Mac951
Active Member
Hello All,
My name is Mac (as if you couldn't figure that out). I hail from Albuquerque, NM where the brewing bug hit me last spring when I decided I was paying way too much for the masses of commercial beer I and my work group were consuming.
By day I am a process engineer, which makes brewing a direct continuation of that mentality. My enjoyment comes from being the customer, director, engineer, manager, operator, and marketing/sales guy all at once.
I have brewed using Extracts and adjuncts for a year, with two partial mashes,
one was a Pumkin Porter and another a strong black ale (Robust barleywine porter thing).
I have now begun the transition to all-grain brewing (igloo cooler) and have one all-grain brown ale batch bottled now. In the mean time I'm also running a pale ale extract experiment where I make the same beer and try 10 different hops to the same IBU calculation to showcase some hop styles to myself, friends and family.
My biggest break throughs in the past year have been:
1: Don't ferment next to dryer
2: Pitch more yeast
3: Remove chlorine from water (campden or charcol worked for me)
4: More Fermenters = More beer
5: Turn OFF the HVAC system before brewing (had some really good lambics)
My two biggest impact equipment purchases have been:
Wort Chiller (immersion)
Son of Fermentation chamber build.
My future plans:
Keezer this way I can also have somewhere to lager beer
Burner and out-door brewing (I've gotten too big for kitchen)
My best beer from last season:
Scottish Ale (tried for 80/-)
My personal favorite
Strong Black made with whatever I had and the kitchen sink. 11.3%ABV can't be too bad right?
My name is Mac (as if you couldn't figure that out). I hail from Albuquerque, NM where the brewing bug hit me last spring when I decided I was paying way too much for the masses of commercial beer I and my work group were consuming.
By day I am a process engineer, which makes brewing a direct continuation of that mentality. My enjoyment comes from being the customer, director, engineer, manager, operator, and marketing/sales guy all at once.
I have brewed using Extracts and adjuncts for a year, with two partial mashes,
one was a Pumkin Porter and another a strong black ale (Robust barleywine porter thing).
I have now begun the transition to all-grain brewing (igloo cooler) and have one all-grain brown ale batch bottled now. In the mean time I'm also running a pale ale extract experiment where I make the same beer and try 10 different hops to the same IBU calculation to showcase some hop styles to myself, friends and family.
My biggest break throughs in the past year have been:
1: Don't ferment next to dryer
2: Pitch more yeast
3: Remove chlorine from water (campden or charcol worked for me)
4: More Fermenters = More beer
5: Turn OFF the HVAC system before brewing (had some really good lambics)
My two biggest impact equipment purchases have been:
Wort Chiller (immersion)
Son of Fermentation chamber build.
My future plans:
Keezer this way I can also have somewhere to lager beer
Burner and out-door brewing (I've gotten too big for kitchen)
My best beer from last season:
Scottish Ale (tried for 80/-)
My personal favorite
Strong Black made with whatever I had and the kitchen sink. 11.3%ABV can't be too bad right?
