CONTENTS Preface, xx Introduction, xx
1
2
THE STYLISTS
THE HOP PACK
Christopher Bourdages, xx
Adam Beauchamp, xx
ENGLISH MILD, x x
HOPPY A MERICA N RED, x x
Nick Corona, xx
Chicago Homebrew Alchemists of Suds, xx
HEFE W EIZEN, x x
NE W ENGL A ND IPA , x x
Phil Farrell, xx
Emma Christensen, xx
MILK STOUT, x x
HOPPY PIL SNER , x x
Ronaldo Dutra Ferreira, xx
Devil’s Craft, xx
BRU X A BLONDE , x x
DE V IL JUICE SIPA , x x
Tomasz Kopyra, xx
Ramiro de Diego, xx
GRODZ ISK IE , x x
A RGENTINE A N IPA , x x
Andy Parker, xx
Stefano Dalla Gassa, xx
A MERICA N RED, x x
BELGI A N IPA , x x
Jorge Luis Ringenbach, xx
Brian Hall, xx
E SC OLLO PORTER , x x
A LOHOP S NE W ENGL A ND IPA , x x
Caleb Selby, xx
Denny Neilson, xx
NE W ZE A L A ND L AGER , x x
CHUT ZPA H DOUBLE IPA , x x
Matthias Steinberg, xx K ITCHEN SINK IMPERI A L PORTER , x x
Federico Zanetti, xx A MBER A LE , x x
Mark Zappasodi, xx BELGI A N TRIPEL , x x
J.B. Zorn, xx SERENDIPIT Y SA ISON, x x
3
4
THE FUNKY BUNCH
CREATIVE FRONT
Chris Allen, xx
Luis Arce, xx
R A SPBERRY L A MBIC, x x
W HE AT STOUT, x x
Mitch Grittman, xx
Anna Berken and Charlie Sweatt, xx
A MERICA N MI X ED FERMENTATION FA RMHOUSE ST Y LE SA ISON, x x
CA MPOUT LEMONGR A SS A LE , x x
Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett, xx
Paul Hobson and Lara Murphy, xx
SZECHUA N PA R A DISE SA ISON, x x
BRET T IPA , x x
Jordan Kostalec, xx
Jamie McQuillan, xx
MILK TE A A LE , x x
JE A LOUS PLUM S BERLINER , x x
Cristal Peck, xx FR A MBOISE FA NTA STIC, x x
Plimmรณ, xx IMPERI A L STOUT W ITH VA NILL A , x x
Wichit Saiklao, xx CHRYSA NTHEMUM FLOW ER TE A Kร L SCH, x x
How to Lead a Homebrew Tour, xx Homebrew Competitions, xx Glossary of Select Terms, xx Acknowledgments, xx Index, xx
I
PREFACE n hindsight, it wasn’t the smartest move to go on a
headed home happy, buzzed on good vibes. The home-
beer tour by bike. It was 2008, and I felt bulletproof;
brew tour had succeeded because of its unique mixture
no hangovers hitting like heavyweight right hooks, no
of voyeurism, inebriation, and education. That terrific
toddler bouncing on my chest at 6 a.m. and making me rue last night’s last call.
triple threat lingered in my bones. The following fall, New York City Beer Week orga-
So Sean’s and Clarissa’s idea held real appeal. Sean
nizers asked me to put together a tour. I devised several.
White was president of the New York City Homebrewers
The first featured my favorite scary dive bars. I had been
Guild. We’d known each other since my undergrad days at
a bar columnist for years, and dives fascinated me—
Ohio University, a lifelong friendship cemented over long-
namely why they frightened people. I wanted to show
necks of Schlitz. Like me, Sean had ended up in Brooklyn,
that scary-looking dives were actually the friendliest bars
where beer further infused both of our lives. I chronicled
around, like sheep in wolves’ clothing.
the lush life for Imbibe, Gourmet, New York magazine,
The second excursion was a homebrew tour. Taking
Time Out, and outlets now relegated to history’s recycling
inspiration from the bike tour with Sean and Clarissa,
bin. Sean fell hard for homebrewing. His cramped apart-
I thought it would be a blast to provide a looksee into
ment became a laboratory for Belgian tripels, witbiers, and
the world of amateur brewers to discover what makes
other creations I readily consumed from his kegerator.
them tick and to show how limited space could serve
His beers were very good, the kind of good that led him,
as the crucible for the next great beer trend. The four-
after a handful of hops and jumps, back to Athens, Ohio,
stop tour included a barbecue pit stop and lasted nearly
to open Little Fish Brewing. But first, his then-girlfriend,
seven hours, leaving me drained and—let’s be honest—
now-wife, Clarissa, offered this brain flash: Wouldn’t it
fairly buzzed.
be great to bike to homebrewers’ homes across Brooklyn?
At the end, people asked, “When’s the next tour?”
Yes, yes it would.
