Member Bios - tell us about yourself

[Bryan R]

[RPIScotty]

[Bilsch]

Greetings to the forum... My name is Russ and I was born in Wisconsin in the 60's and grew up in a even more German area then WI is generally. From the time I started drinking beer, which was by 15 or so with the parents supervision, I was weened on really great German varieties on tap and developed a particular fondness for weissbier. I know what "it" is and have for most of my life and the quest for same is what has driven my brewing passion for 31 years now since batch 1, a hefeweizen of course, in college. Skip ahead many years and my job takes me to Germany often so I am privileged to have sampled many of the finest brews, IMHO, the greatest beer brewing country in the world. The search for greater knowledge to help me in improving my home processes and commune with others on the same path brought me here. I hope to learn something from you all.

[wobdee]

Welcome Russ, another cheese head here born and raised in Stevens Point

[Bilsch]

Thanks for the welcome. Gotta say.. so far I love this place!

[Bryan R]

Welcome Russ!

[Brandon]

Welcome Russ, beautiful breads and pretzels! You have to tell me about the flower pot method.

[Bilsch]

Thank you for the welcome and the nice words. I didn't invent it, but It's a clever way to bake bread. Essentially the flower pot method is a dome which holds in some steam to create a great crust and allow greater rise and therefore better crumb. I preheat these along with the baking stone to 500f then drop the boules on the stone and cover with the pot for about 8-10 min. Then pull the domes off and allow to finish browning for another 10 min or so until finished. Way better then pans with water or dropping ice in the bottom of your oven to create steam.

[rob_f]

I'm Rob. I'm of Irish descent but I've been brewing a lot of German styles since I started in 2002. This past winter (lager season) I brewed a Pils, Helles Bock, and Doppelbock. The majority of my homebrew club has never brewed a lager, so I'm looking forward to the discussions here.

[Brandon]