I started home brewing back in 1998. I was working as a development engineer in a large corporation. A rough patch resulted in the corporate embarking on a retrenchment drive. The "airy fairy" development department would be the first to fall under the hammer, so I decided to buy or build a brewery. At that stage micro brewing in South Africa was almost non existent. Home brewing was also a black art practiced by "mad professor wannabes" and hooligans after high octane hooch.
I found some chaps who were prepared to receive a million or so of my cash in exchange for a couple of stainless steel barrels, pipes and a pump. Fortunately I didn't have a million lying around. Also the research and business plan I did said a micro brewery would not be financially viable.
So: "HOW DO YOU MAKE A SMALL FORTUNE IN BREWING"
"START WITH A BIG ONE."
During the research I was given a Home Brewery, a kit that contained every thing needed to make beer - for Christmas. Within 30 minutes of opening my present the wort was bubbling away in the corner of the kitchen. This became a feature of the house.
By the middle of January I had a full mash bucket brewery set up. My second Brew started on a Friday afternoon at four. And by six the next morning I had 20 litres of beer in the fermented bubbling away. The only problems I had were; crushing the grain with a rolling pin - 3 hours, strike temperature- too low, a stuck mash, boiler switching off before the wort boiled - removed the cut off switch from the element - hops clogging the counter flow chiller - I still have the chiller complete with hops in it, not closing the tap on the fermenter - loosing about 4 liters of cooled wort.
Best of all I went to bed happy at 7:30 after breakfast. I have now got brew day down to between 5 and 6 hours.
I found some chaps who were prepared to receive a million or so of my cash in exchange for a couple of stainless steel barrels, pipes and a pump. Fortunately I didn't have a million lying around. Also the research and business plan I did said a micro brewery would not be financially viable.
So: "HOW DO YOU MAKE A SMALL FORTUNE IN BREWING"
"START WITH A BIG ONE."
During the research I was given a Home Brewery, a kit that contained every thing needed to make beer - for Christmas. Within 30 minutes of opening my present the wort was bubbling away in the corner of the kitchen. This became a feature of the house.
By the middle of January I had a full mash bucket brewery set up. My second Brew started on a Friday afternoon at four. And by six the next morning I had 20 litres of beer in the fermented bubbling away. The only problems I had were; crushing the grain with a rolling pin - 3 hours, strike temperature- too low, a stuck mash, boiler switching off before the wort boiled - removed the cut off switch from the element - hops clogging the counter flow chiller - I still have the chiller complete with hops in it, not closing the tap on the fermenter - loosing about 4 liters of cooled wort.
Best of all I went to bed happy at 7:30 after breakfast. I have now got brew day down to between 5 and 6 hours.
