From Homebrewer to Maltster

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2021 issue of Zymurgy Magazine

By Mark Stober

Alan Gladish began homebrewing in the dark ages of the hobby. A 1971 visit to a winemaking shop in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, had piqued his interest in giving beer brewing a shot. Learning how to brew in those days was challenging, though: ingredient selection was sparse at best, and reliable information about how to brew was even harder to come by.

But Alan tried his best nonetheless and eventually graduated from using generic cans of malt extract to trying all-grain brewing, even going so far as to fashion a copper mash tun at his father’s metal fabricating shop. After several years and dozens of attempts, he finally brewed one pretty good beer and convinced himself that he could do it. In the end, however, he gave up because of other challenges in his life, such as raising a young family and working full-time at his father’s business.

Fast forward to 2012. Alan’s brother Jeff had embraced homebrewing with much success, brewed award-winning beers, and become a master…

Access the full article in the November/December 2021 Zymurgy magazine.