The Hands On Way to Learn Brewing

Good morning. For those of you taking part in “Dry January”, only one more weekend of sobriety before you have to decide if you're going to ditch the non alcoholic beers on Feb 1 or continue into “Dry February”.

-Brandon Copeland

The Hands On Way to Learn Brewing

There are all different ways to learn how to brew beer - most people nowadays head to the internet, Googling and diving deep into forums and YouTube videos. There are also online courses like the Level Up All Grain course (more on this later).

However, if you’re a person that prefers an in person, hands-on approach to learning, you may be more inclined to take a brewing class. When I was in college at Virginia Tech, there was a brewing sciences class and they even had a pilot brewery on campus. This is a niche opportunity but something I was very happy to experience.

You could also sign up for homebrewing classes at your local homebrewing supply shop. For instance, the premiere homebrew supply shop in NYC, Bitter & Esters, offers a multitude of homebrewing classes at their location in Brooklyn. Some of the classes on offer are Homebrewing Essentials, All-Grain Brewing, and Recipe Design: Theory and Practice.

These classes can up your homebrewing game, but if you would like to level up your brewing skills to the commercial level, you may need to invest some more time and money. The most well renowned program is hosted by the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago.

The Master Brewer Program is a 20 week program that is split between Chicago and Munich, and also includes a two week tour around Europe to study existing breweries and operations. This is by no means an affordable experience, but it does look like it would be the opportunity of a lifetime and a great learning experience.

Beer Trivia Question

🍺 What is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States?

Read to the end to find out if you're right!

Level Up All Grain Course

Presented by Brew Cabin

The Level Up All Grain course presented by Brew Cabin was created by Matt Giovanisci, a self proclaimed homebrewing fanatic with an advanced understanding of every aspect of the brewing process. His home setup is one that will fill you with envy - it’s the home brewery you’ve always dreamed of.

The course consists of 40 videos with detailed information from recipe creation, cleaning, equipment selection, brewing techniques, and much more. It’s as thorough as a course can be, and teaches you everything you need to know to level up your all grain brewing. I have been brewing for 10 years and still learned a lot from Matt. Click the link below to learn more.

Homebrewing Equipment Highlight

Five Star | Star San Sanitizer

This is is your gentle reminder of the week that 90% of success in brewing is due to diligent cleaning and sanitization, and when it comes to sanitization, Star San is your best friend. The best strategy with Star San is to always have a spray bottle premixed ready to go for your brew days so that you can quickly sanitize your equipment before use.

Deal of the Week

Interested in Growing Your Own Hops?

This isn’t necessarily a deal, but MoreBeer has opened their pre-sale for 2024 for hop rhizomes (essentially the roots you need to plant your own hops).

I bought the cascade rhizome last year and it was fun to watch them grow higher and higher over the summer. The year 1 yield was small, but I’m hoping next year’s harvest will be substantial enough for at least a simple pale ale.

Brewgr Recipe of the Week

Smoke in the Water

If you’re looking for a complex recipe that will challenge you, this is the one - with 9 different fermentables, you’ll also be stretching your wallet a bit, but for a delicious porter. The name alone makes me want to make a clone of it and make it my own.

Credit: Gait

And the Answer Is...

🍺 D.G. Yuengling and Son was formed in 1829 and is one of the few American breweries to survive prohibition. They made it through by making “near beers” which were about 0.5% alcohol.