I keep an active blog at http://davidgodden.com where I try to figure out exactly what it is "About Me" that is important. If you want a laugh check it out. Other than that I am not so very different than most of the other Baby Boomers out there.
Born in Iowa but moved to New York City when just and infant (my parents were nuts), I did not have a chance to enjoy the City before I was whisked off to Del Mar where I went through Elementary School to College. Surfed every day growing up. What a shame I moved to Los Angeles after college. Spent 30 years in the "Valley" before moving up Pasadena way.
I am married to a wonderful Chinese woman and travel with her through Asia every year.
Just joined the Maltose Falcon brew club recently. Yippee.
When not brewing or thinking about brewing there are other things to occupy my efforts. I ride my bicycle with a couple of different groups and of course there is always work. I have a clinical position at the LAC+USC hospital in a team anesthesia practice and I am very active as a faculty member in the Keck school of medicine.
I enjoy both high hopped as well as malty brews. Both IPA's and Stouts come to mind although the stouts are the heavy type Export or Imperial that I enjoy the most. The only "beer" I can not stomach are the thin pee water that comes out of big breweries.
I come to brewing through many years of taste testing the worlds best ales and lagers. After finishing a Strong Arrogant Bastard Ale a couple of years ago my good friend Wolfie (a Mead maker) says to me, "DG, I bet you could make this!" I looked at her a little slant eyed pondering the thought and decided I was up for the challenge. At the time I did not know what I was getting into or setting myself up for. That, they say, is the rest of the story.
No, I have never brewed as Arrogant an Ale as the Bastard but its a goal. I do brew one righteous Russian Imperial Stout from time to time though.
My personal philosophy of brewing is still maturing but I rarely brew except with all grain. I believe in wort recirculation and am developing a RIMS system to use at home. If 5 gallons is good 10 gallons is better. The ten gallon batch gives me a chance to play with different yeast pitching rates or different strains of yeast. Its amazing what changing the yeast will do. I am on the journey and look to those long in the craft for advice and guidance.
A brewing goal of mine is to lager and make the Bock style. I am working on getting a lager setup going for this.
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Recently I was able to pick up a temperature controlled Conical Fermentor. Now the lagers are on the docket. The Dortmunder Export has been fermenting for 4 weeks now at 50 degrees. The plan is to keg it next week. I call that SWEET!