Brew Your Own

TASTING CRAFT BEER often leads to brewing one’s own craft beer. Erin Anderson, co-founder of Barley’s Angels Milwaukee, caught the homebrewing bug 10 years ago and offers a few tips for newbies:

Package Deal

A kit is a great starting point. I started with a basic homebrewing equipment kit – brew kettle, fermenting bucket and a bottling bucket and accessories. Northern Brewer (1306 S. 108th St., West Allis) is a great resource for equipment and has a bunch of beer recipe kits that make brewing your first batches pretty easy. (There are lots of online shops, too.) If you can clean stuff and boil water, you can make beer.

Start Simple

Follow the kit’s instructions your first time so you understand the brewing process. If you try and get wild and crazy with your brew the first time out, you’ll most likely run into problems.

It’s like cooking – follow the recipe the first time, then get creative. And do research on any additions you’re making. There’s nothing worse than ruining an entire batch of beer.

Get Help

How to Brew by John Palmer is a great book on brewing. The American Homebrewers Association has loads of tutorials and resources on its website (homebrewersassociation.org). Local homebrewing clubs [like Beer Barons of Milwaukee and the womenfocused Barley’s Angels] and forums are great resources for questions and guidance, too.

The Whole Point

Make sure you enjoy a frosty one while brewing!