Interview with a Homebrewer – Brew Builder
Once again we are starting up with our interviews of the worlds homebrewers. Our latest hails from the UK and as strange as it seems homebrew’s to save money (or at least keep more of his own). After quickly dusting off the Comfy Computer Chair of Fame, allow us to introduce to you homebrewer, Mr. Ady Goodrich
Name: – Ady Goodrich
Day Job: – Architectural Project Technologist
When did you start homebrewing?
Started kits in 2011, but graduated to all grain in August 2012.
What got you into homebrewing? A person? An unfulfilled interest? Sheer boredom?
I liked drinking most ales in the pub, but started drinking more at home when babysitting sleeping newly arrived kids. Shop bought quality beer was expensive and people kept on coming round to visit and clearing me out, so a home brewing obsession began. I started with kits but they never really hit the spot, or felt like I was drinking beer as good as the pub. My brother in law introduced me to beer produced from raw ingredients in a Braumeister, and since tasting that I had to go all grain.
Do you belong to a homebrew club? What is it?
I’m not a member of a club yet, but regularly swap home brewed beer with people nearby and on Twitter. I’m hoping with the opening of a Brewdog pub in town, a local home-brew club will follow very soon.
Where do you brew? Inside/outside?
I brew in the garage at the bottom of the garden, the only safe option away from my wife who hates the smell of hops!
Where do you ferment? Have you had to do anything creative to facilitate this?
I have a modified brew fridge, with STC-1000 controller running the fridge to cool and a heating tube to warm. This will only hold 5 gallon/ 23L fermentation buckets though. For larger batches I have 2 conical 120L plastic FVs. At the moment I’m brewing with the seasons fro big batches, but have obtained a Maxi 310 Cooler from eBay which will be running a stainless steel immersion coil in the FV for crash cooling, then another heating tube, probably run off STC-1000 again, work in progress on this set up though.
Do you have a pet name for your homebrewing enterprise? If so, can you give us a little background?
At the moment it’s called Sweet Leaf Brewery, reference to Black Sabbath, but the strong funky US hops I like to use, NOT the sweet leaves Ozzy was referring to in the original.
How large are your batches?
Experimental batches on old kit are 23L/ 5 Gallon, new kit can boil 90L, then extended with liquouring back if required. I most commonly brew 40-50L so I can keg half then bottle half for swapping or storage.
What kind of equipment do you have?
First equipment was a 40L tea urn used in a BIAB style, but recently picked up a Elite Stainless Fabrications 100L Micro brewery second hand locally.
Are you fine with that or do you expect to upgrade to bigger and better?
I think 40L is probably my favourite amount to brew. I like having a few different beers available to drink rather than just a big batch of the same one.
What are your favorite styles to brew?
My comfort zone is IPA and hoppy pales. My best beer recently has been a 4.2% hoppy session pale brewed for a 4th July party with Amarillo, Centennial and Citra. I have an 9% Imperial Orange BIPA about to be dry hopped with Amarillo that I have high hopes for too.
How many batches have you made this year?
I’ve made 6 or 7 beers so far this year.
Give us some examples and the names you picked out for them if you gave them a name.
I’m really slack at picking names. They always get called BIPA No.3 or Hoppy APA 2 or something unimaginative. I need to work on that.
Any bad batches? Were you smited by the homebrewing gods?
2 bad batches, one down to a dirty plate chiller when I bought the new kit, whole 40L infected drain pour. The other was a chocolate chipotle stout that was way too hot to drink, and only got worse after a year. That got tipped down the drain too.
Brewing plans for the future?
I want to get round to experimenting with sours, more saisons, wheat beers, split batches with fruit and different yeasts added.
Plans on entering any competitions this year?
No plans. Although I go on Twitter and forums I always seem to hear about competitions about 2 days before the closing date.
Any awards from past competitions (Just a sampling)?
No
Any advice you’d like to give other homebrewers?
Keep it simple, don’t overcomplicate stuff and get too hung up on efficiencies, have fun!
If you could sit down with 1 person (living or dead) and ask them questions. What brew would you offer them and what would be the first questions you would ask?
Tough one, don’t really have heros. Meeting up with like minded home brewers off twitter for a beer swap and drink would probably me more my thing.
If you were omnipotent, what would you do to right the beer universe?
Make all the hops I like to use grow wild in abundance near my house… and only I knew where they grew obviously!
Any closing thoughts?
Remember it’s just a fun hobby and don’t take it too seriously!
*** Personal ***
Favorite domestic beer?
Magic Rock Cannonball IPA, or any of the special Unhuman Cannonballs. Beavertown 8 Ball too
Favorite imported beer?
No particular favourite, far too many, but lots of great Belgian Lambics and Gueuzes out there, and anything US and hoppy.
Favorite beer and food pairing?
Home made curry and a hoppy IPA, or a dry fruity Saison (thanks to @ThaBearded1 for suggesting this combo just in case he reads this ;-))
Married? Children?
Married, 2 kids. You can’t have kids and not drink beer, it’s impossible!
In the kitchen I make a mean… (beer related).
Chicken Jalfrezi or Lamb Rogan Josh, washed down the the afore mentioned IPA or Saison.
