Interview with a Homebrewer – Teague Hollow
Now preparing to face the grueling homebrew interview. A newcomer to homebrewing, but someone already looking forward to more equipment and more fun. @TeagueHollow to the Twitterverse and Adam to his friends, he sits in the comfy computer chair of fame to tell us about himself. Let’s make him welcome.
Name: Adam Warnke
Day Job: I work at Mobis in Montgomery, AL. We produce parts for Hyundai and Kia.
When did you start homebrewing?
I started homebrewing about 4 months ago.
What got you into homebrewing? A person? An unfulfilled interest? Sheer boredom?
A love for craft beer got me into it. All throughout college I drank your standard college beers like bud light and miller lite. Not until my last year in college did I taste my first craft beer and I’ve been hooked ever since. So really a love for craft got me into homebrewing.
Do you belong to a homebrew club? What is it?
Well not technically. I have inquired about the Montgomery homebrew club but every time they meet, I already have plans.
Where do you brew? Inside/outside?
I brew outside in my back yard. I tried to brew inside my first time and the weight of water in the brew pot almost broke the eye of my oven.
Where do you ferment? Have you had to do anything creative to facilitate this?
I have my own beer closet in my house that I have all my equipment. After I pitch my yeast, I put the carboy in that closet.
Do you have a pet name for your homebrewing enterprise? If so, can you give us a little background?
I actually don’t have a pet name. I am trying to grow into a microbrewery here in Montgomery so I guess you could call it Teague Hollow which will be the name of the brewery.
How large are your batches?
I have been doing your standard 5 gallon batches.
What kind of equipment do you have?
I have a 6 gallon brew pot with the burner stand and propane hook up. I have a 5 gallon glass carboy, a plastic bottling bucket, and a plastic fermentation bucket. I also have all of the standard equipment that comes with that to clean and test your beer like hydrometers and carboy cleaning brushes.
Are you fine with that or do you expect to upgrade to bigger and better?
I like my current set up but I think I am going to upgrade to a kegging system soon which will cut down on time spent bottling as well as make it easier to transport to tailgates during football season.
What are your favorite styles to brew?
I like IPA’s and Hefeweissen beers
All grain/Extract or both?
I brew extract beers right now.
How many batches have you made this year?
I have made 4 so far this year with many more in the works.
Give us some examples and the names you picked out for them if you gave them a name.
No names just yet..
Any bad batches? Were you smited by the homebrewing gods?
I had one really bad batch. I tried to brew a 2 gallon brown ale and after preparing the wort, I forgot to add more water to make up for the evaporation I had lost. So needless to say after fermentation, I had a beer that tasted like pure alcohol.
Brewing plans for next year?
I am hoping after christmas to move to an all grain brew. I need to start making and purchasing some of the equipment I need for that.
Plans on entering any competitions?
I would love to enter some but I haven’t seen any coming up to enter.
Any awards from past competitions?
No awards yet.
Any advice you’d like to give other homebrewers?
Just keep on brewing!
Any closing thoughts?
I am a rookie when it comes to homebrewing but I absolutely love it and am looking forward to continueing to learn about beer and brew it.
