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You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> General Forum --> Chitchat --> Hello from Colorado

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tracyy
Arvada, CO
Posts



I joined a little while ago and I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.  I am one of those rare female brewers out there!  I've been brewing for about 3 years, all grain for 2, though it seems like much longer--probably because I'm completely obsessed.  

I have a PhD in biochemistry and work in microbiology, so I am most interested in yeast and fermentation, though I enjoy all aspects of brewing.  Currently I'm using a 10 gallon cooler system, but I'm slowly gathering the pieces to put together a single tier, 3 burner system.  I have a converted upright freezer with a BrewBit for temperature control that I use for my fermentation chamber.  It's awesome!

I'm looking forward to participating in the BrewUnited challenge.  I'll be brewing my first of three for the competition tomorrow--an American Amber.  Can't wait to try roasting my own grains for a couple of the other brews. 

Cheers,
Tracy
 







Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Hi Tracy, and welcome!

It's great to hear from you - you sound like you will fit in well here.  Good luck in the Challenge!



Posted 34 days ago.

zeith
Charter Member
Seattle, WA
41 Posts


Welcome Tracy!  Excited to hear about how you will be incorporating your PhD into brewing.  



Posted 34 days ago.

chino_brews
Charter Member
Eden Prairie, MN
301 Posts


Welcome! 

What got you started in brewing? 

Do you belong to a HB club out there? 

Does your background in microbiology result in you storing yeast cultures and having a little yeast lab at home?




Posted 34 days ago.

vinpaysdoc
Charter Member
High Point, NC
321 Posts


Welcome Tracy. Curious to hear how the transition to the 3 burner system goes. Are you increasing your batch size in the transition?



Posted 34 days ago.

tracyy
Arvada, CO
321 Posts


  I dabbled a bit with extract brewing in grad school with friends, but hadn't done it a long time.  In 2012 my mom bought my husband a "Mr. Beer" kit for Christmas and I was the one who tried it.  That kinda got the ball rolling again and here I am.

I don't belong to a HB club, but there are some good LHBS here.  One shop has regularly held home brew club meetings and monthly events with guest speakers.  Recently they had to cease all of these activities because they were being scrutinized by law enforcement--who seem to be very narrowly interpreting the rules of homebrew legality (They served homebrew at events and offered samples of their homebrew in the shop.) 
 Another good reason to belong to the AHA--helping keep homebrewing legal.

With regard to yeast-- yes!  I have started a strain collection and I'm slowly expanding my home "lab".  I'm kind of thinking of brewing as kind of training for a next phase of my career, perhaps being a yeast provider in some manner.  Hard to compete with the big guys though, and equipment is expensive.   I've also noticed that many sour beer brewers (pro and amateur) don't really know what's going on in their fermentations with regard to the populations of yeast and bacteria over time.  If someone would magically give me a research grant I have a million ideas for cool experiments to explore that area.  

As for 3 burner system, I'd really like to have the flexibility to do 5 or 10 gallon batches, but haven't figured out the best way to do that in terms of kettle sizes.  Plus, our current keezer only holds 3 corny kegs.  Soon it seems the house will be full of converted fridges and freezers....





Posted 34 days ago.

Matt
Charter Member
Normal, IL
341 Posts


Hey Tracyy! Welcome!

Your experience is awesome, a lot of the chemical aspects of brewing are beyond me.

You should totally look into providing yeast! Have you heard of The Yeast Bay? It was started by a guy on Reddit, /u/biobrewer, and does pretty much this. You'd be surprised how far good customer service and artisinal yeast can get you. You should reach out to him if you are curious, super cool guy. 

But yeah, again, welcome!




Posted 34 days ago.

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