John Blichmann joins me this week to discuss simplified brewing and how to combat the decline in homebrewing.
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Topics in This Week’s Episode (56:09)
- This week I welcome John Blichmann. John is founder and retired President of Blichmann Engineering, a provider of premium home and professional brewing equipment. John has helped hundreds of brewers start Craft breweries.
- John and I discuss his retirement from Bilchmann Engineering and its transition to a new owner.
- John starts with some of the changes we’re seeing both in homebrewing and the Craft beer markets.
- We talk about the recent signs of increased interest in homebrewing and some of the factors driving it including cost, knowledge and availability of ingredients.
- We talk about a “Back to Basics” approach to home brewing including the use of simplified equipment and processes.
- John explains how equipment has changed, but also how brewers are moving to smaller and simpler methods including all-in-one, extract and stovetop batches.
- We discuss economics and how it can actually be cheaper to brew beer than buy it now.
- Time pressure has driven many brewers to simplify and John provides a few time saving tips.
- We discuss styles, and how the IPA craze may be waning and we are seeing a return to brewing many traditional English and European styles.
- John provides a few tips for simplified fermentation and packaging.
- We discuss how homebrewing is evolving to meet people’s busy lifestyles rather than emulating complex professional systems.
- We talk about how we are entering a different era in homebrewing, and how in many ways it is the golden era of brewing in terms of equipment, ingredients and knowledge.
- John gives his closing thoughts.
Sponsors
- Thank you to our sponsor Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine for sponsoring this episode. I encourage you to subscribe to their great magazine!
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