President & Lead Brewer

Mad Hop Brews (MHB) was established - unofficially - in early 2006 after John Rehmert received a starter brewing kit from his brother, Ian. The kit included some basic equipment (racking cane, tubing, tube clamp, bucket, etc.), a couple of extract kits, and various steeping grains. John’s first attempt was a resounding failure when he brewed one of the kits without adding the required cane sugar. Unfortunately, he didn’t recognize his error until after the beer had fermented through to an extra-extra dry stout.

Convinced that his first product was not going to be indicative of his brewing future, John proceeded to research brewing science, processes, equipment, and recipes from any available source. First on that list was The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (3rd Ed.) by Charlie Papazian – founder of the American Homebrewer’s Association (AHA) and the Brewers Association (BA); both at www.beertown.org. Needless to say, John quickly joined the AHA and has since enjoyed Zymurgy magazine immensely. Next were Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels and How to Brew by John Palmer – both were good reads and continue to be great references. While reading/re-reading those books, John discovered the great wealth of information available via both the Basic Brewing and The Brewing Network groups of podcasts. As John’s base of knowledge increased, so did the quality of his brewing equipment, processes, and products. John took his wife and MHB CFO, Darlene, on a reconnaissance mission to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO in October of 2006, which is where his eyes were opened to the vastness of creativity and possibilities in the world of craft beer…

John then decided to refine his palate in order to improve his brewing even more, so he attended a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) study course held at Maryland Homebrew in Columbia, MD and led by Les White, President of the Free State Homebrew Club Guild. During the course, John was exposed to many styles of beer and refined his palate and tasting skills to distinguish between styles and identify many flavors that could indicate problems throughout the brewing/fermenting processes. The course prepared him to take his first BJCP exam held in Rockville, MD on June 9, 2008, which resulted in John’s ranking as a Recognize Beer Judge. To date, John has judged the in the Maryland Governor’s Cup, a competition for professional brewers in Maryland, and the AHA’s annual National Homebrew Competition. He is looking forward to many judging opportunities in the future to give back to the greater brewing community, help hone his palate, and experience the dynamic plethora of compelling and interesting beers out there.

John can be reached via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it …