Beewrangler63
Active Member
Hello from smack dab in the middle of the Mitten. Upon retirement 3 years ago, I decided I needed another hobby besides ham radio and beekeeping, so I started to pursue making my own beer, since I wasn't a big fan of most of the commercial offerings out there. I would brew a batch ( usually a kit, and about every 3 months) toss it in the basement, and hope for the best in the time frame specified by the instruction sheet.
It wasn't until last fall that I decided I was going to finally brew on a regular basis and brew beers that I was happy with. I was amazed at the wealth of information that was out there on youtube, podcasts, these forums and a few books that I bought. I am fortunate that I have 2 LHBSs within 45 minutes of me. They have been very helpful, their prices reasonable, and they both offer and honor an AHA member discount, so I try to split my business between the two.
I currently brew using the BIAB method, as I usually brew in 1-3 gallon batches until I find something that suits me and I then will scale it up to 5 gallons. ( I also find it less painful dumping a gallon down the crapper as opposed to 5 or 10 when things go south. And a few times, I'd swear that some of those concoctions seemed to be crawling back out of said crapper
)
One of the aspects of brewing your own, that I truly enjoy is, you OWN what you make. You can ask for opinions on recipes or malt percentages, but ultimately it comes down to what you like and what works for you. I have always tried to learn something new everyday, and I am enjoying what I have been learning so far and look forward to all the things yet to learn.
And if you're a fellow ham radio operator, hopefully I'll see you further down the log, or on the waterfall Bill WN8QGV
It wasn't until last fall that I decided I was going to finally brew on a regular basis and brew beers that I was happy with. I was amazed at the wealth of information that was out there on youtube, podcasts, these forums and a few books that I bought. I am fortunate that I have 2 LHBSs within 45 minutes of me. They have been very helpful, their prices reasonable, and they both offer and honor an AHA member discount, so I try to split my business between the two.
I currently brew using the BIAB method, as I usually brew in 1-3 gallon batches until I find something that suits me and I then will scale it up to 5 gallons. ( I also find it less painful dumping a gallon down the crapper as opposed to 5 or 10 when things go south. And a few times, I'd swear that some of those concoctions seemed to be crawling back out of said crapper
)One of the aspects of brewing your own, that I truly enjoy is, you OWN what you make. You can ask for opinions on recipes or malt percentages, but ultimately it comes down to what you like and what works for you. I have always tried to learn something new everyday, and I am enjoying what I have been learning so far and look forward to all the things yet to learn.
And if you're a fellow ham radio operator, hopefully I'll see you further down the log, or on the waterfall Bill WN8QGV
