Hop Cast

For this profile we talk with Milwaukee home brewer Bill Kregel. Bill isn’t on twitter but his wife Katie is, twitter.com/kpkregel. So if you have any questions for him you are welcome to ask her or leave them here.

Where are you from?
Milwaukee, WI

What is your favorite brew pub in the area?
Milwaukee Ale House

Do you focus on one style or do you mix it up depending on the conditions and mood?
I mix it up depending upon the season – IPAs, Pilsners and Belgians in the spring/summer and Ambers, Porters and Stouts when it gets cold. My focus has mostly been ales so far, but I’ve also brewed the occasional lager.

How long have you been brewing and what made you decide to start? Did anyone inspire you to start brewing?
I’ve been brewing for close to two years. I told my wife that I wanted a book on beer but instead for Christmas my in-laws got me ‘How to Brew” by John Palmer along with a gift certificate to Northern Brewer. After reading the book I was hooked!

Would you mind giving us a run down of your brewing career to date?
I started brewing in January of 2008 and have been working to improve technically and style-wise with each beer I brew. I’ve brewed 26 beers so far. My first 6 were extract with grain and on the 7th batch I went all grain and haven’t gone back since. Last year I started growing my own hops too. Since our yard is in the city and not very big I now have my parents and in-laws helping me grow too.

Is there any brewers you look to or anyone you think is at the top of your list?
Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer are definitely brewing icons that I’ve learned a lot from. Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head brews some crazy and excellent beers. His creativity is inspiring.

How often do you brew? What days do you brew?
I brew once to twice a month and I always brew on weekends due to the time involved with an all grain brew. I brew the most in the fall and spring and the least in the summer since the risk of infection of the batch is much higher with all the bugs in the summer.

What are you brewing with? I know a lot of home brewers end up building there own equipment. Do you have any untraditional brewing equipment that you won’t find at a home brew shop?
I brew in my garage using a keg that I converted into a brew kettle by sawing a whole in the top and installing a spigot on the side. I use a 72qt cooler for my mash tun. I have plans to make a 3 keggle set-up utilizing pumps and temp controllers but haven’t gotten to that yet. Since I keg all my beers in corny kegs I also bought a chest freezer on Craigslist and converted it into a refridgerator with temp controls. It can hold up to 8 corny kegs and some miscellaneous bottles. Eventually I’d like to create a bar in my basement and hook it up to taps.

Can you tell us about the first beer you ever brewed, what was it and how did it come out?
My first beer I ever brewed was an American Amber Ale extract kit from Northern Brewer. Considering it was my first batch it turned out very nicely. Looking back it was a little medicinal since I didn’t take steps to take the chlorine out of the water, but overall very drinkable.

What was the last thing you brewed?
A 12 gallon hop-bursted IPA using all of my own homegrown hops, which were Cascade, Sterling, Chinook and Centennial. My wife and I are huge hop heads.

Anything in the works you would like to share?
My next beers are going to be a Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter and a Breakfast Stout for the holidays.

Do you do all grain or extract?
All grain ever since the 6th batch. To me the difference is very noticeable and I love the control you have to change a beer when you mash all the grain yourself.

What type of yeast do you use and how do you maintain your culture?
I use both dry and liquid yeast. I only use dry yeast (Safale US-05 specifically) in a pale ale or IPA since that yeast does a great job and the hops are overall so dominant the yeast takes a back seat. I use liquid yeast cultures from Wyeast for the rest of my brews. There is an amazing variety of yeasts with the liquid cultures and although they take a little more work to use properly (ie…yeast starter) the results are well worth the effort.

What about hops… do you use whole or pellet hops? Why?
Both. I notice a better aroma with the whole hops and use them for dry hopping and aroma additions. For bittering hops I like to use pellet hops because they get better utilization and suck up less of the wort.

Are you part of any home brewers club or organizations?
My wife and I are members of Milwaukee Beer Barons.

Do you do any sort of collaborations with other home brewers in the area?
I’m a member of Milwaukee Beer Barons, but other than that no collaborations…yet!

Any plans to do this as more than just a hobby?
Maybe some day but getting started is a risky proposition.

Do you have any tips or words of wisdom for anyone looking to brew?
Jump in and get started! Start with an extract pale ale or IPA as the hops will hide most flaws. After you get more experience, move on to the more delicate styles. Two things every brewer must look into are water quality and what the mineral content of your water is because it’s the difference between making an average beer and a great beer. Secondly, invest in some type of temp control system for your fermentation. Keeping a consistent fermentation temp is very important. And don’t forget to do lots of “market research” to see what other breweries out there are doing!