Tell us a little about you - where your from, how you came to love brewing.
I'm Bert from Belgium, avid home brewer since 2010. I started in the kitchen, as so many, but build my own HERMS in 2015. I've learned a lot from electricbrewery.com but created my own design. It's a three kettle systems, powered by two 3.5kW induction burners. I use a plate chiller to exchange heat instead of an immersion chiller. I figured, if something could cool, it could warm as well. And so I brew 20 liters per batch, as that's the maximum my kegs can hold (and most of my brews I have to drink and finish myself.) I'm still learning every day about hops, yeast, flavors, aroma's, ... You name it, there is so much to discover! Even my brewery is still teaching me things day after day. Things to improve, to modify, to dispose or to change. A fun challenge!
What styles of beer do you like to brew?
Most of the time I brew Belgian classics, like a good blond or a dry saison. I do dare to mix fruity, American hops with Belgian yeast, to see what happens. Recently, I've brewed a pils from this site. Not quite convinced but mainly because it was the first time I've used a lager yeast and had some troubles with the ideal temperature, so lots of room for improvement there!
How often do you brew?
I try to brew every month, sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. Depends on how fast I empty my kegs.