Next tour? That was it! But the more I thought about
Sean arranged an itinerary. A dozen-odd folks signed
it, the more I realized that the tour had legs. I created
on. We pedaled. We drank. We pedaled more. We drank
another tour, then another, tapping into New York City’s
more. Total strangers invited us into their homes, trig-
groundswell of brewing talent. We visited the Upper
gering the spine-tingling thrill of peeking into personal
East Side apartment of Rich Buceta, who later founded
spaces. We saw proof positive that square footage posed
SingleCut, then Basil Lee and Kevin Stafford in Brooklyn,
no obstacle to making great beer. Who needed a garage
years before they launched Finback.
or a backyard? These brewers were golden as long as they had a working stove and a closet.
My guidelines: three breweries per tour, four hours total, never the same tour twice. My tours went to all
When pedaling proved too much of a challenge, we
five boroughs by subway, bus, foot, and, on one memora-
swapped wheels for feet to finish the tour. At the end, I
ble stop to Roosevelt Island, by tram. Attendees arrived,
VIII
HOMEBREW WORLD
timid and tittering, but beer soon lubricated the
in Thailand, yet the scene there is thriving. How
wheels of conversation, and the last stop often
do Thai homebrewers skirt the law? What chal-
devolved into an impromptu house party. Tour-
lenges face brewers in the Nevada desert? Costa
takers congregated in the kitchen and toasted.
Rica? Israel? It turns out that they all have a lot
Strangers departed as fast friends.
in common. Languages and cultures differ, yes.
I took the tours on the road to Portland,
Access to hops, grains, and yeast strains fluc-
Maine, and Chicago, discovering dynamic amateur I
beer
traveled,
scenes
which
tuates from country to country, true, but
wherever
every homebrewer speaks the lingo
sparked
of creativity. Homebrewing is a
the creation of this book. Homebrew
World
delicious act of drinking dis-
pro-
obedience, refuting the fer-
vides an all-access pass to
mented status quo in order
some of the world’s best
to fashion new flavors and
homebrewers.
Japanese
take beer in unexpected
law
brewing
new directions, just gal-
forbids
batches above 1% ABV,
lons at a time.
so what do homebrewers
So let’s punch your
there do? It’s against the
drinking passport and get
law to homebrew at all
started.
PREFACE
IX
X
HOMEBREW WORLD
1
THE STYLISTS These brewers crush classic st yles with medal-winning precision.
W
Belgian tripels, English milds, and German
E WALK BEFORE WE RUN,
and homebrewers rarely
hefeweizens have withstood changing moods
zip from beer kits to nailing
and fickle fads. They define the brewing
double IPAs with peaches
canon. While tThe template for, say, British
and feral yeast. They have to master the basics,
porters and Czech pilsners stands has been
refining their techniques, refined before
castfirm, but there’s ample wiggle room for
their recipes can skitter off on wild tangents.
experimentation. Think of brewing like a
Conquering the classics, the world’s great pilsners
language: Why learn only a few words when
and saisons, should come first. In theis modern
you can have an entire avenue of expression?
brewing world,—where excess and novelty equal
Here, we’ll meet homebrewers who color
exultation—that mission often holds all the
neatly within the lines: meticulous Germans,
appeal of a proctologist doctor’s visit.
Belgian-obsessed Brazilians, and San Diego
Put it another way: Would you rather crank up
casino workers who find perfection within
Bach or the latest chart-topping banger?
parameters.
1
NICK CORONA
5
SAN MARCOS, CALIFORNIA
N
ick Corona grew up in Carlsbad near San Diego, the city of endless sun and IPAs, but never cared much about beer. It offered a cold,
bubbly means to an end. That changed for him one night, though, when a buddy offered him an Avery Maharaja, a pungent imperial IPA packing a 10% ABV wallop. “Each sip was liquid gold,” he says. “I kept having a sip
and another sip, and the beer changed with every sip. It was absolutely enjoyable.” One Maharaja led to three, so a friend drove Corona home. When he awoke the next morning, he had a black eye and abrasions on his right hand. He pieced together what happened: As he walked in, his head collided with a doorjamb. In response, he punched the door. “The first things that went through my mind were: Somebody made that beer, and I want to make that beer.” He resolved to order a homebrew kit and open a brewery. “I wanted to give someone the experience that I was given.” Corona found the Maharaja recipe online and set out to replicate it. “Obviously, it wasn’t easy. My first eight to ten beers were IPAs. Of those, I made only one that was decent.” Undaunted, he kept brewing, his
Therein lies the secret to Corona’s success: repetition.
breakthrough coming with a fourth-place finish for his
He settled on a style—be it stout, lager, or coffee beer
hefeweizen at the San Diego County Fair. “The awards
infused with whole beans—and polished the recipe until
go to fifth place. Thank goodness I was able to see I
it was flawless. Before brewing: “Research, research,
was somewhat close. I decided I’d hold onto that recipe
research. I’ll put together my calculations on a recipe and
and continue to brew it.”
go back and recalculate and recalculate again.”
