OnTap Magazine

OT: Congrats on the win Stephan. Can you tell us a bit about your homebrewing journey? SM: My brother-in-law got me into brewing in 2017 when we brewed a partial mash weissbier for my birthday. I started out small after that with bucket fermenters and an extract beer (as most of us do). Three brews later it was all-grain all the way, and I haven’t looked back. OT: What do you brew on? SM: A converted cooler box mash tun with a 75-litre pot and a high pressure burner. I have a temperature controlled freezer for fermentation. I moved away from bottle conditioning after having done about 10 brews and realising I was hooked. Once you start kegging, you ask yourself why you ever struggled with bottles in the first place. OT: Tell us about your typical brewday SM: I usually brew on my own, with an early start to the day. I’m an old-school metal head at heart, so there is always some Pantera, Metallica or similar playing in the background while I brew. I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I’ll spend countless hours reading up about a style before brewing it: which hops to use, the flavour component from the yeast, even what water profile is needed to get the best chance of ending up with a good beer. Nothing is sadder then dumping 20 litres of hard work down the drain. Experience has taught me not to have my first beer until after the pot boils and the hot break starts. A brew day can be long, and you don’t want to forget to add something important after drinking a few IPAs! I try to brew at least once a month to have my own stock, but since the birth of my son in December 2018 spare time has been in short supply. Hopefully I will get back on track in 2020. OT: So, tell us about the winning beer SM: It was actually the only beer I brewed in 2019. It’s a 9% ABV English Barley wine, named after the British patriotic song Rule, Britannia! I was going to call it Iron Fist at first, as it was big and demanding, but after a few months of mellowing out it was just too majestic and regal to be called anything else but Rule, Britannia! I brewed it in February, so it was about eight months old when judging began. I think it will get even better with some more time. OT: Now you’ve taken the top prize in SA’s biggest homebrew comp, what’s next? SM: I’m moving more to the big beers with a wee heavy and an eisbock planned. There is one malt monster I'm planning to see how high I can push the ABV on an all-malt beer, no sugars added…maybe 20% ABV? Not everything has to be a malt bomb or 100 IBUs though. I do often make a 4.5% Helles so golden and clear that even the occasional beer drinker will enjoy it. OT: We take a look at bucket list experiences in this issue – what’s at the top of your list? SM: I think anyone who loves beer has to want to go to Oktoberfest in Munich, so that’s definitely on the cards one day. I attended Clarens Beer Fest in 2018, and was a great experience. I can recommend it to anyone who was thinking about going. OT: Do you have any plans to go pro? SM: It would probably be my dream job, but not right now. I’m happy brewing beer for myself, friends and family to enjoy. Nothing is sadder then dumping 20 litres of hard work down the drain Stephan looking for inspiration from the Cape craft beer scene ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2019 | 65