Mike Travis.

Home Town: Ogden, UT from Lake Station, IN

I’ve been a homebrewer since: 2005 – I have moved 5 times during this period and never got a chance to advance and get consistent in my brewing. Hopefully living in Utah for a longer period of time I can now focus on improving and advancing my brewing.

Do you have a homebrewing disaster you’d like to share? My first Hefeweizen when I lived in Southern Illinois was fermenting under the stairs and while watching TV my wife and I heard what sounded like a gunshot. After the noise we heard a hiss and that is when I thought about the beer and opened the door to a gusher and broken airlock that had hit the roof.

What is your favorite style(s) to brew? I brew a Hefeweizen annually but now like to do more challenging styles now that I have the time, place, and patience.

What style(s) will you never brew? I’m not much of a Pils fan so probably won’t ever do one.

What was the first beer you ever brewed?  How did it turn out? I brewed a kit Brown Ale (I think it was from Northern Brewer). Good for what I knew back then. The best thing was the excitement of brewing and the desire to do more.

Have you ever had a homebrew mistake that turned out great? I had the grain bag of a partial mash fall open in the kettle and continued as if nothing was wrong. The resulting brew came out fine though.

What is your favorite beer recipe? I don’t think I have ever decided on a favorite.

Are you a BJCP Judge?  If so, what is your rank and how long have you been judging? No. I have started studying and would like to become a judge in the next 18 months.

Do you have a favorite homebrew trick or gadget that you’ve found to make your beer better/brewing easier, etc? I guess I am still traditional so nothing adventurous beyond the standards yet.

Describe your brew system. I mainly still brew extract for large batches as I have not got the equipment yet for brewing larger all-grain batches. I brew occasional 1 gallon all-grain batches for sampling and experimentation.

How frequently do you brew? About every other month since I have lived in Utah for the last 1 ½ years. In 2017 I plan on doing a batch a month.

What is your favorite malt?  Why? I like Munich malt. I like the subtle sweetness of the German beers (marzen, dunkel, alt, etc.)

What is your favorite hop? Why? I’m a 4 C’s guy for hops. I love Citra but have yet to brew with it.

Do you have a favorite or house yeast? What qualities do you like about that yeast? Obviously I like brewing Hefeweizen so the Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Wheat yeast strain is my favorite as it adds the traditional spicy weizen character with the banana and clove nose.

What haven’t we asked that you would really like to answer? For those that might ask why I drive from Ogden for LDB – I am also a member of the O’Town Hopheads but like the learning structure of LDB and just being around the brewers of both.

If you could serve your homebrew to someone famous, who would it be and what would you give her/him? Charlie Papazian – I would love him to review any of my brews and the details he would provide.

What’s the most unusual ingredient you’ve ever used in a brew? I put Redhots candy in a Hefeweizen to add some color and hoping for a nice spicy cinnamon blend. Don’t think I added enough because it got some color and only a slight cinnamon flavor.

Do you have any pets or kids named after beer styles or ingredients? My Border Collie is named Hefey. We got him while living in Germany and the town he was from is named Hefersweiler so it was a no-brainer on what to name him. He also used to drink beer with me but the older he gets he isn’t as much interested anymore.

Do you brew alone, with friends or with someone you live with? Friends sometimes. My non-beer drinking spouse is my biggest helper.

Are you an indoor or outdoor brewer? Outdoor.

List some of the names you’ve given your beers. Which is your favorite? As I’ve brewed many 1-timers I haven’t done much with names. I do have a Belgian Tripel about ready and it will be appropriately named Travis Tripel (I know boring).