OnTap Magazine

OT: When and why did you start brewing? MM: I started brewing (beer) in early lockdown when I happened upon a copy of John J Palmer's book How to Brew . I'd previously made Tepache [a pineapple brew], Mahewu [a fermented porridge common in Southern Africa], and other non-beer fermented traditional drinks. I've been a fan of fermentation (sauerkraut, kimchi etc.), liqueur making, and bread baking for about a decade. Beer-making seemed like a perfect addition to my DIY hobbies. OT: What's the best beer you have ever made? MM: This is a tough one. I've made a few crowd-pleasing American Amber Ales, but what I've enjoyed the most was a Scottish Ale-based Chilli Beer with two former Guinness hottest-level chillies (Carolina Reaper and Ghost Pepper). I made it after being disappointed by a local habanero sour (no name-dropping!) that didn't satisfy my chilli enthusiast tastes. [Munya told OT separately that while this beer “upset some friends and family,” ever since he ran out, he’s had a surprising number of “requests to make some more”! A divisive beer, apparently!] OT: What is your biggest brewing disaster? MM: Last year I bought a 40L glass fermenter to let me take a cross-section look at yeast activities and not just rely on bubbly airlocks. The disaster happened when I was making a 25L batch of a Belgian Blonde. The brew day had been going well until I decided to cool the hot wort (which I'd transferred to the fermenter) in an ice bath. The glass didn't last 30 seconds before the base broke off with a loud crack. The entire brew day was lost in those seconds, the beer lost, the fermenter lost, half the day lost, and more clean-up to handle. OT: Describe your system in a sentence (or two). MM: My system is a simple beginner brewer’s set: fermenters (glass, bucket), cooler mash tun, brew pot, pHmeter, hydrometer, bottling items, sanitizer, racking cane/siphon etc. Basically, all the usual things you get in local brew supply stores. And I use the Brewfather app for most calculations. OT: Do youhave any brewday quirks or traditions? MM: The mantra of the brew day is "Sanitise - Sanitise- Sanitise"! An excessively cleaned and off limits kitchen is a must, but eventually it almost always becomes a gliding wetland after all the brewday slip-ups and cleanups. OT: What would be your ultimate clone? MM: My current ultimate clone is Woodstock Brewery's Three- year Wooded Belgian Quad. I have my version six months into bottle conditioning and if it lasts all the sampling, I'll be chasing a new clone soon. OT: What is your main brewing goal? MM: My goal is to continue brewing beers that never lose their experimental fervour, keeping sight of the great examples we have locally. I've benefited greatly from feedback from friends and family in the early months, beer enthusiasts at work and now lately other home brewers, and will strive to make new brews that can shock and hopefully please. While Munya Matose remains busy applying his advanced degrees in biomedical engineering and mechatronics to pressing issues of public health, he has also waded deep into the world of all-things fermentation… HOMEBREWER ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2023 | 51