From Hanoi to Hamburg

[YourShoutMate]

Greets to one and all.

I'm from Australia, and I founded Hanoi Handcrafted - Brewers Guild in Hanoi, Vietnam. We did a few things and I've now moved to Hamburg, Germany where I'm looking to do something similar, that is foster an interest in Hobby Brewing.

I have met with a few people, observed an afternoon of extract brewing and tracked down some resources which I now share via a facebook page called HobbyBrauHamburg. If you'd like to check it out, feel free to do so and Like.

What I hope to get out of this site is some tried and tested information, fellowship, and occasional referral to our fledgling Hobby Brewers group in Hamburg. What I intend to give in return is to share my insights as I learn more about brewing.

Here's one that a friend of mine, PeterExtra discovered during brewday:

When you are whirlpooling your hot wort, turn the burner on for a short time - take care not to cause a boilover. The heating seems to cause the boiling wort to raise up the whirlpool and spin the whirlpool faster. Remove your paddle and switch off the burner and let settle. The mothercake then seems to settle into a more compacted and stable form.

regards,

TT
yourshoutmate.blogspot.com
facebook.com/HobbyBrauHamburg/

 

[Pappers_]

Welcome, Mate. I would expect that there was a very small brewing community in Vietnam and a large, vibrant one in Germany.

 

[YourShoutMate]

Thanks for the welcome note Pappers. Much appreciated.

In Hamburg I've found a vibrant community of new brewers and some with divers experience and skills. Our group, "HobbyBrau Hamburg" now has over twenty members and at least half are actively brewing beer. the majority of our members are Extract brewing due to constraints on ingredients, storage and homespace, but we do have some all grainers and one member who's a very busy travelling Master Brewer, Beer Sommelier, and BJCP judge: eager to get his own craft brewery on the go.

On the craft brewing scene, there's been one Craft Brew Day held in Hamburg and another to be held in region at the end of March. There are a number of micro/craft breweries trying to build up public awareness of the craft beer scene. Th leader at this stage appears to be Ratsherrn Brauerei: an old name bought out by some corp, which is rebuilding, restarting, rebranding and repositioning itself as a craft brewery.

We also have access to an excellent supplier of imported beers of all sorts and a bar that specializes in Village Beers (I forget the region proper, but its the most densely breweried area of Germany, apparently) so, we have access to quite a diverse range of beer and styles with a growing Craft Brewery scene as well. Hopefully our fledgling group can become part of it and help raise awareness of the noble and ancient hobby and housecraft of home brewing. :-D