Most television beer advertisements are focused on perpetuating the many stereotypes of the beer drinker, or what makes a beer worth drinking. The macro lights, or “lites” for the illiterate company from Milwaukee, are generally concerned with the “man” crowd. Commercials often center on an unofficial rule that makes the customer seem attuned with his inner testosterone.
For the mature crowd, macro breweries like to point out how “American” or “high quality” their beer is. Budweiser goes so far as to call their beer “The Great American Lager.” German immigrants founded Anheuser Busch in 1876, bringing their unique lager process with them. While they deserve credit for being one of the few breweries to survive prohibition, they are certainly not based in American anything. Anheuser Busch eventually dropped the high quality German lager process of the founders in favor of a cheaper, lighter, crappier taste that created a stereotype American brewers have spent the last few decades shaking off.
Lately there has been one brand putting out ads both Americans and really all beer drinkers can appreciate. The Boston Beer Company was founded by Jim Koch in 1984. Jim is the really happy guy in all of the Samuel Adams commercials - I’m betting he probably spent the day of shooting drinking his Boston Lager. Since 1984, Samuel Adams has become the most popular craft brewery in America. You can buy it almost anywhere, much like the macro brews. What many people don’t know is that before the launch of his company, Jim was a Home Brewer. The Boston Lager recipe is based on a five-generation-old Koch family beer. Jim is very concerned with restoring respect to American beer, so much so that he makes every one of his 350 employees home brew their own beer at least once! No wonder Sam Adams is considered one of the top companies to work for.
Besides being a truly American beer (named for a Patriot and avid home brewer himself), Samuel Adams is an example, albeit an extreme one, of the good that can come from creating your own home brew. Even if you don’t have any entrepreneurial aspirations, home brewing can be a fun and surprisingly relaxing experience.
Champaign-Urbana is an ideal location for dabbling in the art. Several local businesses supply all of the necessary equipment, and as many of the ingredients as they can stock due to the worldwide hop shortage. Being a part of local sustainability is very important to a large number of citizens of C-U as well as the farmers. When you wish to get creative by adding some quirky accents in your beer, farmer’s markets (like the one every Saturday at Lincoln Square) offer a huge amount of natural ingredients.
If you feel like experiencing the joy and complete satisfaction that come from crafting a home brew I encourage you to keep up with Hop Politely as I offer directions and tips for every part of the process. This week we will center on the basic supplies you need to get started.
Now some of you may already be having delusions of grandeur and overly ambitious plans. Please, please, please – start simple. There are several companies that offer complete kits that will provide supplies and guide you through the process. I highly recommend buying one of these before you blow up your kitchen doing it yourself.
The best kit for beginners is made by Brewers Best. It has everything you need except for a large stainless steel pot (Note: do not buy aluminum unless you want to go insane). The supply kit is available locally at two different hobby and beer related stores -- Friar Tuck and Leisure Time.
Once you have purchased the equipment kit, I suggest also purchasing one or two boxed ingredient kits. They are labeled by beer type and include most of what is necessary for a very simple beer. This can be a significant investment for a student or lower-income individual. Home brewing is best when done with friends! Grab a buddy or two and split the cost.
While these kits are great ways to begin brewing, it is important that your own creativity and personal taste have a say in how your beer turns out. Try experimenting with different methods, ingredients, and styles once you have a general grasp of the process.
Next time I will cover the basics of beer and home brewing:
Ales vs. Lagers
Equipment
Ingredients
Comments (8)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 6:11 PM
I think there are some issues with this post, especially with regards to recommending Brewer's Best ingredient kits, which are without a doubt the worst kits around. If you are brewing extract based beers, you should stick to retailers that are selling fresh ingredients, and kits that actually make decent beer. I would recommend sticking with extract kits from the bigger online retailers such as NorthernBrewer.com and MoreBeer.com.
Secondly, the fallacy about aluminum has been widely panned by scientists. The supposed study that linked aluminum to Alzheimer's has been deconstructed many, many times since it was published.
Thirdly, given that SmilePolitely.com has covered the BUZZ homebrewing club that is on the UIUC campus, I find it odd that you don't mention it here.
Finally, I think the talking down aspect about light lagers and Budweiser in general is also really tired. If you look at this year's GABF (the Great American Beer Festival) results you'll see Pabst, Coors, and various Anheuser breweries winning medals. Brewing a consistent product at many different breweries around the country using ingredients that vary greatly from region to region and season to season, is no small feat. In fact, I would challenge anyone who believes there is no art in American Light Lager to brew one at home, because you will soon find out that it does take a good bit of knowledge and skill. And your comments with regards to American Light Lager simply being a corruption of their original German brewing roots are also incorrect. Have you ever heard of Munich Helles? It is a German style light Lager, still made today using processes very similar to how Budweiser and other American Light Lagers are brewed.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 6:48 PM
i have only seen brewers best kits at the local stores and they are easy to follow. when i started homebrewing i wanted the cheapest kit because i knew it wasnt going to be a stellar beer no matter what ingredients i used. my thinking was, "why waste money buying a 'better' kit online and pay shipping and such?"
obviously, this is a post for the beginner brewer, not a seasoned homebrewer.
marketing tactics used by breweries and personal opinions aside, the factual information presented here about homebrewing is helpful to the newcomer.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 6:50 PM
Anthony,
Obviously you have some issues with my opinions, which is interesting because everything you have to say in your comment is purely your own opinion.
