Thank goodness Erica Shea has a small kitchen.
I'd like to think if Shea's Manhattan apartment had a bigger kitchen, the recent movement in small-batch beer brewing might never have been born. And I wouldn't have seven bottles of chestnut brown ale, eight bottles of special bitter and 2 gallons of 90 Schilling Scottish Ale sitting in my spare bedroom.
For years, the magic number for home brewers has been five. Beer recipes are formulated for 5 gallons. Pre-packaged beer-making ingredients come in 5-gallon proportions. Brewing equipment - stock pots, fermenting jugs, bottling buckets - is geared for 5 gallons. Whether you're a beginning beer-maker or veteran brewmaster, you're likely making 5-gallon batches.
That's how Erica Shea and Stephen Valand started out. Recent college grads living in New York City, Shea and Valand got interested in home brewing and quickly found that Shea's Manhattan apartment kitchen was simply too small for all the equipment needed to make beer. So they started making beer in Valand's apartment, which had a much bigger kitchen.
All was well, Valand explained in a recent phone interview, until his roommates got tired of Shea and Valand taking over the kitchen every other weekend for their beer-making adventures. Deciding they needed to get back to Shea's kitchen, they embarked on a plan to scale down their brewing exploits.
They formulated recipes to fit 1-gallon batches, and they literally took a saw to some equipment
to make it smaller. They traded a 5-gallon glass carboy [beer fermenting jug] for a 1-gallon jug, and small-batch brewing was born.
The differences between 1 gallon and 5 gallons should not be underestimated. Sure, the process - the actual brewing of beer - is the same. But the equipment needs are vastly different.
A few months ago I assisted my son, Nathaniel, in making a 5-gallon batch in his Sacramento apartment. Hauling around the 5-gallon carboy, setting up a propane burner on his patio, running a hose to the patio, immersing the wort chiller in the boil - this was all more than I had envisioned in making beer.
I could see why people in apartments or small houses might not want to get started on this hobby. The setup and equipment storage can overwhelm a small space.
During Christmas, Nat was home and I mentioned Shea and Valand's book, which had crossed my desk at work. Nat looked at it and said, "Dad, you could brew beer on your stove. You've got the pots, all you need to do is spend a few bucks on equipment."
The thought of making beer in the kitchen, with everything contained to the countertops, was too much to resist. It didn't take long to turn a recipe from the book into reality.
And that is the concept Shea and Valand are trying to share.
"Everyone is amazed they can do it at home," Valand said. "If they like cooking, this is a natural extension of that. People have really warmed up to the idea."
The two beer brewers and entrepreneurs turned their hobby into a business, Brooklyn BeerShop, in July 2009, and have seen the operation grow into a 6,000-square-foot warehouse. Valand said the shop is one of the few sources of 1-gallon brewing equipment and information, and is growing "greatly and rapidly."
They are now on a nationwide tour, touting their book, "Brooklyn BrewShop's Beer Making Book," which contains information for beginners and 52 seasonal recipes, all formulated for 1-gallon batches. The tour includes a Bay Area stop later this month.
Their mantra is simplicity, and to that end, they are making it extremely easy to get started. They sell a kit that contains every piece of equipment you need to get started, along with the necessary ingredients. With $40 in hand, you can go to a Whole Foods store, Williams-Sonoma or Urban Outfitters and pick up a kit, take it home, "just add water" and you've got beer.
"The key for us is to simplify without dumbing it down," Valand said.
Their recipes are all-grain, as opposed to a mix of packaged extracts and grains, which is a common method for beginning brewers. They also sell pre-packaged 1-gallon grain ingredient kits that you can order from their Brooklyn shop.
So, does the concept really work?
I've now brewed three small batches on my stovetop. I've made mistakes in temperature, gauging the amount of water needed and forgetting to take the yeast out of the refrigerator early enough. I've spilled sticky mash over the kitchen and made an ice bath that sloshed over the pot, onto the counters and down to the floor.
My last batch I dubbed "TBD," not because I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but because I had so many missteps I decided it was a "Total Brewing Disaster."
In the end, I hit the specific gravity I was shooting for and it might turn out to be the best of my three batches.
