My dad has been a packaging engineer forever, making beer bottles since I was born. It’s funny to start in a completely different industry: I was going to college to work in the art world, and I started brewing at 26. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be trying to open my own brewery. What used to be the taproom-dependent model will now have to lean more heavily into distribution. The funny thing is that alcohol consumption has actually increased even though bars and taprooms are closed. We might now open just for distribution on the property, on a tiny nanoscale. We have property up in Washington State and we’ve always wanted to open there because we love the scene and vibe. But then all the breweries basically shut down and you can’t do a taproom now and be super profitable. Before quarantine, we were thinking of going big to start. We’ve been in the works trying to figure out exactly what we’re going to do to open a brewery. I’m personally a homebrewer trying to go pro. It’s very innovative.Ī lot of people I know who brew do have aspirations to open their own brewery, it just all depends on how satisfied you are with your day job. They contact local liquor stores to create custom six packs that all the members can buy and discuss. Two of the homebrew clubs I’m in have been doing calls on Zoom to keep the community going. But it’s great, in a time when a lot of businesses are struggling, homebrew shops are busier than ever. ![]() ![]() All the homebrew supply places are sold out of starter kits and I know a lot of homebrewers are having problems getting cans. It’s just like everyone baking bread - everyone has more time at home and it’s an easy hobby to pick up. Some of my neighbors got into it after taking a break for five years. I’ve had multiple friends pick up the hobby, who never showed interest before and I’m mentoring them via text. Because there’s a lot of people who are new to home brewing. I always try to keep my mistakes around to see how they might evolve.Īt the beginning of COVID, there was a huge spike in my YouTube views. But it leveled out a year in - that smoky taste dropped out. I made a golden chai stout and used way too much smoked malt in it, so it just tasted like a campfire with no real substance. One way I fix an IPA is to add a bunch of fruit. On the flipside, I’ve made a ton of IPAs that ferment too hot because we live in an apartment in LA and I didn’t know about temperature control yet. You wait around two weeks to a month before you can try it and it’s honestly magic how it happens. It’s so rewarding, which is why it’s addicting. All the beers I started doing early on are beers I’d want to drink. I also make a black IPA, Irish stout, and cherry saison that is super popular at festivals. My favorite beer I make is called Road Soadie, which is a Mosaic and Simcoe IPA. It was the first time I was like I can make a beer I can actually drink. There is so much tangerine juice, zest, lime juice, coriander, and lime leaves. We went to that brewery constantly, and they told us how they make their Great White Wheat beer, adding coriander and lime leaves to it, so I thought we have to try it. I grew up drinking Lost Coast’s Tangerine Wheat - it is to die for. One of the first recipes I created was a tangerine wheat. Back then, it was all white dudes just talking to each other in a bubble. I couldn’t imagine starting to homebrew back in the ’90s. People are making a major push to be more inclusive with BIPOC and gender. I got started in the homebrew club SoCal Cerveceros because they were trying to diversify the gender of their club. I hold myself accountable and learn more every time I brew and post. Now people see my value as more than just a pretty face. It used to be worse when I first started, especially on Instagram, when people used to be more sexist. It’s typically super male-dominated, but it’s becoming way more accessible and you’re seeing more diverse home brewers every day. In the beginning, I got mansplained a lot. I’m more of an experimenter and love being able to try something out, and if it doesn’t work out, it’s just a $30 project. I’m not a huge baker because you have to be more rigid. I’ve always cooked, so it spoke to me in that same way. ![]() Home brewing is an easy way to bridge creativity with science. I always wanted to get into science - my mom’s a science teacher, my dad’s an engineer - but I went to school for art and now work for an art gallery full-time. I got my husband a homebrew kit for one of his birthdays and he never touched it. I’m the type of person that won’t let things sit around.
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