BEER GURU Q&A

POPULAR MECHANICS: When did you start brewing your own beer?

Dutch Courage Brewing Company: The first bucket brew happened in 2013 or so; the larger home ‘test-kitchen’ set-up started growing gradually a year or two later, and we joined The Brewers Co-op to brew commercially in 2017.

PM: What spurs your passion, and why do you love home brewing?

DCBC: It’s a hobby that has creative and technical aspects; you can do it while at home with the family, and it gives you an excuse to do a lot of ‘quality assurance’ checks of the product yourself.

PM: What is the basic process involved in a home-brewing system? In what ways is it different to a larger set-up?

DCBC: It’s the same as a commercial set-up: Boil water to sterilise it; add grain and boil (or ‘mash’) to extract the sugar; boil the extract (wort), add hop pellets at various stages for flavour and bitterness; once it’s cooled, add yeast. Then, wait a couple of weeks while it ferments.

PM: What is your favourite type of beer to brew?

DCBC: We like malty beers such as a Vienna lager or Munich dunkel. It often comes down to the style of beer you like drinking.

PM: How much space does it require to start your own home brew?

DCBC: For your first bucket brew, you’ll need somewhere to boil, and somewhere cool and dark to ferment. For a 50-litre home set-up, you’ll need the corner of the garage or braai room, an old fridge, and a chest freezer if you want to make lager.

PM: When buying a good-quality kit, is there anything specific you should look for?

DCBC: As with most things, you get what you pay for, and a lot of this stuff is specialised gear. There’s a big second-hand market, though, but ensure everything’s in good nick, especially plastic fermenters – germs like hiding in scuff- and scratch marks.

PM: What equipment do you need to start your own home brew?

DCBC: A brew-in-a-bucket kit is a great start with hardly any investment in equipment. Most kits contain malt extract, which cuts out the mashing stage entirely.

PM: What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt while brewing your own beer?

DCBC: Yeast makes the beer. A strong, healthy fermentation lets one get away with many other mistakes.

PM: What are your top three tips for new home brewers?

DCBC: 1) Hygiene is crucial at every step – dumping an entire brew because it got infected is physically painful. 2) Follow the recipe – brewing is more like baking than cooking, and some parts are quite an exact science. 3) Don’t cut corners – you’ll taste it if your ingredients are past their prime, or if you try rushing the process. (Dutch Courage Brewing Company sells its beer at The Brewers Co-op in Cape Town – brewers.coop.)