For me, small-batch brewing works. I've got the space to brew 5 gallons if I want, but I don't want.
I don't want to store the equipment. I don't want to sanitize lots of big pots and buckets, And I don't want to have 40-50 bottles of the same beer sitting around. You can share it, trade it away and drink it, but 5 gallons is a lot of beer.
On the flip side, your 1-gallon batch will yield 10 bottles at best. I greatly underestimated water loss during boiling in my first batch and I ended up with closer to a half-gallon. After hours of brewing and a couple of weeks of waiting, capping seven bottles of beer was a bit of a letdown. But it's a learning experience and I vow each batch will be a little better than the one before.
The beauty of beer is it's simplicity. It's a process that's centuries old and you don't have to be an expert to brew a decent batch of beer. Beer brewing can be as simple - or complex - as you want it to be.
I'm choosing simple. I like the fact I don't need much space to store my equipment, the fact that I can sparge the mash in a colander and pot, that I can set up a simple water bath on my kitchen counter.
I like the fact that I can experiment like a madman and if my beer turns out great, fine, and if not? Glad I made less than a 12-pack.
Thank goodness for Erica Shea's small kitchen.
Mike Blaesser is a longtime Sentinel newsroom employee. He is currently the Sentinel's Internet director.
If You Go
Beer-making classes
- On Feb. 13, the 'Beer Making Book' tour comes to Hands On Gourmet in San Francisco for an evening of beer making. You can join book authors Erica Shea and Stephen Valand of Brooklyn Beer Shop in making beer-inspired food dishes alongside Hands On Gourmet chefs while learning all the brewing steps, from grains to suds. The cost is $50, which includes a signed copy of the book. The class runs 7-10 p.m. Visit hogbrew.eventbrite.com for details or to register.
- Love Apple Farms in Santa Cruz is presenting a workshop, Home Brewing Basics, on March 4. Dave Bossie, an award-winning home brewer from Ben Lomond, leads the class, which runs 2-6 p.m. and costs $95. Topics include the history of beer, styles, ingredients, equipment and techniques. Love Apple is at 2317 Vine Hill Road. Visit www.growbetterveggies.com or call 831-588-3801.
At a Glance
Tips from a first-timer
Want to make the jump into home brewing? Here are some tips from a first-timer.
- If you have a friend who is a home brewer, by all means invite them over to help. No matter how much you read or how many videos you view, there is nothing like having an experienced brewer at your side. You'll be amazed how many steps are so much clearer when someone helps you along.
- If you're not so fortunate, head to the Internet and search for beginning brewing tips. For every term and step you find, search for a corresponding YouTube video.
- Invest in a Brooklyn BeerShop kit and follow the directions. They have mastered the art of clear, concise instructions.
- Don't brew if you don't have an afternoon or evening free. This is going to take a few hours and you have to pay attention to what you're doing. You can't but the pot on the burner, walk away and come back in an hour.
- Practice siphoning before you have to siphon.
- No shortcuts: a 60-minute boil means 60 minutes. Maintaining a 155 degree mash means 155 degrees.
- Keep a mop, sponge and plenty of dish towels handy.
Books
- Erica Shea and Stephen Valand's 'Brooklyn BrewShop's Beer Making Book' [Clarkson Potter, 2011; 175 pages; $19.99] has lots of tips for the beginning brewer, and 52 seasonal recipes in 1-gallon batches.
- First published in 1996, Ray Daniels' 'Designing Great Beers' is as relevant as ever. If you want to know the science and theory behind grains, hops, water and every other possible factor that makes a beer what it is, this is a must-read.
Video
- The Brooklyn BrewShop has produced a number of short, informative videos that take you step-by step through the brewing and bottling process. And the music is nice to listen to. www.brooklynbrewshop.com.
- YouTube. Need we say more? It seems that every person who has ever brewed a batch of beer has made a video on some aspect of brewing. From general information to esoteric treatises on fly vs. batch sparging, YouTube has it covered.
Local resources
If you're looking for equipment, organic grains, pre-made kits or just information, Seven Bridges Cooperative is your local resource. It is at 325A River St. in Santa Cruz. Call 831-454-9665 or visit www.breworganic.com.
