new brewer living in South Korea

[Wes]

Hey everybody!

My name is Wes. I'm an American expatriot (originally from Indianapolis, Indiana) living in Seoul, South Korea. I just got into homebrewing a few weeks ago, and just cracked open my first beer last night (An IPA made from a Morgan's kit & some DME) Not too shabby! I'm pretty pleased with my first effort :cross:

I turned to homebrewing because of the low quality of domestic Korean beer available here (everything is a clone of Budweiser here, maybe a little lighter) and because my brother was a brewer for quite awhile. The homebrew market here in Korea has only been open for about three years (as I have been told) so there is a serious lack of equipment/ingredients/etc. For example, there is ONE supplier of malted grains that I have found so far in the country. And all the suppliers seem to run out of stuff pretty quickly. (i.e. right now all suppliers are sold out of glass carboys, and only one has any DME in stock...)

Sadly, I might be stuck brewing with whatever ingredients I can get my hands on for awhile...

But anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and say that I'm glad I've found such a great community of homebrewers! I hope all is well with everyone.
Peace,
Wes

p.s. I really like this guy ----> :fro:

 

[wild]

Welcome aboard Wes and congratulations on your first brew. I've heard that ingredients are scarce there in Korea. Good luck on your future brews.

Wild

 

[Truble]

Hey everybody!

...everything is a clone of Budweiser here, maybe a little lighter...

Is that possible?

Welcome aboard the board! Sounds like you might need to investigate malting your own grain! I feel very fortunate to have a number of HBS stores around me, so I can only empathize, but kudos for taking on the challenge!

There is no beer better than the beer you made...

 

[Commander Quan]

I Wes. Welcome. I understand the korean beer situation I was in S Korea for 2 weeks, a year ago. Deffenetly drank alot of OB and Hite while I was there.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I was in Seoul last year also...for 2 weeks, but I spent the weekends in Seoul...I still have a bottle Hite and Soju in my fridge...

Welcome!

 

[Wes]

Yea, ingredients are pretty scarce here. There are only about five homebrew suppliers, all Internet-based, and they sell only the most basic stuff. Like I said, only one of them actually sells malted grains, the others only deal in malt extracts (mostly LME kits...I can get Morgan's, Cooper's, and Munson's, though a few deal in light DME)

BTW, Truble mentioned malting my own barley....how might I go about doing that? (there's probably a better thread to pursue this question, I'll check around) Barley is something they have here in Korea...Bori Cha is a traditional Korean tea made of roasted barley, I've got a bag of it in my cabinet. I'll check into that too.

As for all Korean beer being like light versions of Budweiser, perhaps I was exaggerating a bit, but really not by much. Really In fact, I bought a can of Budweiser last week to compare, and I couldn't tell much of a difference...Anyone who has had Hite, OB, or Cass (the big three of Korean beer) knows what I'm talking about. I'm glad I've got about 4 1/2 gallons of homebrewed IPA to hold me over until I can get more ingredients to brew! (a lot of suppliers are sold out of the stuff I need right now, and are expecting shipments in around October 3rd)

Anyway, thanks for the messages of support! If anyone is going to be in Seoul, let me know, and I'll treat you to some homebrew (assuming I have any on hand, 4 1/2 gallons is going to go quickly

 

[Dude]

Yea, ingredients are pretty scarce here. There are only about five homebrew suppliers, all Internet-based, and they sell only the most basic stuff. Like I said, only one of them actually sells malted grains, the others only deal in malt extracts (mostly LME kits...I can get Morgan's, Cooper's, and Munson's, though a few deal in light DME)

BTW, Truble mentioned malting my own barley....how might I go about doing that? (there's probably a better thread to pursue this question, I'll check around) Barley is something they have here in Korea...Bori Cha is a traditional Korean tea made of roasted barley, I've got a bag of it in my cabinet. I'll check into that too.

As for all Korean beer being like light versions of Budweiser, perhaps I was exaggerating a bit, but really not by much. Really In fact, I bought a can of Budweiser last week to compare, and I couldn't tell much of a difference...Anyone who has had Hite, OB, or Cass (the big three of Korean beer) knows what I'm talking about. I'm glad I've got about 4 1/2 gallons of homebrewed IPA to hold me over until I can get more ingredients to brew! (a lot of suppliers are sold out of the stuff I need right now, and are expecting shipments in around October 3rd)

Anyway, thanks for the messages of support! If anyone is going to be in Seoul, let me know, and I'll treat you to some homebrew (assuming I have any on hand, 4 1/2 gallons is going to go quickly

It has to be malted barley--so that stuff for the tea prolly isn't the right stuff.

I have spent 2 years of my life in S. Korea....drank plenty of Hite, Cass, and OB. Yuck. You've got the right idea by brewing your own.