Matt Wilson

I started brewing in 1985 while I lived in Washington state where I was born and raised. My first batch was started on our kitchen cooktop in a ceramic canning kettle. I mixed boiling tap water with a can of malt and hop extract, purchased “off-the-shelf” at Albertson’s. How times were different. The mixture was transferred into a glass carboy of cold water and given a dose of Red Star yeast for two weeks until being siphoned to bottles holding a scant teaspoon of priming sugar. I’ll always remember the sight of the CO2 vapor as it curled up and out from the top of the bottle as a pop sounded with the removal of the cap. My mentors, a handful of men from the depression era, brewers of the ceramic crock and cheesecloth cover, cheered at the sight. According to them, this was the most important signal of a fine beer.

That’s a hard question. Maybe my last brew. I made the Wanderlust Saison (from Rabbit Hole Brewing) as part of the April club competition. Ingredients such as Grains of Paradise, bitter orange peel and Belgian yeast were unfamiliar to me. The experience really opened my eyes to the greater world of beers.

For several years, I brewed on a homemade three kettle, gravity flow, propane system consisting of full-size beer kegs modified with cut-off tops, and stainless handles welded near the tops and ball valves fashioned near the bottoms. After many months of use, out of the blue, two batches of beer spoiled from bacterial infections. I was flabbergasted because my sanitation practices are a top priority. After a lot of head scratching, I decided to disassemble the boiling kettle’s ball valve and fittings. Here I found the source of the problem where the ball valve connected to a compression fitting securing a copper pipe used to hold the transfer hose.

Lately, I’ve gravitated to New Belgium Imperial IPA.

A clone of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

My favorite style to brew and drink is probably style 21 IPA, which has so much room for interesting variations. For example, I recently brewed my first Hazy IPA, and it was so fun planning three dry hop additions using sous vide magnets, suspending 33 ounces of hops under the top of the fermenter.

I stopped homebrewing in 1999 when our family moved from Washington to Fort Worth with my job transfer, but with my recent retirement I came back to brewing. In preparation, I framed in and closed off a storage area in our garage and built a little brewery inside to suit my needs. It has a plumbed sink with hot and cold water, 110 and 220-volt power outlets, a 35-gallon RO water system, an exhaust fan housed with a make-up air return and central air and heat. I brew with a 220-volt, 65-liter Brewzilla 3 in 1 system. I also have a 35-liter Brewzilla used mostly for sparge water. I ferment in Kegland Kegmenters of various sizes and Corny kegs, both 5 and 2.5 gallons in size. I have three chest freezers (7 cubic ft.). The set-up provides the option to ferment under pressure and transfer under pressure along the process.

I brew for the fun and enjoyment of brewing. I like the challenges inherent in brewing. It’s difficult to make good beer, but when a batch turns out great, it feels so rewarding after all the effort expended in the process. I also really enjoy the social aspects of being a member in the Horsemen of the Hopocalypse. Our gatherings are such a great opportunity to talk about brewing while we share other aspects of our lives together.