The BUZZ homebrewing club has lots of intermediate to advanced brewers. This post and subsequent posts are aimed at beginners, otherwise I wouldn't mention Brewkits in any way shape or form. If you are out to dazzle everyone with your knowledge of brewing, I'm all for it, but I obviously left a lot of things unmentioned here in order to keep it simple for first time brewers.
The Brewers Best Kits worked really well for me when I first began brewing, so I recommended them here. I'm not sure if you have ever used one, or maybe you used them improperly and now have a negative view of them. That's fine.
The aluminum issue has not been disproved thoroughly enough to make the issue a non-issue. Read up on it.
I am not in the BUZZ club, although I have heard it is a great organization. I honestly don't know much about the club, so would you rather I just make up random conjecture about what it is you do?
Yes, light lagers show imperfection more than any other beer. Does that make it ok for them to claim ridiculous titles such as "The Great American Lager"? I would argue no. Also, read up on what corporate farming is before you defend their products. It is interesting that you think Bud and Miller are considered uncorrupted. This country spent several decades reclaiming pride because of the macro decline.
I appreciate your comments, but honestly I think you need to chill out and realize I'm not writing this for experts.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 8:10 PM
When I first started homebrewing, I did thoroughly read up on the studies involving aluminum and Alzheimer's. The amount one is exposed to using an aluminum pot during the brewing process is miniscule comparatively to other sources in an average person's daily interactions. And you're right it is only my opinion, but I think if you are going to mention it, it should at least be a fair mention. Especially if you are truly concerned about those students or low income individuals out there, aluminum is a great way to get a pot that can handle full boils, something that will go a long ways to improving one's beer. That being said, I brew in stainless... but I started in aluminum.
The problem I have with those kits is that the end result can never be better than average. And those kits perpetuate things like the 'homebrew taste' that everyone believes is so intrinsic to homebrewing, but is really endemic to poor ingredients more than anything else. I have had many friends who gave homebrewing a try, and eventually are discouraged at the results they get from those kits. The kits on NorthernBrewer.com start at $21, and are, in my mind, very competitive with the Brewer's Best offerings. Additionally, NorthernBrewer offers flat rate shipping at $7.99 for any number of kits you order from them. The quality is high, so that you know if something goes wrong, that at least the ingredients weren't to blame. Again, yes, this is my opinion, after tasting lots and lots of my friends and relatives Brewer's Best beers, and for those who I could convince to switch to fresher ingredients, tasting the improvement it made. As an aside, I don't brew with extract, so the comments regarding improper use don't apply.
With regards to the 'macro' decline, again, in my opinion, the big craft/micro blitz of the 90's in which everyone threw obscene amounts of money into breweries (because it was the 'in' thing) who were churning out absolutely horrible products, and the resulting huge contraction in the market when people got tired of drinking their horrible products, did more to hurt the industry than anything AB, MillerCoors or any of the other macro brewers did. Arguments about their business practices are something entirely different than the style of beer they brew... at least in my mind.
I am chilled out and I realize this post was for beginners, I guess I was expecting more helpful, well researched information for the beginner, such as, here are the things you'll need: a 6 gallon bucket and lid for fermentation, 48 bottles, a bottle capper, etc. And maybe more references to other sources of help, like the book "How to Brew" by John Palmer, who also has a website containing the entire 1st edition of his book at howtobrew.com ... and not necessarily a dissection of why Budweiser is bad and how American Light Lager is ruining the beer landscape.
All of that being said, I don't want to be negative about all of this. I think it is great you're exposing more people to the hobby and look forward to your future posts... I'm sorry if I came across as condescending or negative, that was not at all my intent.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 10:18 PM
I agree with everything you have said, and considering you are BUZZ president you are probably more qualified to write this than I am. Honestly though, I am going to try my hardest to provide a great guide for beginners and I encourage input in any way.
As for the information you want:
"Next time I will cover the basics of beer and home brewing:
Ales vs. Lagers
Equipment
Ingredients"
It is on the way!
I have never read "How to Brew" but I have read Charlie Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" and will be citing it in the future.
Thursday, October 16, 2008 8:27 AM
Just curious, is the info at https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/BoneyardUnionofZymurgicalZealots/
up to date?
I know a few other people who homebrew but none have been a member of the club. I've heard good things about it but Thursdays for a while was bad for me. This is changing soon, so I'm hoping I'll be at the November or December meeting.
I'm a beginning homebrewer having done only two batches. I've been reading quite a bit and listening to a few podcasts. Palmer's book is good, so is "Radical Brewing" by Mosher. (As far as how the actual recipes are compared to how they sound...well, I wouldn't know ;) ).
Also some good podcasts out there for the beginning brewer...
http://radio.craftbrewer.org/
and basic brewing (check out the sanitation episodes particularly, they're really good)
http://www.basicbrewing.com/
Friday, October 17, 2008 11:57 PM
Anthony -- Not that I've been invited, but I don't think I'd join your group ever based solely on the way you condescended to Fender, here.
I have been guilty of doing that type of thing many times over -- and learned the hard way that, no matter how much information you have on a particular topic, you'll never get it across the way you want to when you act like that.
Ask John McCain.
Sunday, October 19, 2008 7:10 PM
Jon - the current BUZZ website is located at http://www.buzzbrewclub.org. Hope to see you at the next meeting if your Thursdays become available.
Seth - BUZZ is not 'my' group, it is a University organization that I happen to be a member of. My opinion is just that, my opinion. I hope no one would deny themselves the rich knowledge and camaraderie of the group because of a gruff yet well intentioned act on my part.