2
HOMEBREW WORLD
He craves constructive criticism now because he rarely
Corona’s coronation came during the 2016 National
received feedback during his early brewing days. He often
Homebrew Competition. He won gold for his German
took growlers to softball games and poured cups for his
wheat, and judges named him America’s homebrewer
pals. “They’d sit there and say they liked it, but I didn’t see
of the year. “To hear your name announced on home-
many people going back for second cups,” he says. “Their
brewing’s biggest stage was mind-blowing,” he says.
cups would sit there halfway full for some time. When those cups started getting emptier, that’s when I realized
FUN FACT
they were telling me the truth.” His hard work paid
America’s oldest homebrew club is the Maltose Falcons,
dividends on the awards dais, earning him best of show
founded in Los Angeles in 1974. Famous former members
at 2015’s prestigious Mayfaire Homebrew Competition,
include Rogue brewmaster John Maier, homebrew author
organized by the long-running Maltose Falcons club.
Drew Beechum, and Steve Grossman, elder brother of
“That’s when I started to build up confidence that maybe
Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman.
I can do this.”
THE STYLISTS
3
8 BA RB ’S HEF Weissbier NICK CORONA ”Outside of requiring a system that allows a step mash, this is a relatively easy brew. When I brewed this beer at Hangar 24, their system didn't allow for a step mash. We were able to do a two-part infusion and skip the protein rest. The first rest produces ferulic acid, necessary for the yeast to produce the style’s clove-like phenols. Banana esters can come across as a banana bomb or even bubblegum, so I control this through restrained fermentation temperatures during the first few days. Brewers looking to perfect this style should closely monitor the initial stages of fermentation.”
5 SIZE
5 gallons (18.9L)
ORIGINAL GRAVITY
1.046
FINAL GRAVITY
1.009
IBU
15.2
SRM
3.6
ABV
4.8%
4 MALTS AND ADJUNCTS 4.5 pounds (2.04 kg) German Pilsner 4.5 pounds (2.04 kg) White Wheat Malt .5 pound (0.23 kg) Rice hulls HOPS (90 MINUTE BOIL) 0.25 ounce (7 g) Hallertau Mittelfrueh (3% AA) 0.75 ounce (21 g) Hallertau Mittelfrueh (3% AA)
NOTES Mash Add 1⅓ teaspoons (6.5 g) calcium chloride to mash. Ferulic Acid Rest 115˚F (46ºC) 10 minutes Protein Rest 127˚F (53ºC) 10 minutes Mash temperature 149˚F (65ºC) 60 minutes 90 minutes 30 minutes
YEAST 2 packages (1.5L starter) White Labs WLP 380 Hefeweizen IV Ale
Brewing Add ⅔ teaspoon (3.4 g) Diammonium phosphate with 10 minutes left in the boil. Fermenting Ferment at 66˚–70˚F (19˚–21˚C) Post-fermentation Carbonate to 3.5 volumes CO 2
6
HOMEBREW WORLD
M
eet the award winners, visionaries, and scofflaws leading the homebrew revolution. How did they get started? What equipment do they use? Where do they find storage space? What are their hopping techniques, yeast strategies, and aging methods? How do they keep temperatures constant without sophisticated climate
controls? What’s their best recipe? Get to know the Stylists who hammer home perfect takes on time-honored beers; the Hop Pack who boldly push IPAs and other hop-forward brews into fragrant new territory; the Wild Ones who are harvesting ambient yeast, unleashing rowdy microbes, and experimenting with souring bacteria to extend the boundaries of good taste; and the Creative Front who follow one simple rule—no rules at all. Along the way, you’ll discover what triggered the homebrewing renaissance, learn how some of the greatest beers went from kitchen table to world domination, hear from the pros about their successes and failures, and find out how to run your own homebrew tour. Then use the handy calendar of events to plan your next beer trip and dive headlong into the homebrew world. JOSHUA M. BERNSTEIN is a beer, spirits, food, and travel journalist
MARKETING & PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN
and the author of Brewed Awakening, The Complete Beer Course,
• National print and online publicity campaign
and Complete IPA (Sterling Epicure). His work appears regularly in newspapers, magazines, and websites, including Beer Advocate, Departures, Draft, Maxim, Men’s Journal, New York magazine,
• Local TV and radio show outreach • Digital focus on beer blogs and websites
coverage as contributing editor. He also writes a beer column for
• Heavy promotion on author’s social media platforms: Twitter and Instagram @JoshMBernstein.
Bon Appétit online and is beer critic for Eater.com. Beer Sessions
• Local events in New York City
New York Times, Saveur, and Imbibe, where he oversees beer
Radio, CNBC, Fox Business, and NPR’s Marketplace have featured him as a beer expert, and he consults for breweries, bars, and bottle shops and leads private tasting seminars and tours. He lives with his wife and daughter in Brooklyn.
March 2018 Cooking/Beverages/Beer $24.95 ($33.95 CAN) Hardcover 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 • 288 pages ISBN 9781454920731
For publicity inquiries, contact Blanca Oliviery at (646) 688-2548 or boliviery@sterlingpublishing.com
DISCLAIMER Reviewers are reminded that changes may be made in this uncorrected proof before books are printed. If any material from the book is to be quoted in a review, the quotation should be checked against the final bound book. Dates, prices, and manufacturing details are subject to change or cancellation without notice.