Name: Randy Germann
Age: 58
Occupation: Amazon Web Services (AWS) Sr. SAP Consultant. I lead customers to migrate, upgrade, and optimize SAP workloads in the AWS public cloud.
Years Brewing: 26
Brewing History? Started with partial mash and then moved to all-grain a couple years later. For awhile, brewed all-grain and mini-mash with extract. Now, I mostly brew all-grain.
What got you interested in brewing to start? I started a little party called Germannfest on November 19th, 1996 in San Antonio, Texas and my wife, Amy, said you should brew your own beer. I thought that was a crazy idea considering I could buy so much good beer. Anyway, we bought our first kit and equipment from Paul and Sari Jane Newell who owned a local homebrewing store. We brewed and bottled a Nut Brown Ale. The rest is, as they say, history as Germannfest is still going strong and I’m still brewing!
Current brewing rig? Very old school and all manual with half barrel kegs and gravity-fed.
Best brewing advice you were given (by whom if you can remember)? I had a brewing friend in San Antonio named Charlie Jordon, a professional brewer. He did all of his calculations by hand and taught me how to formulate recipes. His best advice was that it was OK to tip the scale a bit when measuring ingredients in order to add “a little extra goodness”. After 20 years, I still hear his voice every time I weigh my grain bill.
Most influential brewing tip you learned? Nothing in this world is perfect but we should do everything in our power to attempt perfection. There was a time when my brewing was very insular and its only purpose was to produce beer for Germannfest. When I moved to Northwest Arkansas, I wasn’t part of a homebrew club, I was just going thru the motions and the beer reflected as much – lifeless, flawed, and mediocre. When my nephew asked me to brew a beer for his college graduation, I took it very seriously and brewed the best beer and cider of my life. Now I’m active in clubs and my fellow brewers make me want to be a better brewer.
From the first Germannfest
From the first Germannfest
Your tip for new brewers just getting started? Don’t hesitate to ask for help and get out there and show your beer (e.g., club meetings, homebrew events, BJCP competitions). You can never know it all and will never stop learning. I’m evidence of that after 26 years at the craft as I’m always humbled by what my friends produce and they are my inspiration.
Go to beer style for consumption? I started out loving Pale Ales and IPAs and, believe it or not, was a real “Hop Head” at one time. Now I really love maltier, less hop-forward beers like German lagers and barrel-aged stouts and barleywines.
What’s on tap at your brew house right now? IPA, Doppelbock, and root beer.
Favorite beer style to brew? Most of my friends know the answer to this question: German lagers especially the light, golden variety such as Pilsner, Kolsch, and Maibock. However, once again, the clubs inspired me to brew out of my comfort zone in 2022 for Iron Brewer and I brewed a Belgian and American Wheat after last brewing 20 years ago.
What’s your next brewing related project? I just brewed my first Hazy IPA based on Greg Newman’s Orange Draaaaank recipe and my son, with some head brewer assistance, started a sweet, specialty cider called Dumbledore’s Delight.
What do you want everyone to know that wasn’t asked here? My talent, time, and resources have been given to me by my blessed Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I wouldn’t have these blessings without His saving grace. I ask the Lord to bless each beer and allow me to touch and connect with others through the art of homebrewing.
