The Author

Welcome to the Accidentalis Brewery blog. I brew in my garage.

At Accidentalis, you will find some long-winded and long-form articles on brewing beer, mead, and fiddling around with fun (or not so fun) brewery gear and gadgets at home. My name is Matt Chrispen.

I am a serious (and sometimes not so serious) home brewer. I am very passionate about beer brewing and enamored with the processes of taking simple ingredients and producing something that can be boisterous or subtle, and most importantly, satisfying. My brewing journey has been ongoing over the past several years and has expanding to take over my garage and spare time.

I invested a few years ago in the Sabco Brew-Magic V350M because I really wanted to focus on core brewing; understanding the fundamental concepts of recipe creation, mashing and hopping techniques, and fermentation. I have discovered that, like golf, one can never fully master brewing, and this blog is my record of the journey from complete novice to the experienced home brewer. You will find recipes and experiments, but more likely find documentation of my failures.

My philosophy of brewing is pretty open but serious. I do not adhere to purity laws, but do enjoy brewing in historical fashion, or deploying more difficult mashing techniques (like decoctions) at times. I spend a great deal of time getting intimate with my recipes through research, thinking through the creative process, pulling in traditional elements, and occasionally adding in a modern or unusual twist – however, I try to avoid really crazy ideas like asparagus jalapeno stouts or such. I am also eclectic – sometimes there is an IPA and a Pils on tap – other times a hoppy brown American ale and a sour cider.

Where possible, the instructive sections of my blog are researched, and where necessary, I point out the lack of authoritative reference. I am not a scientist, rather have a fine arts background – so there may be a blind spot on the math or scientific principle behind something for me – happy to have that pointed out. Mostly, I hope that I can inspire new homebrewers to keep at it – give things a try – and learn to look internally to refine skills and techniques that can dramatically change their brewing. I should add, I don’t believe everything I read, and when I suspect a myth or hubris, I will test the idea and make my own conclusion.

What I like most about brewing is the look on people’s faces when they take a sip of a carefully crafted beer or mead. One of my work colleagues told me she had never seen me smile more than when sharing some ales with them after a long and hard week. Or handing an old crusty brewer something other than a light American lager and have their eyes light up and drink deeply.

You are welcome to use any of the photos I have shot for this blog, with the caveat that I would like you to by-line the picture with (c) Accidentalis Brewing and provide a link to the article. Thank you!

I live in Bastrop, Texas, just outside of Austin to the east. You can contact me here: mchrispen@gmail.com