The Brewers. Bob and Louie can be found brewing most every Sunday morning in Louie’s Germantown garage. Over the years they have tinkered to create the gadgets that make up their Germantown Engineered Brew Line, complete with watercraft lift, automated sparging-gizmo and super cooler with filter. Louie sets the tone for brewing; and Bob runs sanitation and quality control (drinking). These long time friends and neighbors enjoy brewing almost as much as their “inventory reduction” events held frequently on Friday afternoon in the beer garden behind their brewery. Or as some would describe it, a large group of people drinking beer in the alley.
The Brew. This Sunday they were brewing a Kolsh Style Beer with a 2-row malt, wheat, American Carmel, and Munich grain mix. The hops were Perle, Splat Spalter and German Hallertau to finish. Should be ready for thirst quenching about the time the temperature starts to get up there. This beer would be added to Bob and Lou Homebrew Menu. An extensive list of all their beers with name, style, alcohol content and most importantly their number system.
This menu helps them keep track of inventory and more important helps their guests remember what beer they liked last time. Bob get’s distracted after the “inventory reduction” session starts and Louie gets telling a story, so neither one is much help remembering. With the Menu people just need to remember “their” number. #22 is a Red Irish Ale. #14 a Belgian Blonde. And Meffert #87, which is Meffert’s beer so you don’t need to know what it is because it is for Meffert.
The Brewing. These brewers really spend a great deal of effort monitoring and controlling their brew. Each step is measured and recorded. These guys chart every step and can tell you what went wrong and what went right on every beer. Their friends and more then a few ribbons from the Kentucky State Fair let you know their effort pays off in a wide range of quality beers.
Like a lot of homebrewers, both Bob and Louie are pretty handy, building and figuring out ways to do things. Their brew set-up starts with the watercraft repair lift Louie installed when he built the garage. This not only allows them to stack all their equipment and raise it into the ceiling when they are done; but also gets their heated water in the air so they can use gravity throughout their brewing process without lifting.
They were trying out their newly designed and built automated sparge-gizmo this Sunday. Build from some spare parts, this devise did an excellent job of sprinkling just the right amount of water over the grain mash while automatically rotating.
On the back end of their brewing line they had combined a standard filter, pump and compact chiller to get their beer to the fermenter clean and ready to go. They are big on keeping their beer clear with no residue.
The Brewer’s Thoughts. Bob and Louie enjoy each other’s company. So it is natural they would spend so much time perfecting their craft of beer making. So I asked them what they would be doing if they weren’t brewing beer most every week. They both had the same answer, “Racing supped up golf carts around Germantown”. Watch out neighbors, there is still time.
But let’s hope Bob and Louie stick to the mission of H & K Hombrewing Corporation. The quest for Great tasting homebrew. The highest alcohol content possible. And MEFFERT’S #87.
