Who is behind Beer Infinity?
My name is Phil Gowling, a Craft Beer enthusiast and Homebrewer. I am the owner of, and primary contributor to, the Beer Infinity web site though without the support and assistance of my family and closest friends this venture would not be possible.
Originally from the UK, I first started dabbling in wine making and homebrewing beer in my late teens. At the same age I also frequented Real Ale pubs in the north-east of England and always worked my way down the tap handles trying the different beers rather than sticking to the same beer for the whole evening.
In my twenties I started traveling a lot throughout Europe which introduced me to the different types of beers brewed in the various countries. During this time I also worked in The Netherlands for a period of time and regularly visited the likes of Düsseldorf and Antwerp to enjoy the delights of German and Belgian beer respectively.
In 2002 I was fortunate enough to move to The Netherlands for 7 years and further my knowledge and experience of Belgian, Dutch and German beer. Over numerous years of traveling I have visited many countries on most continents around the world always trying the different beers on offer.
In 2009 my wife and I moved to the USA which is where we now reside. Initially we discovered that the bars and restaurants only seemed to serve beers from the Macro Breweries or very hoppy craft beers that were either Pale Ales or IPA’s in style. Buying the Belgian beers, which we loved from our time in The Netherlands, was very expensive so we started exploring homebrewing and discovered that things had moved on significantly in terms of ingredients and equipment since our teenage years!
The first few batches had varying levels of success but we were hooked and quickly progressed from Extract batches, through mini-mashes, to All Grain brewing. The equipment we use to brew with also progressed from a 7 gallon pot on the stove top to a home-built 3-tier Sanke keg-based system in the garage.
One major thing homebrewing has taught us is to expand our palates and to taste other styles of beers plus explore the expansive and fast growing US Craft Beer scene. To help us with this I am a current member of the American Homebrewers Association and regularly attend the National Homebrewers Conference.
What is Beer Infinity?
After many years in the Information Technology sector and having become a bigger fan of Craft Beer plus having immersed myself into the Homebrewing hobby, the opportunity arose in early 2013 to merge all three of these areas and start-up a web site dedicated to Craft Beer and Homebrewing.
It had become apparent to me that almost all Homebrewers drink Craft Beer and that a sizeable proportion of Craft Beer enthusiasts are into, or eventually get into, Homebrewing. For these reasons I felt there was a natural synergy between these areas and that most sites tended to focus on one or the other and rarely both.
The aim of the Beer Infinity site is to become the leading online resource for News and Information about Craft Beer and Homebrewing.
Some of the articles cover the area of Craft Beer such as Beer Festivals, Brewery Tours and Brewing News whilst other articles cover the area of Homebrewing such as Processes & Techniques, Equipment & Ingredients, and our own brewing experiences (both good and bad).
Some of the articles cover both Craft Beer and Homebrewing such as our recent series on Beer Styles where we looked at the BJCP competition guidelines and examined commercial examples plus the history behind each of the styles.
These are the main sections of our site currently:
- Blog – our Beer Blog contains articles such as beer tastings, brewery tours, events, homebrewing, equipment reviews – basically anything to do with drinking Craft Beer or Homebrewing beer that we have been involved with, we will share our experiences and what we have learned.
- News – our News Section features the latest top stories from around the Craft Beer and Commercial/Homebrewing world together with any out-of-the-ordinary or controversial happenings related to Beer.
- Craft Beers – a directory of commercially produced beers providing information such as which style of beer it is, which brewery produces it, the alcohol content (ABV), when it is available (e.g. seasonal, year-round), photos of the beer and much more. Currently we have circa 10k beers from across the world in our Craft Beer directory.
- Breweries & Brewpubs – a directory of commercial breweries and brewpubs providing information such as their range of beers, where they are located, contact details, a company description, when founded, photos of their premises or operation and much more. Currently we have circa 7k breweries and brewpubs from around the globe in our Breweries & Brewpubs directory.
- Beer Styles – our Beer Styles section covering the BJCP Beer Categories and associated Styles which are used to both identify types of Craft Beers as well as reference guidelines for the Homebrewing of beers.
- Brewing Store – we have partnered with major reputable suppliers, such as Amazon.com, to bring you a range of products such as top ingredients, best selling books, and quality brewing equipment. Visit our Store to find out more.
Who does Beer Infinity appeal to?
Our target audience is Craft Beer drinkers & enthusiasts and Homebrewers of beer, much like ourselves, who currently total 4 to 5 million within the USA alone and many more millions worldwide.
If there is something you would like us to cover then please do not hesitate to get in touch and let us know. If you have something to say, or have questions, about one of our articles then please feel free to comment at the bottom of the relevant page.
We welcome any offers of contribution (e.g. articles, photos, comments), whether being technical notes on Homebrewing or comments on your favorite beers, locations or experiences whilst traveling etc. Offers are acceptable from both individuals and businesses.
How to contact us here at Beer Infinity?
You can get in touch via our Contact Us form.
We also have the following Social Media pages which you can follow, comment, re-pin etc: