Happy to join the forum and see what other brewers in NB are up to. Could you make my username as adebertin ?
I'm from St. Stephen originally and moved back to St. Andrews for work. I started homebrewing last year in Guelph as there was a good brew shop in the city to buy supplies and equipment.
My setup is really cheap but it makes good beer.
I just started crushing my own grain and noticed a 5 to 10% increase in efficiency. I create 5 gallons of beer using BIAB all-grain batches in a 7 gallon kettle. I use a 1800 watt induction cooktop ($150) to heat up the kettle for mashing and boiling. It's a little slow to heat, (maybe 30 minutes to get to a boil) but faster and more even heat then a stovetop surface. Plus I can brew outside easily with an extension cord. It also allows me to keep the mash at proper temperatures as you can dial the wattage of kettle directly.
I then let the beer cool in a sealed plastic bucket overnight, I then transfer the beer into a glass carboy to get rid of the trub and ferment for ~2 weeks. I transfer to secondary as I fine it helps with clarity and then bottle into swing top bottles.
Preferred styles are German or Belgian in origin with the occasional IPA, bitter or stout. Latest brews that are bubbling are my take on Maibock, Vienna and Munich Dunkel lagers.
Cheers.