100 iGulu User Stories continues with Gregory, a distiller and father whose brewing journey began years before iGulu.

For Gregory, brewing has never been only about making a drink.

As a distiller at Côte des Saints, he knows that real flavor often takes time. Fermentation, aging, beekeeping, and brewing all ask for patience, observation, and care. Long before the iGulu S1 became part of his routine, there was already a brewing memory that stayed with him.

Around ten years ago, Gregory and his son brewed an amber beer together at home. It was traditional, simple, and economical. The result was not perfect, but it was good enough to make them want to repeat the experience from time to time. More importantly, it became a memory they could keep.

They even created a label for the bottles.

I always enjoy remembering that moment, whether it's the brewing day itself or the bottling day.

The beer was called La Mousse Tâche, a French wordplay inspired by "moustache." The label featured moustache graphics and described the beer as a small-batch amber beer, micro-brewed by Father & Son for personal enjoyment.

It was more than a bottle of beer. It was their first shared batch, a project with a name, a label, and a sense of humor.

The Pleasure of Starting from Nothing

Gregory describes himself as largely self-taught. For him, learning from someone can certainly help you reach a result faster, but it can also lead you to reproduce what is already known. Research and hands-on experimentation may lead to mistakes, but they can also open up new paths.

Research may lead to mistakes, but it can also open up paths that have not traditionally been explored.

That mindset runs through many parts of his life. He enjoys good food and good drinks. He prefers cooking with fresh ingredients rather than relying on ready-made products. For the past five years, he has also kept beehives, originally from a desire to do something positive for the planet. Beekeeping gave him the opportunity to observe bees closely, and it also led him to explore mead production.

For Gregory, cooking, brewing beer, making mead, keeping bees, and even creating beverages from wild-harvested plants all share something in common.

There's a real pleasure in starting from nothing and ending up with something flavorful.

And if the result is not perfect, there is always a chance to improve it the next time. That is part of what makes the process meaningful.

Waiting, for Gregory, is not simply a delay. It makes the final result more rewarding when it succeeds. He experiences that every day in his work as a distiller. What comes out of the still after two distillation runs cannot be called whisky until it has aged for at least three years in wooden barrels.

Waiting makes the result even more rewarding when it succeeds.

Time is not separate from the craft. Time is part of the flavor.

The Challenge of Traditional Homebrewing

Gregory already understood the joy of brewing at home. But he also understood its limitations. Traditional homebrewing is demanding. It takes time, attention, temperature control, measurements, and patience.

You're also limited to what can be done at ambient temperature.

For someone who values flavor, control, and consistency, that matters. So when Gregory discovered the iGulu S1 crowdfunding project on Kickstarter, it immediately caught his attention. Before that, he had been watching another brewing product available in Europe for several years. But to him, the S1 felt even more complete.

What stood out was not just one feature. It was the combination of everything the machine offered: automated brewing, stage-by-stage temperature control, draft serving, available brew kits, and the freedom to create his own recipes.

It's really a combination of everything, the fact that the machine covers so many critical aspects, the ease of preparing kits while still having the freedom to create your own recipes, and the pleasure of draft serving.

For Gregory, the S1 was not simply a shortcut. It was a more stable and complete way to bring homebrewing into everyday life, while still leaving room for experimentation.

A First S1 Brew That Led to Another Machine

After tasting his first S1 brew, Gregory made a very clear decision.

After that first experience, I ordered another S1 to give to my son for his birthday.

It was not just another purchase. It was a continuation of something they had started years before. Ten years earlier, they had brewed La Mousse Tâche together as Father & Son. Now, the S1 offered a simpler, more complete, and more consistent way for that shared interest to continue.

Today, Gregory and his son live about an hour apart. They each brew on their own, then talk about their impressions of the results. The Father & Son brewing story did not stay in the past. It simply found a new way to continue.

A Third S1, and a New Brewing Rhythm

Gregory later bought a third S1. This one was for himself. The reason was practical, but it says a lot about how deeply the S1 had become part of his routine.

The third was to allow a preparation-consumption rotation.

Once he finishes a batch and drinks it over a few days, depending on which friends stop by, he starts another brew. The S1 is no longer something he uses only once in a while. It has become part of his brewing rhythm.

First experience of mead with 3 different types of honey	Three S1 in rotation at home

Control, Creativity, and the Pleasure of Draft Serving

For Gregory, the S1 works because it brings several important parts of brewing together. The brew kits make preparation easier and more accessible. The controlled cooling system allows him to explore lagers and improve the quality of other fermentations by providing stability compared to fluctuating ambient temperatures.

They allow you to explore lagers and also improve the quality of other types of fermentation by providing stability compared to fluctuating ambient temperatures.

Draft serving adds another layer of enjoyment to the experience. At the same time, the S1 does not remove creativity. That matters to Gregory.

He is currently enjoying the process of testing different iGulu kits. So far, even when some flavors are less aligned with his personal taste, none have disappointed him. To him, the recipes deliver what they are supposed to deliver.

Gregory has already shared detailed tasting notes on several styles, including West Coast Double IPA, German Helles, and Irish Stout. He notices appearance, aroma, palate, finish, bitterness, balance, and whether the style expresses itself clearly.

He also brings his brews into food — using Helles for onion rings with beer dipping sauce, and Double IPA for corn dogs with spicy sausages and mayonnaise. For Gregory, brewing is not separate from food and life. It belongs with them.

iGulu S1 at home	Double IPA · corn dogs	German Helles · onion rings

From S1 to F1: The Next Step After the Brew Challenge

Gregory's iGulu story did not stop with the S1. As part of the iGulu Brew Challenge, he entered his own brew and became the champion, winning an F1 machine.

For Gregory, the F1 is more than a prize. It is the next step in an ongoing brewing journey. Even more exciting, he shared that he plans to bring the F1 to the distillery where he works and show it to his colleagues.

As a distiller, Gregory has already seen the value of iGulu in his own homebrewing routine. Now, he is willing to bring the machine into a more professional environment and let other people who understand brewing see what it can do. That is a meaningful kind of recognition.

From the Father & Son amber beer La Mousse Tâche, to multiple S1 machines at home, to an F1 heading into a distillery setting, Gregory's story keeps expanding. It is not only about using a machine. It is about continuing to explore, share, and bring brewing into different parts of life.

Still Experimenting

Gregory's story with iGulu is still evolving. For now, he is having fun testing the kits. But he also plans to go further by adjusting settings on existing kits and creating his own brews.

Some of the ideas he wants to explore include a Baltic Porter, a Rauchbier, experiments with wood chips, making mead from time to time, and even using ingredients that were previously used to make gin in a beer.

I don't have a program written, I go with the flow of the moment.

That may be the best way to understand Gregory's relationship with brewing. He respects the process, but stays open to inspiration. He values stability, but does not want to lose creativity. He enjoys the result, but he also enjoys watching something slowly take shape over time.

More Than a Machine

Gregory's story shows another side of homebrewing. It is not only about making beer faster or easier. For him, it is about making the process more stable, the results more consistent, and the craft easier to continue — without losing the pleasure of creativity, patience, and care.

From brewing La Mousse Tâche with his son years ago, to owning multiple S1 machines, to becoming an iGulu Brew Challenge champion and bringing the F1 into his distillery world, Gregory's iGulu story is still moving forward.

For a distiller, a self-taught maker, and a father who once brewed a Father & Son beer with his son, iGulu is more than a machine. It is a way to keep exploring. A rhythm for continuing to create. And a bridge that lets an old brewing memory keep growing in new ways.

Watch Gregory's winning Brew Challenge story.