Featured Homebrewer - Brian Richards

April 7, 2008

Name: Brian Richards
Location: Marquette, MI right next to Lake Superior.
Brewing Blog: http://homebrewingadventures.blogspot.com

How long have you been brewing: I have been brewing for about 6-7 years now.

Why did you start brewing: I got into brewing because I had got into drinking beers like Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale and also discovered the amazing world of Belgian beer when I popped open a bottle of Piraat. My world had been forever changed. I had to know how to make beer like this because at the time i was a broke college student who could barely keep up with my bills. I knew if I wanted to be able to drink beer like this I had to learn how to make it on my own. Unfortunately you don’t just decide to start brewing and make beers of that caliber. Six years later–I like to think I’m getting close.

Style of brewing: I have been brewing All-Grain now for a few years and I have been really happy with my beers…aside from my first attempt. I thought I knew what I was doing. I doughed in with cold water and thought I was supposed to bring my mash up to temp on my stove-top. I ended up scorching my mash and had big black chunks of burned grain the size of oatmeal cookies floating around in my mash. I tried to mask the burned flavor in my beer by adding American oak chips. I still pop one of these beers open from time to time to get a good laugh.

Favorite batch: I don’t know if I have a favorite batch that I have ever brewed but I definitely have a favorite style that I have had a lot of luck with. I have done 3 versions of a Belgian Golden Strong Ale now and all three have turned out great. I plan on doing another one very soon. I have also been brewing a lot of sour beer lately. I have 3 different Flanders Reds going along with a Berliner Weiss and an all Brettanomyces beer going on right now in my kitchen.

Bottle or Keg: One issue that I run into when it comes to serving my beer is I LOVE Belgian beer and I hate washing bottles. I really feel that I need to bottle my Belgian-Style homebrews rather than keg them up. I think a lot of the character comes from the bottle conditioning process. They really need time to develop and I know that if I kegged these up they would be gone way before they really came into their own. Also I don’t plan an running anything with bugs at work through my kegerator. I use that for other brews. I just actually broke it in with a keg of Foreign Extra Stout.

Suggestions to others considering brewing: For anyone looking to get into brewing, the main thing is to have fun with it. A lot of people stress themselves out worrying about every little thing that it makes it into work and not a hobby. Read some books, get involved in some online forums. There are endless resources on the web and these people that are out there offering their information are people who love to talk beer and they want you to brew good beer too. Also I spank my brew kettle, that helps me make good beer. You have to let your beer know who’s boss.

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