Hi, I'm Radegast. I currently live in Richmond, VA, specifically in Varina, just on the east side of town. My homebrew club is MASH, and my LHBS is The Weekend Brewer. So far I've brewed 6.5 beers (does partigyle count as 2 beers or 1.5?), a couple batches of EdWort's apfelwein (1 straight, 1 modified slightly), a couple WineXpert kits (a Shiraz and a Riesling), a failed attempt at sake (Went very, VERY lactic! Fortunately, I have other things I can blend it with), a jug of ginger beer from a ginger beer plant (it's been diluted and it's still very spicy), and continuous batch of kombucha (when it gets low, I add more oolong tea...or whatever else I have lying around)
I got started in brewing by making cheap, yeasty ginger beer. After my first soda bottle explosion, I got an airlock. At one point, I was buying various books on cocktails and spirits. I got Mosher's Tasting Beer and Palmer's How To Brew, just because I thought it would give me a new perspective on appreciating beer. My dad saw the book and gave me a gift certificate to The Weekend Brewer. I was sure that wasn't why I bought the book, but I went ahead and spent it on a kit. Since then, I've been hooked. One part I love is beer books, and, similarly, I also love spending hours surfing from thread to thread on HomeBrewTalk.
I do 5.5 gallon batches in brewing buckets, mashing with circular cooler false bottom MLT I bought from Weekend Brewer. I boil on the stove, usually in one 4 gallon stainless pot and one 3 gallon aluminum pot. I've been experimenting with no-chill and getting good results. Fermentation temps have been a problem (my heatwave dunkelweizen had some interesting flavors!), but I'm always checking Craigslist for freezers.
I got started in brewing by making cheap, yeasty ginger beer. After my first soda bottle explosion, I got an airlock. At one point, I was buying various books on cocktails and spirits. I got Mosher's Tasting Beer and Palmer's How To Brew, just because I thought it would give me a new perspective on appreciating beer. My dad saw the book and gave me a gift certificate to The Weekend Brewer. I was sure that wasn't why I bought the book, but I went ahead and spent it on a kit. Since then, I've been hooked. One part I love is beer books, and, similarly, I also love spending hours surfing from thread to thread on HomeBrewTalk.
I do 5.5 gallon batches in brewing buckets, mashing with circular cooler false bottom MLT I bought from Weekend Brewer. I boil on the stove, usually in one 4 gallon stainless pot and one 3 gallon aluminum pot. I've been experimenting with no-chill and getting good results. Fermentation temps have been a problem (my heatwave dunkelweizen had some interesting flavors!), but I'm always checking Craigslist for freezers.
