A Homebrewer's Tale

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. 

 

I met my wife around the same time and she's been encouraging me to keep brewing. She likes to call herself assistant-brewer, which really means taste-tester. 

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

image created by Ink+ LLC

 

How about a Port City Brewery Tour?

I was asked about activities other than shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I suggested visiting a local winemaker, brewery, or distillery. This post is about Port City Brewing located in Alexandria Virginia. I learned of Port City's existence when I met Mike Smothers, a Port City employee, representing the company at the Strathmore Center for the Arts' Food Festival  in August 2014.

A visit to Port City gew in importance after tasting their Northwest IPA at a Chef Geoff's restaurant one evening. I contacted a buddy named Seton to see if he was available to visit Port City with me.

Port City conducts tours of its facility on the hour  7 days a week. Tickets for the tour can be purchased on site on in advance online. I purchased the tickets for our tour in advance.

Port City is not within walking distance of a metro stop, but can be accessed via metro and bus. I drove to Port City and found plenty of free parking in Port City's parking lot, on the street and in nearby parking lots.

The staff was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about Port City's products.  Our tour was lead by Andrea. Andrea is a part time tour guide at Port City.  She told the group about the history of Port City and the steps in brewing beer. A container of glass container of hops pellets (a primary ingredient in beer) was passed around the group to look with specific instructions not eat the hops (in its natural form hops has the properties of  a  relaxant). Of  course, a member of the group didn't heed the instructions.

The Port City facility is tidy and well organized. As the group moved from one area of the facility to another I spotted a familiar image - a Woodford Reserve cask. I stopped and asked Seton to confirm what I was seeing. Seton confirmed it was indeed a Woodford Reserve cask. In fact, there were a few.  I asked Andrea about the casks. She told me to look out for an upcoming product featuring the casks. Could this be the beginning of a long standing relationship between Port City and me? The kitchen gods seemed to be saying yes, emphatically!

As the tour came to an end we passed a group of home brewers that had set up an information table. I chatted briefly  with Mr. Cohen, one of the home brewers. He's agreed to an interview with Technicolor dining, so please return to read Mr. Cohen's story.

The tour includes tasting of five (5) beers in Port City's tasting room. At this time Seton disclosed that he realty wasn't a beer drinker.  He did however, manage to try five of the beers. My favorites: Monumental IPA, Northwest IPA , Downright Pilsner, and Optimal Wit.  In addition Port City sells "growlers" - 32 or 64 ounce bottles filled with a beer of your choice. The best part -customers can bring the bottles back for refills. I am the happy owner of a  64 ounce Northwest IPA growler that I intend to get refilled as often as needed.














Food is not sold on Port City premises. However, guests can bring food with them or as some guests did, order pizza from nearby vendors.  I stopped at Hong Kong Express on Duke Street and ordered a deliciously prepared shrimp moo shi dish.



A tour of Port City is a fun outing for groups or individuals.Small children may become easily bored because the tour is adult focused. Seats are available in the beer tasting area. The bathrooms are clean and tidy. In addition to the brewery tours, Port City hosts other events including beer yoga . Check Port City's site for details.

Many thanks to the Port City team for a fun and informative visit. I plan to return; I have a growler that needs to be refilled!

Share are comments about your visit to Port City below. Let me know if you would like Port City to share their story here too.

Be well,

Technicolor dining

 image created by Ink+ LLC