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Hops are John’s key to a quality brew

Briana FioreHarvey-Waroona Reporter
John Marcus shares his home-brew recipe.
Camera IconJohn Marcus shares his home-brew recipe.

In our series Rolling Pins and Memories we reveal secret recipes and the stories behind them. This week we are ditching the rolling pins for bottle caps as we talk to home-brew enthusiast and Brunswick brewing competition winner John Marcus.

Ingredients to make a 23L batch

4-6kg of malt

200g of hops

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35L of water

2 x packets of yeast (depending on gravity of beer)

Method

1. Start with water, malt grain and let sit

2. Drain water from grain

3. Boil that water (wort)

4. Add hops at various stages

5. Boil for 60 minutes

6. Cool, ferment and add yeast.

7. Drink up!

John just makes beer for fun. He said it was always great to catch up with his mates over a good homebrew.

He started making his own beer from scratch after being inspired by his father-in-law.

“He showed me the simple way and it went from there,” John said.

He said the secret to a good homebrew was all in the hops.

“They are a plant that keeps the beer fresher for longer,” he said.

“They also help with the aroma and preserving the bitterness.”

John was one of almost 40 entrants in the inaugural homebrew competition in Brunswick. The event was held in conjunction with the Italian Sausage Competition.

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