Visit dry dock brewing co.
The brewery was Aurora, Colorado’s first when owners Kevin DeLange and Michelle Reding opened with a 7 BBL brewhouse in a 900-square-foot space in 2005.
Tom Herold
- How long have you been homebrewing/winemaking? –I have been brewing on and off since 1980. I got started because of my dad. He started homebrewing in about 1947 while stationed overseas as a Navy pilot. His process was made out of necessity. It was very hard to find any alcoholic beverages at that time and remote location. His goal was to make an alcoholic beverage with a little malty flavor. His only recipe was; water, several pounds of sugar, a one-quart-sized can of Pabst Blue Ribbon malt syrup, and Fleischmann yeast. This was the best he could do with the very limited resources where he was stationed. He continued making that “Beer” out of tradition. It inspired me to make beer when I was an adult.
- What are your favorite styles to make? – Right now, I am enjoying spiced hard apple cyder and slightly sweet dark beer.
- Are you a member of any brew clubs or organizations? – The only “Club” I am a member of is, The Brew Hut. I come by on a Tuesday once in a while and ask
Mark and Nick to taste my latest creation. They give me suggestions as to how I can improve it. They are always very kind and helpful. - Have you won any medals or awards? – I have not entered any competitions yet. When I ask people to taste my brews, I am shocked at the
vastly differing opinions for each brew. Therefore, I brew for one person; me. - Describe your brewing system or equipment (Provide a picture if possible) – I started out with a 5-gallon glass carboy and a plastic bucket. Now that I am considerably older and weaker, I have gone to a one-gallon process.
- What piece of equipment or brewing process has made the most difference in your beer and/or wine? There are two things that make my processes much better; an auto-siphon and a 1.4-gallon big mouth bubbler.
- What other fermented beverages have you made? I love watching the YouTube channel, City Steading Brewing. They have given me many ideas as to what to
brew. The two craziest brews I have made have been, Agave wine and Lingenberry (Ikea) wine. I liked both of them.
- Is there anything else that you would like to share about yourself? – Other things I am interested in are woodworking, photography, and listening to loud rock music.