Hello beer lovers! As the author of this site I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ivan Ignatov and I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Technology of Beer and Wine at the University of Food Technologies (UFT) in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
I felt in love with this refreshing and pleasant drink years before I actually became professionally involved in beer brewing. Years ago when I was actively involved in aviation and parachutism the hot days of flying lessons and training were always ending with a couple of beers. The beer was simply making the day spent with friends and full of positive emotions perfect. Of course, probably every one of you has your own example of how beer makes your day fulfilling. For me personally, that was the time when I got the first sparks of the desire to learn more about wine and beer.
I started my career of an engineer-technologist in 1998 when I enrolled in UFT. Over the years I spent in college, I learnt a lot about different beverages and changed my view about many of the beverages that are traditionally present in our diet. Thanks to the professors at the Department of Technology of Wine and Beer, my classmates and I had the chance to look at beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages from a very different angle – the one of the prospective professional. Over the time, we had the opportunity to solidify and put into practice our knowledge, which to one level or another helped us build self-confidence and prepare to meet the real life after graduation. The changes in the educational system at the time made us make a choice. I made mine. First, I acquired my Bachelor’s degree and then my Master’s degree. Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to do an internship in the Department of Technology of Wine and Beer. In 2003, I started working in the brewery industry and I still am.
Realizing the need of helpful and easily accessible information, I came up with the idea for a site, which could be a useful and professionally oriented source of information accessible not only to all beer lovers, but also to professionals working in the brewery industry. Of course, the building and development of the site will be a long but incessant process, and I truly hope that the time you spent on this site will help us all learn more about our favorite drink – BEER!