While visiting Port City Brewing Company recently my buddy Seton and I met Mr. Eric Cohen. Eric is a member of the Arlington Homebrewer's Club. As he chatted with us I noted his enthusiasm for homebrewing. I asked if he would agree to an interview with Technicolor dining. He agreed. Below is his story.
Q1: Tell me a little about yourself. How did
you get started?
A1: I grew up in Northern NJ and came down to
the DC area for college. Afterwards, I stayed in the area and have been
teaching high school science for almost 10 years.
I started
homebrewing about 5 years ago when a friend had a birthday party at Shenandoah
Brewing Company (which has since closed). Shenandoah allowed people to brew
their own beer on professional equipment with the help of a brewer. After
another brewing session at that location, I found out that my friend also
homebrewed in his apartment kitchen. We got together to brew at his place a
couple of times before I bought my own equipment and started brewing on my own.
Q2: What's your philosophy concerning your hobby?
A2: Home brewing is a hobby just like any other. It's time consuming and costs money, but as long as I enjoy brewing, I'll continue. It's definitely a creative outlet and it's awesome that the finished product is beer! However, when I go to the home brew store and chat with the employees about new products and techniques, I'm no different than a person who loves building model trains or playing guitar or woodworking. I do it because I love it.
Q3: What has been the highlight of your hobby thus far?
A3: I'm part of a local homebrew club and we have an internal club competition four times per year. I was really excited to take first place in the last competition. However, I think the highlight occurred a couple of years ago. Here's the story: Stone Brewing Co, out of California, was producing a special line of beers called Vertical Epic. Each one was released on the repeated dates of last decade (02/02/02, 03/03/03, etc,) and they were made to be consumed sometime after 12/12/12. Even though they were rare and I started collecting them in 2009, I was able to track down and buy every single one except the 2002 and the 2004. In 2012, I brewed clones of these two beers to complete the set. I had a group of friends come over and we tried all 11 beers in order. My beers were just as good as the rest!
Q4: What do you think can be done to increase the presence of women and
minorities in homebrewing?
A4: It would be a good idea for the local homebrew clubs to do some outreach in this area. We're starting to see an increase in women joining our club but it's true that most clubs are dominated by white men. Nationally there seem to be an slight uptick in women and minorities in professional brewing with Garrett Oliver, the award-winning brewer of Brooklyn Brewery, being the most prominent. Locally, Cat and Margaret Portner are working on reviving their great-great-grandfather's brewery, Portner Brewhouse. Hopefully local brew clubs can partner with more established brewers to show that you don't need anything but a kitchen and some basic equipment to brew.
Q5: What advice do you have for someone who wants to start homebrewing?
A5: Start simple. Start at the beginning and seek advice from somebody you know. Ask a friend to brew with you the first time. Don't spend a ton of money on expensive equipment and get in over your head. Instead, buy a beginners equipment set, an ingredient kit and The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian, founder of the Brewers Association.
If you wanted to start playing guitar, you wouldn't
go buy a $1500 guitar with a $1000 amp to start. It might look amazing, but it
wouldn't sound very good with you playing it. Same thing with home brewing. You could buy some beautiful and advanced equipment but your beer wouldn't taste very good if you don't know what you're doing!
Q6: What would you like the public to know about homebrewing?
A6: You can brew some delicious beer for about a dollar per bottle once you pay for your equipment. It won't be long until your beer is better than the cheap stuff and you get to control the process. You don't have to be knowledgeable in chemistry, you don't have to make crazy beers and you don't have devote entire rooms or entire weekends to brewing. Most of our club brews a couple of times a year in our apartments.
Q7: Where do you see yourself five (5) years from now?
A7: My wife and I would love to move out to the west coast in the next couple of years. DC is fun but this area can be stressful, not to mention expensive. I would love to be involved in a brew pub somehow but, more realistically, I'd like a house with a full bar and keg system so I can have my beers on tap to serve to friends. We also hope to have kids in the next few years, so I'll have a few more assistant brewers to help me on brew days.
Mr. Cohen, thank you for sharing the story of your journey. I wish you success and happiness in your endeavors!
Would you like to know more about homebrewing?
Visit the Arlington Homebrew website, http://arlingtonhomebrew.wix.com/home
Follow the Arlington Homebrew eClub on Twitter:@GristHomebrew
Follow Mr. Eric Cohen on Twitter:@dcbeerjourney
Be well,
Technicolor girl
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