I
t was Christmas 2001when
JimWucherer
(Purchasing) received a large
gift box fromhis family, the contents of whichpuzzledhim. Little didhe
realize that the gift was the beginning of an avocation inhomebrewing.
“Afterpullingout abottlingbucket and assorted tools forbrewingmayhem,
it slowly dawned onme that it was a brewing kit,” Jim recalled. “My initial
reaction was, ‘What?’quickly followed by ‘Why not?’ I read up on brewing
techniques on the Internet and blundered my way through my first batch
successfully,” he said.
Jimwas off and running.
As it turned out, he prefers to “fly solo” when it comes to homebrewing.
“Toomany cooks spoil the wort (unfermented beer prior to adding yeast),”
Jim asserted. His brewery, called “BagEndBrewHouse,” is in his workshop
at home. “The cooking of the wort is done in the kitchen, but all of the
fermentation goes on in the coolerworkroom,” he said.
Anumberof Plencohomebrewers cautioned about brewing in thekitchen.
“Cooking in the kitchen can cause some issues with family,” Jim said. “It is a
rather aromatic process, to say the least. One of my daughter’s friends once
walked into the house and announced, ‘It smells like feet in here!’ Her nose
was obviously defective.”
What’sdistinctive about Jim’s special brews? “I can’t claim tohave created aunique recipe,”he said, “but Ido enjoy
creating new labels for all of my brews. The labels all include ‘Bag End BrewHouse’ and Ben Franklin’s quote,
‘Beer is proof thatGod loves us andwants us tobe happy.’”
Any tips for new homebrewers? “You’ll hear this from everyone: Keep everything clean!” Jim said. “Sanitize
anything that will come in contact with the beer, including and especially your hands.”
The best thing about homebrewing is sharing. “Share your beer,” Jim said. “Most of mine goes tomy kids, their
spouses and friends. It’s always a treat when you can exchange with another brewer.” He mentioned Tom Badura,
Pete Madden andMike Dekarske as very accomplished Plenco brewers. “Do yourself a favor,” was Jim’s parting
comment. “Dump the yellow, fizzywater youmay be drinking now, and get yourself some home brew!”
JimWuchererFlies Solo
at BagEndBrewHouse
Since ‘TooManyCooks
Spoil theWort!’
JimWucherer
FiveGallons of Jim's newOktoberfest is ready
to start fermenting.
5
