Brian Lesperance

Brian “El Presidente” Lesperance (Past President)

I am the currently serving my third year as President of the Manty Malters. Also, I have served two years as Vice-President of the club.

The way I got into homebrewing, was that I received my first homebrew kit as a gift from my parents in 1997. When starting out I only brewed a few batches a year as partial boil extract kit brewer. It wasn’t until I joined the club in 2005 and started to meet fellow brewers that I was able to expand my brewing knowledge from partial boil extract to full boil and eventually all-grain. I prefer to brew German Ales and Lagers but I have also experimented in smoked beers, oaked beer and fruited beers. But some of my favorite beers of which I have brewed include a German Pilsner which is similar to Bitburger, Belgian Blonde, Imperial IPA, and Pumpkin Spice Beer.

If you are local to the area and have attended the Manitowoc Jaycee’s Beer Lovers Brewfest, you may have had a change to try some of my homebrew. Some of the beers I have brewed for the Manitowoc Jaycees Beerfest include a Decocted Hefe Weizen, Strawberry Blonde, Cherry wood Smoked Wheat beer, and just this year a Cascadian Black IPA. I also enjoy brewing at Pinecrest Historical Village and giving classes or brewing demonstrations to further the public awareness of home brewing.

Homebrewing is not my only forte, I also am a fan of many commercial beers. Some of the commercial Beers I enjoy include Arrogant Bastard from Stone Brewing, Fatty Boombalatty from Furthermore, Racer 5 from Bear Republic and Leffe Blonde.

I also grow some of my favorite varieties of hops. The varities I have growing at home are Hallertauer, Tettang and Fuggles. I often brew with these hops as well. Aside from growing my own hops, I also enjoy building my own brewing equipment such as a counter flow wort chiller, stir plate, and pump case.

As far as any future brewing goals go, I would like to become a BJCP judge in the future.

I am married to a wonderful woman Sue who vigorously supports my hobby and club activities. Sue has recently began brewing she enjoys Blonde ales, Oatmeal Stouts and can even appreciate a good IPA. We have three dogs and live in Seven Lakes area near Whitelaw. To pay for my brewing obsession, I am a Service Technician for a Voice and Data Cabling Company.

Brian has submitted 3 of his recipes if you would like to brew them. They are in Beersmith 2 format. Cascadian Black IPA – Outsourced Blonde – Strawberry Blonde