I travel on business and several guys were talking about brewing. I figured if they could doit it could not be that hard. So a couple years ago I bought one of the one gallon kits and then started collecting stuff. I also do not fit the typical perception of the brewer being that I am female and much older. But I was considered the cool mom when my daughter went back to college after a winter break with some homebrew. My husband does not brew, but when my daughter is home, we experiment. Otherwise I brew the 2-3 gallon size because of the weight. I am now up to my 39th batch of beverages- beers, meads and braggarts. There is a woman's club but with the travel schedule I have not attended a gathering.