About

Homebrewing With The Industrious Spirit of Irondale

"Hadlock Saloon;" #2005.70.11 from the Collection of the Jefferson County Historical Society

Small-Batches, Big Flavor

I make small-batch beer from scratch. By small-batch I mean small, typically 1-2 gallons at a time, and by from scratch I mean starting with grains and building the beer up from there.

My History With Homebrewing

In my teenage years I thought beer sucked, and in the 1980s for the most part I was right. It was my first taste of Guinness that made me realize there was a lot more to beer than ultra-pale stuff that tasted like water.

My beer horizons were expanded further when I discovered two pioneers in the craft beer movement -- namely Anchor Brewing and Sierra Nevada -- and with my first Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I became instantly hooked on great beer. Moreover, I became obsessed with how on earth they made this stuff so great?

Fast-forward to the mid 1990s and I found myself attending grad school in Denton, Texas, where my route to and from school each day took me right by the local homebrew shop. Whether happenstance or fate, after driving by a few times I decided to stop in on my way home one day.

I left the homebrew shop armed with a copy of Charlie Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing," starter brewing equipment, and the ingredients to make a brown ale. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was determined to make great beer and I've been trying to do just that ever since.

As is the case with many homebrewers, life got in the way for a decade or two and coming back to the hobby recently I was astonished at how far things have progressed. From the fantastic equipment, to the improved and simplified techniques, to the huge improvement in the range and quality of ingredients, to this little thing called the internet that allows people to collaborate and share, it's an amazing time to be a homebrewer.

Why Small-Batch Brewing

When I first started brewing in the 1990s I was in grad school and since broke grad students like nothing more than free beer, my 5-gallon batches would disappear pretty quickly.

Now that I'm not as young as I once was (who is?) and no longer hang out with broke grad students the beer stays around a lot longer, so by brewing small batches I can brew more frequently, experiment more freely, and I'm finding I'm having a lot more fun with this scale of brewing.

Why I Brew

For me, brewing is an endlessly engaging endeavor. The history of beer is long and storied, the process of brewing is absolutely fascinating, and the possibilities are limitless.

No, you won't save money making your own beer. Yes, it's quicker and easier to just go buy beer, and there's a ton of great ones out there. But there is nothing quite like getting to the end of the brewing process, having that first taste of a fresh batch, and -- beer gods willing -- having a frothy smile of satisfaction spread across your face. It never gets old and inspires me to brew again.

To me, brewing beer is equal parts science, art, alchemy, and luck, but as my former trumpet teacher used to say, "The more I practice, the luckier I get!" So I forge ahead, practicing more and more, trying new things, and chasing that ever-elusive perfect beer.

Spoiler: You never get there. But it sure is fun continuing to try.