Hop Cast

Home Brewer Profile – Joe Abella

For this home brewer profile we talk with Joe Abella.

Where are you from?
I live in Oak Park, IL

What is your favorite brew pub in the area?
Not a “brew pub” per se, but the Avenue Ale House in Oak Park is awesome. The food is great, lots of TVs for whatever games are on, and the craft beer list is impressive and features several different brews each month.

Do you focus on one style or do you mix it up depending on the conditions and mood?
I’ve been making what I like, and what I think fits the season. Over the summer, I made a Kolsch and a Witbier, but for the fall, I have an Imperial Red Ale, and my own Autumn Amber Spiced Ale.

How long have you been brewing and what made you decide to start? Did anyone inspire you to start brewing?
I brewed my first time about 8 years ago because I mentioned that it might be fun to my girlfriend at the time. She bought me a Mr. Beer Kit. Based on that, I gave it up, but then another friend talked to me about his homebrewing hobby about 3 years ago.

Would you mind giving us a run down of your brewing career to date?
I started with that Mr. Beer kit. Once I was introduced to partial mash, and all grain brewing, I was addicted. It was around the same time that I had bought my home in Oak Park which just happened to have a spare fridge in the basement. That, along with an old concrete sink, and a spacious work room, made homebrewing that much easier for me.

Since then, I’ve built my own 3 tier all-grain rig, built a bar on which I have 4 taps of homebrew coming from my kegerator and have brewed several dozen beers.

Is there any brewers you look to or anyone you think is at the top of your list?
Dogfish Head comes to mind from an innovation standpoint, and I just visited Lagunitas while out on the west coast. But I also try to keep up with some of the local craft brewers around the midwest like Goose Island, Three Floyd’s, New Glarus, Bell’s, Great Lakes, etc. I follow a lot of breweries and homebrewers (and Hop Cast) on Twitter and/or Facebook, which helps to see what’s going on in the beer world.

How often do you brew? What days do you brew?
I might brew based on any number of factors like, if my kegs are running low, I want to get a few seasonal beers ready for a particular time of year, or recently my neighbors were hosting a party and asked me if I would bring some of my beers over. They knew to give me some advanced notice and the beer I brought seemed to be a hit. So, it really depends on my supply and demand for how often. But, I usually keep enough supplies on hand that I can brew something. I can brew a batch nearly any night of the week, but I sometimes I prepare for a big brew day on a Saturday, when me, or me and some buddies, will brew a few batches together.

You mentioned the 3 tier all-grain rig, could you tell us a little more about that?
I say “rig” becuase it’s on wheels which makes it easy to move out of the way or pull out to the backyard if the weather is right. It’s definitely an original – it looks like a grown-up’s Erector Set.

Do you use any other untraditional or home built brewing equipment that you won’t find at a home brew shop?
I’m planning on building an automated grain mill using an old ceiling fan motor if I ever get around to it. And I’ve also built my own tap line cooling system. It uses a fish tank pump and RV coolant in a bath within the kegerator’s freezer. This system allows me to run the coolant alongside the tap lines to keep them cool, and reduce foaming.

Can you tell us about the first beer you ever brewed, what was it and how did it come out?
I don’t really remember the first beer I brewed. Those” Mr. Beer Days” produced some barely drinkable beers, and I’ve had a few since that just didn’t work out quite right. I remember the first beer I kegged myself was a partial mash kit for a Steam Ale. I was really happy with how it came out, and I continue to make that style a couple times a year.

What was the last thing you brewed?
I just brewed a clone of Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. It’s my third time brewing that recipe. I even started growing Centennial hops in my backyard so I can have more on hand. It’s really a simple IPA recipe – 2 types of malt, 1 type of hops, American Ale yeast, but I enjoy it a lot.

Anything in the works you would like to share?
I’m planning on making another hard cider this fall. I made a small 3 gallon test batch last fall, using cold pastuerized apple cider that I bought at an organic grocery store. I bottled it, and the carbonation wasn’t quite right, probably from a lack of residual yeast due to cooling it down for clarity before bottling. But, the flavor was good, so this year, I’m going to try to get fresh pressed apple juice, and will make enough to keg it.

Do you do all grain or extract?
All grain for the past two years.

What type of yeast do you use and how do you maintain your culture?
I haven’t actually tried to maintain my own yeast cultures, but I have poured freshly cooled wort onto another batch’s yeast cake… I’m not sure I’d do that again though. Mostly, I use Wyeast packets.

What about hops… do you use whole or pellet hops? Why?
Pellet hops for the boil mostly, plug or whole hops for fermentation. Mainly just to keep stray pieces of hops from making into someone’s glass. Another thing I’ve done recently is add an ounce of hops, in a grain bag, after racking to a corny keg. It adds some fresh hop flavor that continues to evolve over the course of the time I’m drinking the beer. And it’s something you can’t do if you bottle your beer.

Do you do any sort of collaborations with other home brewers in the area?
Absolutely, I have a friend that lives in a small apartment, but who has a small kegerator. So, we brew and ferment his beers at my place, then we keg them and he takes them home. He leaves a little of the process in my hands, but repays me with beer, so it works out. I have another friend that lives up in Libertyville, and we’ve brewed together a few times.

Are you part of any home brewers club or organizations?
No, but I try to go to a few events every year, whether it’s the Sam Adams Longshot day in Chicago, or the Goose Island Night of the Living Ales that some of the local groups promote.

Any plans to do this as more than just a hobby?
My two brewing buddies and I joke about it. I’ve been able to talk to a few people who are either interning/working at breweries, or who have started their own microbrew/pub and it seems like something I’d want to do. But the start-up resources would be a challenge.

Do you have any tips or words of wisdom for anyone looking to brew?
Keep really good records, or better yet, get some brewing software – it can open up a lot of options for you like formulating and brewing a truly unique recipe that people really like. Nothing I’ve done with my brewing has made me happier than that experience.

Thanks Joe for taking the time to be interviewed. You can learn more about Joe and his brewing process if you follow him on twitter, twitter.com/jabella72.

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