So it begins!

Welcome to Thornback Brewery, a digital representation of one chick's homebrewing adventures, deeds and mistakes for your amusement and education!

As this is the first post, I'm going to answer the basic questions. Dont worry, the booze will come.

1. So who the hell are you anyway?
The name's Liv, not Liz, Eliza, or Loaf as most people I get introduced to seem to think. I'm a 20-something college student at Ringling College of Art and Design. I dig mythical beasts, wildlife, outdoorsy hiking and bird watching kinda things, art, good books and videogames.

2. Why Homebrewing?
Why not?! In all seriousness, I think the desire to make booze-a-hol started young with me. I was an avid fan of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques and I always found myself fascinated by the hedgehog brewmaster Ambrose Spike. Jacques has this amazing talent for describing food, and even a decade or more after reading his books I still fondly remember some of the scenes he crafted with loving care.

3. Why Blog about it?
I have Celiac's Disease, which means I cannot have gluten or wheat unless I want to have a big huge allergic reation that can last days or sometimes weeks. Most people I run into these days dont seem to quite realize the extent of what those two ingrediants are in, so here's an incomplete list http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html . Much of homebrewing is reported on by folks that really dig beer. I cant blame 'em! I've never been able to drink it though, and I know other Celiacs are in the same spot, so, every recipie I go over is gluten and wheat free.

4. Oh ok I guess that makes sense. So what's your homebrewing background, you're not gonna make us go blind with your prison hooch are you?
Actually it's a common misnomer that home-made alchohol will make you go blind. Methanol ("Wood Alcohol", responsible for alcohol blindness) is present in all things alcoholic, including that 6-pack you bought from the store, in very small amounts. It only becomes dangerous when it's concentrated, such as through distilation which is illegal in the US. So bottoms up!...unless you're drinking some moonshine someone made in an old carborater.

I've been brewing since I turned 21, actually a little beforehand as I wanted to have my own homeade wine be ready on my 21st. I've had my share or mistakes and successes, I feel overall I've been lucky though as most of my brews have turned out great :)

5. Huh...well how do you do it? What makes ______________ work?
We'll get to that! If at any point you have a question, just ask! I'll either answer it on the spot, point you to someplace more knowledgable, or write a blog up about it if it is worthy!

6. Last one. Why "Thornback" breweries?
Well, in addittion to being a brewer I am an illustrator, and I specialize in fantasy/sci-fi illustration..especially something I call 'exobiology', which is a word I made up that simply means the study of alien creatures, or creatures that dont exist. It's different from making up stuff like Puff The Magic Dragon (with it's huge body and tiny wings and fiery breath that we suspend doubt for on the grounds that 'it's magical') because in order to pass my test everything has to be scientifically plausible based on evidence from the natural world we know. It just makes for a better creature in my book. Anyway, Thornbacks are a species of big wingless dragons I thought up at one point that have a lot of my favorite characteristics in charismatic megafauna. They've become something of a mascot or a personal symbol for me. My parents have a buisness my mother created when I was young called Dragon Wings ( www.dragonwings.net ), and so it's also kind of continueing the family naming convention :)



Happy brewing everyone! More soon!