Marty Miller.

Who Are You: Marty Miller

Home Town: Saginaw, MI

I’ve been a homebrewer since: January 2014

Do you have a homebrewing disaster you’d like to share?: Nothing that I would consider a disaster

What is your favorite style(s) to brew?: American Pale Ale or Stouts

What style(s) will you never brew?: I’ll try just about anything……so….

What was the first beer you ever brewed?  How did it turn out?: Rye Dunkel. Probably didn’t taste too bad, but I did use a lot of it for boiling brats.

Have you ever had a homebrew mistake that turned out great?: My Tropical Rodeo Pale Ale. I wasn’t getting the hop aroma that I wanted, so I just kept adding hops. It all kicked in a couple weeks later. Won a gold with it.

What is your favorite beer recipe?: Tropical Rodeo Pale Ale. I can drink that everyday.

Are you a BJCP Judge?  If so, what is your rank and how long have you been judging?: Nope

Do you have a good beer judging story you’d like to share with the rest of the homebrewing world?: Getting to watch the 2015 Beehive Brew-off as a steward was a lot of fun. I got to watch the “Best of” judging not knowing whose beers were whose, then finding out Clay and I had 2 beers each in the top 10.

Do you have a favorite homebrew trick or gadget that you’ve found to make your beer better/brewing easier, etc?: Since adding a whirlpool arm and a pump, thing have gotten a lot easier.

Describe your brew system.: Blichmann Top Tier system with 2 burners for HLT and boil kettle. Chugger pump for hot water transfer and whirlpooling. 5 Gallon SS Brewtech Brew Bucket with heat wrap in a mini fridge with temp control. 2 tap kegerator and separate fridge for bottled beer.

How frequently do you brew (times/month or /year)?: I’m down to once a month. Sometimes twice.

What is your favorite malt?  Why?: All of them. Each has it’s own place.

What is your favorite hop? Why?: Citra. I just like the flavor profile, nice and bright.

Do you have a favorite or house yeast? What qualities do you like about that yeast?: Not really, still working my way through many to see what I really like.

Do you have a good homebrew club story you’d like to share?: I met Troy while buying my first recipe. He went out of his way to make sure that I got the right stuff with a special yeast from White Labs. It wasn’t until I had been in the club for a while that I realized it was the same Troy.

What haven’t we asked that you would really like to answer?: The name of my “brewery” is: Karma Cellars. With the motto: Karma’s a bitch, so don’t be an asshole.

If you could serve your homebrew to someone famous, who would it be and what would you give her/him?: I think it would be cool to sit down for a pint of ESB with Steve Harris, bass player from Iron Maiden.

Can you send a picture or two of some labels you’ve created for your homebrew?: I generally don’t do labels.

What’s the most unusual ingredient you’ve ever used in a brew?: Muscavado Sugar. Put it in my English Barleywine. It has a very interesting and unique flavor.

Do you have any pets or kids named after beer styles or ingredients?: No

How many medals have you won from homebrew competitions?: 9:  3 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze.

Do you brew alone, with friends or with someone you live with?: Alone. I have a hard time focusing with others around. Even though company seems makes the brew day go faster.

Are you an indoor or outdoor brewer?: Outdoor.

List some of the names you’ve given your beers. Which is your favorite?: Tropical Rodeo Pale Ale; It’s All About The A’s; Molly’s Milk Stout (after my dog Molly); El Dorado Gold; Jacked-Up Fire Monkey Coffee Stout