John Bates
Homebrewer
Interview Date: October 3, 2022
Q: Tell us about your first batch of homebrew. When did you start?
My first batch was one gallon a version of Joe’s Ancient Orange Mead. Honey, water, yeast, one orange quartered, one cinnamon stick, four cloves. It wasn’t too bad but the cloves overpowered the mead. One day, I would like to repeat the mead but use the better mead processes.
Q: What's your favorite beer you've ever brewed?
Rum barrel aged tropical stout. It was a style I never tasted so it was a complete chance.
Q: What about your biggest brew-fail?
I attempted to heat pasteurized bottles of a sweet mead but waited too long before the pasteurization process. Every bottle was a very carbonated fountain upon opening.
Q: What's your go-to commercial beer?
Weihenstephaner Helles
Q: What's in your fermenter now?
art Cherry Buckwheat Session Mead
Q: What's your favorite BJCP style to brew? To drink?
Anything German, British or mead
Q: Tell us about your brewery. What does your set-up look like?
Anvil Foundry, fermentation buckets and a freezer with temperature control as a fermentation chamber
Q: Why do you homebrew?
It gives me a creative outlet which is fun to share with others.