March is a brilliant month to pick up a new hobby. Between basketball madness, spring fever, and pre-Derby jitters, we all need the occasional libation to calm the nerves. Naturally, homebrewing comes to mind. Since Louisville claims to be Possibility City, let’s take this up a notch and grow hops for hand-crafted beer. Now that’s a hobby. Your friends will either be impressed with your imbibing disposition or somewhat alarmed you spent all that time on beer. Regardless, let’s do this.
Anyone can get into homebrewing or hops growing. It just takes a little energy and know-how to create one-of-a-kind brews you would be proud to break out at a party. Once you learn the ropes and make the initial investment, this craft is both rewarding on the pocketbook and the soul.
Three local homebrewers offered information to help craft the answer to the question: To brew or not to brew? Chris Booker, Chris Ward, and Daniel Van Dijk all have different stories of how they came to homebrewing and different advice for beginners, but all three view it as a valuable pastime.
Amateur homebrewer Chris Booker began homebrewing a few years ago. To learn the craft, Booker started with a class.
“If you are still interested after the class, I suggest that you start out small,” said Booker. “Use an ingredient kit for a few batches and focus on the steps involved instead of focusing on forming a recipe. The kits contain all the ingredients you would need to brew many of the most popular types of beer.”
Paul Young of My Old Kentucky Homebrew teaches such a class every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the store’s new location on Baxter Avenue.
“The class lasts about 45 to 60 minutes and covers the brewing process, fermentation, conditioning, packaging, and basic info about sanitation, techniques, and equipment instruction,” said Young.
Once you feel ready to tackle ingredients, Young offers ready-to-go recipes in a wide variety of classic styles.
“We carry all the malts, hops, and yeast varieties a brewer could ever want,” said Young.
Booker rates homebrewing a 6 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, mainly for the time investment.
“A typical brew day from start to finish, including cleanup, is around 3.5 hrs,” said Booker. “After that, your beer can sit undisturbed for another week or two.”
While it may seem like a lot of work, the payout more than makes up for the work. Booker enjoys the fruit of his labor with friends once the beer is finalized.
“It feels great to watch people enjoy something that you have worked hard to produce,” said Booker. “I have even inspired other friends and neighbors to start brewing their own beer. Who doesn’t love beer?”
Chris Ward, another local homebrewer, came upon brewing from the suggestion of a friend.
“I started with extract brewing,” said Ward. “It is less time consuming and requires less equipment than all-grain brewing. If you find you like extract brewing, you can progress to all-grain pretty easily.”
When asked about his best brew to date, Ward had a surprising story.
“The best beer has been a clone of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA,” said Ward. “I started the beer, but then broke my ankle. The beer sat in the secondary for several months while my ankle healed. It was only supposed to be in there six weeks. It actually turned out really well.”
Typically, Ward has multiple beers brewing at different stages all the time.
“Once a batch is complete, I like to have a get together with my friends to enjoy it,” said Ward. “Everyone that has had my homebrew seems to be curious about when I am brewing again and always want to try it.”
At these gatherings, Ward’s friends also enjoy his homemade chili prepared with – what else? – his homebrewed beer.
As a bartender by day and a homebrewer by night, Daniel Van Dijk’s interest in hops precluded his drinking by a few years.
“I have gardened since I was a child,” said Van Dijk. “Later in life I discovered the glories of beer, especially craft beer. As I started to try to brew my own beer, it made sense to grow hops. Plus, they’re a cool plant and easy to grow.”
According to Van Dijk, homebrewers should prepare for trial and error when using their own hops in their brews.
“Hops are necessary in most styles of beer, minus some historic styles,” said Van Dijk. “The amount, timing, and variety influence the final product. I’ve had success with several hoppy beers, as well as some failures, especially initially, and really enjoyed a dry hopped brown ale I made a while back.”
Van Dijk offered some advice for beginners who are considering growing their own hops.
“Hops are prolific growers and sprouters,” said Van Dijk. “Make sure you have a tall trellis, as hops can grow almost 25 feet in a season. Find out what varieties work well around here. Train them early. Pick sprouts and eat them. Make sure to leave two to five bines per trellis line. Think about how you are going to harvest hops that are 20 feet in the air. Add organic compost when planting and top dress them as needed. Keep your pets away from the plants, as hops are poisonous to dogs.”
Regardless if you brew beer, grow hops, or share a pitcher of PBR with friends, the end result is camaraderie. Should you want to pursue homebrewing or home-growing, some reference guides will help you jumpstart the road to red ryes:
FOR BEGINNERS
“The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” by Charlie Papazian
Founder and president of the American Homebrewers Association, Papazian literally wrote the book on homebrewing. This book includes instructions, recipes, charts, and guidelines – everything you need to get started.
FOR INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED BREWERS
“Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles” by Ray Daniels
Daniels provides the brewing formulas and tables, as well as information to take your brewing to the next level, in this detailed technical manual.
TIPS FROM THE LADIES
“The Naked Brewer: Fearless Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Rule-Breaking Recipes” by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune
This is a human approach to homebrewing – anecdotal and witty. It’s perfect for the veteran or the newbie and includes over 50 recipes. These ladies also published “The Naked Pint: An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer,” a more basic guide to homebrewing.
Local resources (because since we drink local, we should buy local)
My Old Kentucky
Homebrew
361 Baxter Ave
(502) 589-3434
Abstonia HopFarm
Regional homebrew clubs
LAGERS Homebrew Club
Louisville Area Grain & Extract Research Society
FOSSILS
Fermenters of Special Southern Indiana Libations Society
B.O.C.K.
Brewers of Central Kentucky
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