Home Brewing

The Whys and Hows

Why Brew

• A practical act of creation without the birdhouse problem
• Physical, not virtual
• Connection to over 12,000 years of human practice and celebration

What Do You Need

• A stove
• A pot
• A spoon
• A bucket
• Malt, hops, yeast
• Patience patience

Your First Batch

• Don't get "crazy"
• Extract is not bad
• Beer happens regardless of mistakes
• Your job is to get it over the finish line

The Basic Process

• Mash/Steep: Create Barley Sugar 
• Boil: Concentrate, Add Hops, Sanitize
• Chill: Cool to add yeast 
• Ferment: Let the yeast do their thing
• Package: Bottle/Keg and get ready to...
• Drink....

Ways to Brew

• Extract Only: Simplicity defined
• Extract with Grains: Flexible
• All-Grain: Supremely Flexible
  • ​Brew in A Bag: Cheap and Easy
  • All-In-One: Controllable
  • Cooler / Kettles: DIY Heaven

Key Tips For All Brewers

• Cleanliness/Sanitation
• Vital Yeast
• "Clean" Water
• Temperature Control

It Goes From Simple to OMG

• More fermentation control
• Obsessing about water
• More gear
• Kegerators, chillers, etc

How We Brew

• Drew - Grainfather All in One
• John Palmer - Anvil All in One
• John Jackson - Igloo Cooler / Pot 
  • And how that plays out here...

Beer Appreciation

Let's Drink!

• Doug Days of Summer

• Macik

• Also Cute

The Beers

• Sniff, Swirl, Sniff, Drink, Think

• Use concrete images that make sense

• Everyone can taste - it's just tying the words with the sensation

How to Taste

• American Lager - 5.1%
  • Pale lager with adjunct (rice/corn)
  • Very low hop character
  • Cold/Crisp - Down for Summer

Doug Days Of Summer

• Czech Dark Lager (tmavý ležák)- 4.7%
• Malty, rich, but with a dry finish

Macik

• West Coast Pilsner - 5.8%
• A hybrid style of American hop expression in a lager.
• Clean expression of hops because it's not competing with the yeast

Also Cute

• Books
  • How to Brew by John Palmer
  • Simple Homebrewing by Drew
• Later Books
  • Brewing Classic Styles, Water by John Palmer
  • Experimental Homebrewing by Drew
• Podcasts
  • John: The Brewing Network
  • Drew: Experimental Brewing
• Homebrew Clubs
  • Yeastside Brewers (https://yeastsiderbrewers.org)
  • Maltose Falcons (https://maltosefalcons.com)

Learning More

• Local
  • Pacific Brewing Supplies - San Dimas
  • Home Beer Wine Cheesemaking Shop - Woodland Hills
  • Tavern Services - Northridge
  • Steinfillers - Long Beach
  • South Bay Brewing - Torrance
  • Windsor Homebrew - Costa Mesa/Anaheim
• Online
  • MoreBeer morebeer.com
  • Williams Brewing williamsbrewing.com
  • Northern Brewer northernbrewer.com

Getting Supplies