In this blog series, we'll be interviewing some of the brewers from our homebrew club to give you an idea of what got them into brewing, what they're currently experimenting with and to hopefully inspire others to take the leap into brewing their own beer at home. The tenth blog in the series features Will.
How did you get into homebrewing?
I got given a Brooklyn Brew Shop kit for my birthday a few years ago and I was hooked straight away.
Current Set up:
I brew in the kitchen at home on a pretty simple set up - just BIAB on the hob in a big pot with a sieve to sparge. I usually do 10L batches and ferment in a bucket or demijohn.
Best piece of homebrewing equipment you own:
Getting a 10L glass demijohn was a great addition to my kit compared to just fermenting in plastic - I use it for my mixed fermentation beers so I brew and then leave it to do its thing for 6 months or so before bottling.
Dream setup:
Honestly not that much different, I like the DIY-ness of it all. If anything it would be nice to have temperature control but I don’t have space for an extra fridge at the moment.
What's your 'go to' style?:
Hard to say as I tend to mix it up quite a bit and don’t usually repeat recipes very often. That being said I love a red IPA and there’s a red IPA recipe I’ve made about 6 or 7 times now so I’ll go with that.
How did the pandemic affect/change your brewing?
It was during the pandemic that I started off making mixed ferm beers, which is like a whole other world of brewing in itself. I’d always held off doing mixed ferm beers as I thought it’d be super difficult but actually the yeast and bugs take care of it all for you!
Which beer that you brewed are you most proud of?
Mike and I have been making beers together for over 3 years now and our collab beers are always my favourites - not just for the beers themselves but the brew days are great too. Out of the beers Mike and I have brewed I would say our raspberry lambic, or a beer that we intended to be an imperial stout but ended up being a dark mixed ferm beer aged on oak with cherry and vanilla.
What brews have you got planned in the next few months:
I don’t tend to plan too far ahead, usually I check what grain I have in the cupboard, buy some yeast and cobble something together. But I will be making a saison with Adrian in a few weeks in time for summer.
Competitions entered/ placings:
I’ve never entered a competition - I don’t think I’d be very good at sticking to the categories. Plus as long as I like it then I’m happy!
Favourite beer of all time:
This is way too hard so I’m gonna go with a cop-out answer and say literally anything from Kernel.
What breweries do you feel have pushed the envelope?
Again, so many answers, so I’m just gonna go with one that comes to mind recently, which is Pastore - everything I’ve had of theirs has been unbelievable.
What piece of advice would you give someone interested in starting homebrewing:
Just go for it - throw yourself in and make the wackiest stuff possible. And take a lot of notes!
Best thing about homebrewing:
The people! I’ve made a bunch of friends through brewing, and what’s the point of making beer if you don’t have anyone to share them with?
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waterintobeer homebrew club takes place on the first Sunday of the month, from 2pm onwards.