Super Brewers

Once you decide you are all-in to the hobby of homebrewing, most people start looking for books to learn from. I’m no different, and purchased several books in my first year of brewing.

Many of those titles were focused on refining the process, focusing on little details that made the beer slightly more or less fermentable; created a slightly more efficient brewing schedule; or helped you manage your fermentation process.

And I learned a lot from those books, but the book that gave me the information I found the most interesting and useful was Brewing Classic Styles (affiliate link). The beginning of the book gives an overview of the brewing process, and some discussion of equipment.

But Brewing Classic Styles is, first and foremost, a recipe book. It contains 80 recipes for each of the styles in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guidelines at the time the book was written. Not just any recipe, either, but recipes that won awards at BJCP-sanctioned competitions.

Why it Mattered to Me

Once I developed an understanding of the basic process of brewing, I didn’t want to obsess about technique and equipment. I had good enough technique and good enough equipment I was making good beer. I wanted to obsess about the recipes and ingredients.

I’ve loved food and cooking as long as I can remember. I can’t remember starting to cook, it’s just always been part of my life. My mom talks about how she used to put my car seat on the kitchen counter, and have me crack eggs into a bowl before I could even walk.

From there, I grew up reading recipe books and watching cooking shows on PBS. Even now, when I walk into a library or book store, I gravitate to the cookbook section.

What I Learned

Brewing Classic Styles taught me many things, but looking at the differences in ingredients for different styles showed me the similarities and minute differences between beer styles.

I still find myself going back to this book and just re-reading the recipes to try to embed them in my brain.

But the most important thing this book gave me is a solid reference for recipe foundations. E.g., when I want to make a beer that falls in a certain color/abv range, I can look at these recipes and get a rough idea for base grain quantities. Then I can improvise the specialty grains and adjuncts to focus on the flavor profile(s) I want.

This book gave me solid recipes to make without changing a thing, until I was ready to change something. And it helped me explore unique herbs, spices, and other ingredients with the knowledge the base beer recipe was good.

So, if you’re a foodie, and you love brewing beer, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Brewing Classic Styles(affiliate link). It’s considered a classic now, but that just means they nailed it.

Brew up an adventure!

For most people

Please be patient with me while I try to articulate my thoughts on this. Also, the real thing I’m saying is, “Homebrewing doesn’t make sense for most people.”

But for those of us who love it, and people who are curious, it’s definitely worth trying and getting involved.

What Beer Lovers Want

I mean, let’s get down to brass tacks. Beer lovers want good beer. And there is a plethora of great beer available at reasonable prices almost anywhere. I mean, what’s reasonable varies quite a bit. I saw some beer prices from Australia and New Zealand and did not think they were reasonable.

But I’m pretty spoiled with access to great beer. And it makes it pretty easy to skip making a batch when I can go to the store and grab a reliably great beer without giving up a fairly large chunk of time.

The Main Thing That Doesn’t Make Sense

Homebrewing requires gear. Much of the gear doesn’t get used for any other purpose, at least for myself and my friends who brew. And that can lead to some storage chaos, as illustrated by the picture of my garage below.

This isn’t really a problem, or a barrier. I know lots of homebrewers with minimal gear who make great beer. You don’t need a huge setup, and you can tailor your gear to the space you have. But like most hobbies, once you know you love it, there’s always new, interesting gear.

The Important Thing that Doesn’t Make Sense

Homebrewing takes time. Each batch requires time on multiple days, and may take weeks from brew day until it’s ready to drink. 5 gallon batches will require at least a few hours on brew day, assuming you have your ingredients ready.

Packaging day (bottling, kegging) requires another time investment to get the beer from your fermenter to your package of choice.

And the wait for your beer to carbonate seems to drag forever.

But Homebrewing is Still Worth It

Homebrewing is, first and foremost, a hobby. And like most hobbies, they don’t make sense to people not involved in them.

But if you love beer, you really should pick up a kit (affiliate link) and try homebrewing. Even if it’s just one batch to experience the process, it will give you an greater understanding of the beer in your glass.

Many of my homebrewing friends enjoy cooking and experimenting with flavors, and making beer at home gives an outlet for both passions at once.

So I would recommend you try homebrewing. Just don’t blame me when you run out of space to store your gear.

Brew up an adventure!