So I’m sitting here after a day of selling other people’s beer, trying to write this article, sipping what was my attempt at a homemade barleywine (a very strong flavorful type of beer).

The alcohol content fell well below what the style calls for; and yet it stands on its own as a beer, having strong malt and roasted flavors, a heavy-handed hop bite, and a creamy finish. I take a sip, and each level flavor highlights some aspect of what can be an infinitely complex or simple process (depending on how you do it). As fruity beer aromas wave past my nostrils, and alcohol past my taste buds, I think of how this beer that I’m experiencing came to be.

It starts with a man standing over a giant pot full of a boiling liquid. At carefully paced intervals he adds more ingredients to the brew, causing chemical reactions that will affect several characteristics of the final product, and draw various reactions from whomever consumes it. Then, when the concoction cools, it will alter the mind of its maker. Though it may sound illicit,  like a kitchen for crack or methamphetamine, the scene I am describing is far more common (and legal). It’s how beer is home-made, and it is beyond a mere underground Hampton Roads hobby–it is a certain way of life.

Diane Catanzaro, a Norfolk homebrewer, beer judge, CNU professor, and 2007 "Beerdrinker of the Year."

There is no such thing as an average home brewer. Some begin their odyssey into the culture of alcohol later in life. Others (myself included) try their own hand at it immediately, after a few first tastes of the surprising and expansive world of beers. To get a little deeper into this world, I stopped in at Homebrew USA. And what I found, however, in this unassuming location in the Janaf Shopping Center, was one that is probably not unfamiliar to most beer-lovers. A don in a kennel, a football game on the flat-screen TV,  and three guys on a couch watching intently. Rob French, a store salesman, was kind enough to answer some questions from his spot on the couch.

French has been brewing for five years and has worked at Homebrew USA for three. Like most brewers, he not only enjoys the fruits of his labor but the labor itself. “It’s really fun, and I can make beer that I can’t buy anywhere else or beer that is more expensive to go out and buy, like Samichlaus and Chimay,” (Both are beers that are known for their wonderful complexity of flavor, high alcohol content and, unfortunately, the amount of time and money that can be spent tracking them down).

“You can make a batch here for, on average, 35 maybe 40 dollars. That’s two cases of beer,” French explains. “And you get a lot better quality than what you can buy for the same price at the store. It’s definitely not your average Miller Lite.”

Rob’s beer-drinker attitude reflects the appeal of taking up the hobby. “It’s real simple to do. I think a lot of it is just that people are hesitant. They want to make sure they’re not messing it up before they actually do it.
“You can’t mess it up,” he assures me, “You can’t make anything that’ll hurt you.” Smiling he adds, “If you can boil water, you can make beer. There’s certainly nothing hard about it.”

If it’s so easy, then how exactly does one make beer at home? The short and most straightforward answer is this: take a solution extracted from malted grains soaked in piping hot water; bring it to a boil to make it a wort; add hops at various intervals; then after it cools, add yeast to convert the boiled malt-water into a wonderful drink.

So making a beer is actually pretty easy. But the subtle manipulation of each ingredient can result in rather dramatic and different results. The most obvious is with the grain itself. Grain used in beer is largely malted barley, although most domestics add adjuncts like corn and rice. Malting involves soaking the barley seeds until they sprout, releasing enzymes that will enable them to convert the seed’s starch into fermentable sugars. When the kernels are sprouted enough, they are roasted in a massive oven. Additional roasting and processes can impart other flavors to the malt. For example, Guinness stout achieves its dark tone and… coffee-like taste not from some sort of dark angry Irish bitterness handed down over centuries of British occupation, rather, it is due to the addition of large quantities of roasted malt to the recipe.

Once the grain is malted and kiln-roasted to the desired degree, it must be mashed; a process that involves soaking the crushed grains in hot water. This moist heat activates the enzymes in the barley kernel that convert the starches in the seed to sugars that can be eaten by yeast.

The next obvious flavor component of beer is hops. Hops are interesting enough to deserve their own article. In addition to being the only other plant classified in the family Cannabis sativa (marijuana for you kids playing at home), hops serve pragmatic and tasty purposes. Their antibacterial properties made them an ideal addition to beer in times of antiquity, countering the lack of basic sanitation and understanding of microbiology we now have. Today, they are used more for their flavor. Hops have a natural bitterness that counteracts the sweetness that malt contributes to a beer. Additionally, hops are full of dozens of flavor compounds, allowing them to contribute flavors ranging from the flowery and peppery of varieties like Hallertauer and Tettnang, all the way to intense citrus and pine flavors commonly found in American varieties like Chinook and Cascades (touted most recently in Budweiser’s American ale).

A homebrewer’s labors are all in vain if not for yeast. Simply put, all a brewer can do is make the best wort he can, and hope the yeast finds it hospitable. The bulk of homemade beers are made with one of two types of yeast: ale yeasts and lager yeasts. Ale yeasts ferment at a range around room temperature, resulting in fruitier and spicier flavors. Lager yeasts do their best work at temperatures around 49 degrees and create a beer that is more neutral in its yeast character, highlighting the malt and hop flavors. While many people associate the term “lager” with more flavorful European styles of beer, the irony is that most Americans who have tried beer have drank lagers. Miller, Coors and Budweiser are all lagers hoping to make the most neutral beers possible. At the same time, many of the finest beers in the world are made with ale yeasts.

Indeed, through these means, folks in our area are making all types of beers, from crisp pale ales that’ll leave you feeling like you’ve been chewing on hops, to heavy Scottish ales as complex and bold as Highland pipes. And so as I finish my beer and my article, I realize why home brewers love what they do. Home brewing is a continuum. Brewers are as different as the beers they make. Yet this is what they have in common: home brewers love every aspect of the brewing continuum as much as any other. For us, the choice of yeast can be as exciting as cracking open a vintage bottle of imperial stout brewed last year. Yes, what you end up with depends on the ingredients, skill and a bit of luck, but either way it’s still beer. Our attitude is summed up best by what many home brewers consider their motto: “Relax. Don’t worry. Have a home brew.”