New 'BrewingEquipment' YahooGroup

[billvelek]

I'm a craftbrewer currently in the 'planning and design' stage for a HERMS brewery. I'm a member of many different brewing groups and forums, lurking on most of them due to a lack of time to participate everywhere. I've been doing a lot of web research, and the thought occurred to me that it would be great if there was a forum dedicated strictly to brewing "equipment". I couldn't find one, so I formed one on YahooGroups called ... what else? ... "BrewingEquipment"!

I know that most people don't have the time to actively participate in more groups than they already belong to, but I would encourage everyone to join this group if only for some occasional participation when they might have equipment issues to discuss. I don't expect the volume of mail to be substantial because this group has such a narrow focus, and I will be moderating it to ensure that there is no spam, off-topic posts, or inappropriate newbie questions that will be already answered in the FAQ page; however, if it becomes burdensome, any member can easily change their option to NOT receive messages or digest, and opt only to visit the site when they wish. Eventually, we should build up a good archive of info specific to equipment, and benefit all brewers.

Of course right now there isn't much there, so please be patient. I've posted a few photos myself, more or less to test it out, and as I write this there are only 37 members, but I've just started inviting people, and with a little time I think it will develope well.

If you have some photographs or a webpage pertaining to brewing equipment, please post them when you have a chance. If you are a supplier of "equipment", please feel free to add a link to the appropriate LINKS page on our group.

The address for anyone interested in joining is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BrewingEquipment

Thank you.

Bill Velek

[codewritinfool]

I've been doing a lot of web research, and the thought occurred to me that it would be great if there was a forum dedicated strictly to brewing "equipment". I couldn't find one, so I formed one on YahooGroups called ... what else? ... "BrewingEquipment"!
...
Bill Velek

Hi Bill,
How ironic that you posted this under the "Brewing Equipment" forum - dedicated strictly to brewing equipment.

code

[billvelek]

Perhaps that was a poor choice of words. Maybe I should have said "maillist" or a forum which does not have a multitude of other beer forums, etc. Not to take anything away from this board or any others, but let me explain my reasoning. At one time I was looking for information about steaming equipment, i.e., to use steam for heating the mash and then boiling the wort. I visited perhaps 30 different forums; if you think that is an exaggeration, I have my 'HOME' tabs feature on my Netscape Browser set to bring up 30 different brewing forums at once. Needless to say, having to navigate and search each one is tedious, to say the least, and when contradictory info is found on one forum versus another, that compounds the problem because there is no easy way to get a debate/discussion going between them, and I've found myself acting as a messenger boy, saying: "Well, over in this forum they are saying this ...". Since all my group is going to be about is equipment, and will be moderated to boot, it just seemed like a good idea to me. As for why it was posted under "equipment" here, well, that's because I figured the people who visit here are interested in equipment. Anyway, there have been 137 people join our group in less than 24 hours, with many of them applauding the idea. And since our is just on equipment, I don't expect any of my members to abandon the other forums they belong to, because they'll still want to discuss all of the other brewing issues there.

Cheers.

Bill Velek
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BrewingEquipment