In this episode of Morgan s Around The World BCN talks to Ray Silvius. A home brewer from Kingsville in beautiful Ontario, Canada about Morgan s, basements and brewing in freezing temperatures. A home brewer since 1993, Ray Silvius has been an ardent supporter of Morgan s for many years. BCN spoke with Ray to learn more about home brewing in Canada... BCN...How long have you been brewing? Ray...I first began making beer at a You-Brew-It establishment in 1993 with malted grains and hops, and sadly often a fair amount of glucose. The beer was usually somewhat enjoyable, but rarely memorable. I started making wine at home from juice and concentrates about 6 years ago, and soon after, began making beer from extracts. The results of these brews have been far greater. BCN...What equipment do you use? Ray...I use 28 litre ported, sealed plastic fermenters and 23 litre ported Better Bottle PET plastic carboys in a oxygen free looped racking system, collecting CO2 in the empty carboys during primary fermentation. I bottle all my beer in 355 ml glass bottles with primed carbonation. Ray in his basement with his next brew...a can of Morgan s Royal Oak Amber Ale. BCN...Tell us about brewing in your basement Ray...All my brewing is done in my basement which is only about 2.1 meters below ground level due to the high water table (being so close to Lake Erie). Most homes have sump pumps here to help keep water out during heavy rains and melting snow. During the winter months, maintaining a temperature between 23-26 C in our laundry room where I brew is challenging and requires the use of an electric space heater in addition to the house furnace. The foundation walls are not insulated and the floor is bare cement. The extracts have produced consistently good brews with very good clarity at a fair and comparable price BCN...What is your favourite Morgan s product? Ray...Although there are still a number of Morgan's products I have yet to try, one of my favorite brews is Royal Oak Amber Ale extract with 1KG of Light Dry Malt Extract and natural spring water. A very simple brew which is always excellent. Many brewers suggest tailoring with additional malts, darker malts and additional Fuggles and Cascade hops, which I will likely soon try, but this very basic method produces a rich, full flavoured malty amber with a good balance of hoppy bitterness. BCN...What keeps you coming back to Morgan s? Ray...The extracts have produced consistently good brews with very good clarity at a fair and comparable price. SPOTLIGHT ON KINGSVILLE, ONTARIO Located on the north shore of Lake Erie, Kingsville is geographically the Southernmost town in Canada sharing the same latitude as Northern California and 2 Oregon. Covering an area of roughly 250 km and with a population of approximately 20 thousand, Kingsville is only 45minutes from the Windsor/USA (Detroit Michigan) border.
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BCN s URN COMPARISON If you ve been considering buying an urn to use for your home brewing you may have seen that there are a few to choose from. BCN looked at three different products in an overall comparison, so you can make an informed choice on what s available. THE URN...FUSELEX SPARGE MASTER This urn is made specifically for brewing and constructed from food grade stainless steel in a polished mirror finish. The clamp lid seals in the same manner common to all home brew kegs and has a port in the centre. The lid is sealed with a food grade O ring, there are two handles on either side of the dome lid. This urn has the highest rated element of all three we compared. THE STATS... Overall Capacity: Brew Capacity: Element Rating: 30 litres 25 litres 2400 watts THE URN...ESSENCIA This urn consists of a paint drum style housing con- structed from mill grade stainless steel. The dome lid has a hole punched in the top and is connected with a paint drum style steel clamp closure. The lid is sealed with silicon stuck to the underside of the rim. Some Essencia urns feature a plastic snap tap in the lower side wall. There are no handles. THE STATS... Overall Capacity: Brew Capacity: Element Rating: 30 litres 25 litres 2000 watts THE URN...STILL SPIRITS This urn consists of a paint drum style housing, con- structed from mill grade stainless steel. The dome lid has a hole punched in the top and is also connected with a paint drum style steel clamp. The lid is sealed with silicon stuck to the underside of the dome lid.. There are no handles. THE STATS... Overall Capacity: Brew Capacity: Element Rating: 30 litres 25 litres 1380 watts FUSELEX SPARGE MASTER URN