“It’s
fun to do, you get beer, and it’s just like cooking.” That’s home brewing in a nutshell
from the brew master himself, Dan Small, owner of Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies. His
shop which is located on the corner of Heatley and East Hastings St. in
Vancouver has been there for decades.
This
nondescript store, which Small describes as busy and hectic on Saturday
afternoons, supplies the home brewers of Vancouver with the equipment and
ingredients needed to brew their own beer. Business, he describes, “[has] been growing
for the last 20 years.” He contributes this to high beer prices which people
just can’t afford and word of mouth. Also, he adds, “commercial beer is, for
the most part, kind of crappy.”
“Have
you tasted Kokanee?” he asks. “There is no flavour, there is no body, [and]
they use adjuncts. Adjuncts are any type of additive that is not water, hops,
yeast, or malt,” he explains. “They are using corn, rice, cane sugar; you know,
that kind of thing. It not only makes the beer taste bad, but it will give you
a headache.”
These
adjuncts are used to do anything, from extending the shelf life of beer and
cutting costs, to adding flavour or creating a better head. Unfortunately,
consumers do not have the ability to check what ingredients are being put into
their beer. According to the website of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency,
nutrition labels are not required for beverages over 0.05 per cent alcohol. Home
brewing offers those with allergies and those conscious of what they put in
their body an opportunity to have control over the ingredients that go into
their beer.
A
customer of Small’s Homebrewing Supplies explains that he started brewing
because “it’s cheap and you can experiment with different flavours.” For some,
the draw of home brewing comes from the experimental chemistry that goes along
with brewing beer, while most others are drawn to it by its low cost.
Whatever
the cause may be, Small insists that anyone can do it: “Just some basic
equipment” is all you need, Small explains. “It costs about $70.”
Starting
supplies include “a couple fermenters, a siphon, a hydrometer, and your
ingredients. That’s the equipment to make about 23 liters.” The ingredients to
make each batch will cost about $20 to $30 depending on the type of beer. His
only suggestion for first-timers is to use good quality products and
ingredients to brew their beer.
“People
see these beer kits for $15 … [and] they buy these cheap things and expect them
to be good and then they are disappointed … but if you start with good ingredients,
there is no reason why you can’t make good beer the first time, and most people
do,” he explains.
If
you’re still hesitant about brewing beer on your own, you can join a beer club,
or perhaps even start one. Graham With is the founder and president of
Vanbrewers, a club that has been around for the last four years and caters to
local brewers to give them an outlet to discuss and learn more about beer.
“There
are about 140 members now and we meet up once a month and do technical
presentations or have guest speakers on different aspects of brewing,” With
explains. It costs $20 a year to join Vanbrewers, which is a non-profit
organization.
The
club offers a variety of support; for example, “if something didn’t turn out
right,” With explains, “you can always bring it to the club meeting and get
some more experienced brewers to test your beer to see what they think
happened.” The Vanbrewers meet up on the last Thursday of every month. Their
next meeting is on Mar. 29, and their event can be found on Facebook.
Whatever
attracts you to homebrewing, Small insists that anyone can do it: “It’s just
like cooking. You can make whatever you want and you’re not stuck with
something that is prepackaged … You can add more hops you can decrease the
hops, you can make it darker, you can make it lighter, you can do whatever you
want.
//Leanne Kriz, writer
//Graphics by Stefan Tosheff
//Leanne Kriz, writer
//Graphics by Stefan Tosheff
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