Hello to everyone at home and out there in Brewland. My name is Stew and I am a devotee of most things fermented . . . Cider, mead, wine, brine dill pickles, sauerkraut, brine pickled onions and of course my number one zymological product is home brewed beer.
I began brewing “all grain” 5 years ago by malting my own barley . . . I did this because I wanted to understand the entire beer making process. Plus I enjoy doing for myself and I am of a thrifty nature. Immediately after finishing that first batch of malt; I understood that I didn't want to malt grain. I couldn't control the temperature and humidity well enough to modify the barley properly.
There is such a huge glut of information on the net that I was able to determine a brewing process that suited my situation and my technique is decidedly low tech. I have built, scrounged or purchased second hand, almost all my brewing and beer equipment. I do primarily 5 gallon batches but have the capability to do 10 gallon. I use a three tier gravity system in my garage since I'm low tech and don't like lifting 100lb kegles of water. Since I don't care for bottling, my favourite beer apparatus is my 3 tap kegerator and the saddest sound in the world is the “sssssss” you hear when the keg is empty and you don't have anything ready on deck.
I'm part of a great local brewing community, the SOBs (Southern Ontario Brewers). They have become an integral part of my brewing because they are so helpful. I hope to extend that community to include the folks at BeerSmith.
All the best, Stew Wilson
I began brewing “all grain” 5 years ago by malting my own barley . . . I did this because I wanted to understand the entire beer making process. Plus I enjoy doing for myself and I am of a thrifty nature. Immediately after finishing that first batch of malt; I understood that I didn't want to malt grain. I couldn't control the temperature and humidity well enough to modify the barley properly.
There is such a huge glut of information on the net that I was able to determine a brewing process that suited my situation and my technique is decidedly low tech. I have built, scrounged or purchased second hand, almost all my brewing and beer equipment. I do primarily 5 gallon batches but have the capability to do 10 gallon. I use a three tier gravity system in my garage since I'm low tech and don't like lifting 100lb kegles of water. Since I don't care for bottling, my favourite beer apparatus is my 3 tap kegerator and the saddest sound in the world is the “sssssss” you hear when the keg is empty and you don't have anything ready on deck.
I'm part of a great local brewing community, the SOBs (Southern Ontario Brewers). They have become an integral part of my brewing because they are so helpful. I hope to extend that community to include the folks at BeerSmith.
All the best, Stew Wilson