area every year.

Many things attact newcomers to Charlotte. We get to experience ALL 4 seasons each year, we are 2 hours from the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains, we are 3-1/2 hours from the coast(including Wilmington, NC, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston, SC). We have the Carolina Panthers(NFL football), the Charlotte Bobcats(NBA basketball), the Charlotte Knights(AAA minor league baseball), the Charlotte Checkers(minor leauge hockey), the Wachovia Championship(a major stop on the PGA tour), and NASCAR(3 races each year--All Star Race, Coca-Cola 600, and the Fall race). Not to mention the plethora of cultural events and opportunities that abound.

I also brew my own beer. I will attempt through this blog to keep you up-to-date on my activities both in Real Estate and homebrewing and everything that relates to both.

Sit back and enjoy!