Moving over to the Dark Side

One of the reasons I haven't written much here recently is my new hobby of homebrewing. No, I am not so absorbed in improving brewhouse efficiency and mastering recipe-crafting that I have no time to write (although these are very absorbing subjects).

The main problem is that brewing makes you look at beer differently, disturbing your once-sturdy perspective as a purely "demand-side" blogger. It takes a while to acclimatize and rediscover that comfortable, blinkered self-righteousness that allowed you to inflict your views on others in the first place. I'm nearly there…

Here are a few observations gleaned from my young homebrewing career that have changed my perspective on beer.

1. It is not easy to make good beer
Most of the homebrewing books I read return to the mantra over and over that brewing might seem challenging, but it is essentially simple. In the grand scale of creative industries, brewing may well be "simple" in that it involves a few basic processes and chemical reactions, but it is still bloody tough to get right. I now feel like a douchebag for reviewing beers as "pedestrian" or "unremarkable" when I'd now consider either term to be an accolade if applied to my own offerings.

2. Someone makes beer
Well, duh. Lots of beer bloggers (me included) know personally some of the brewers behind commercial beers. But when we buy their stuff in a pub or a liquor store, it has the nice label and it's all standardized and we feel the authoritative reassurance of the brewery when we confidently pop the cap and suck. When a fellow homebrewer hands me a beer, I furtively look him over. Is he basically trustworthy? Does he look hygienic? Is she someone whose judgment and ability to do stuff properly in her general life impresses me? My first sips of that person's beer are full of trepidation and concern. I sense myself preparing to reject the beer as unacceptable at the merest hint of an off flavour — far more so, bizarrely, than if they had just made me a sandwich.

3. Drinking sessions have become episodes of CSI
Two months ago I had but the vaguest idea of what DMS, acetaldehyde, or oxidation were. I now know that those charming, mysterious notes that wafted in and out of my palate as I supped a complex beer are faults that must be remedied and resisted. Likewise, even the most desirable of intended flavours must be explained by my inquisitive mind as some product of ingredient, process or equipment. This is so much better than being able to sit and merely enjoy a beer…

I am enjoying brewing very much. I'm into my third batch now and things have come a long way since I ineptly fumbled my way through brewing a stout (which was just bottled at a ridiculously undershot 2% ABV!). Brewing is something I will be doing for a long time, I am sure of that. But I will say this: I had no idea of what I was letting myself in for.

Our homebrew setup

Brew School's In Session

I just got off the phone after an exhausting 15 minute chat with Steve Gill — the highly enthusiastic beer program coordinator for Niagara College's brand-new brewing course. Gill is best known as a wine expert who has run over 50 independent wine stores in Ontario. He also co-ordinates courses at Niagara College's teaching winery — the success of which paved the way for their new Brewmasters and Brewery Operations Management course.

- This is the first course of its kind in Canada, how did it come about?

SG: We've had the wine program since 2000. It's won awards, the students have won awards, it's been immensely successful. About three or four years ago we started getting calls from the Ontario Craft Brewers' association, and Jon Downing [of Downing International Brewing Consulting], and the Ontario brewing industry in general. The idea was to try and do the same with brewing: train people in all aspects of brewing from production, to appreciation, to running a brewing business.

- We've never had a course like this, so why do we need one now?

SG: There's a huge shortage of skilled people, the industry is crying out for them. Whether its with bigger beer companies or craft-breweries, this course will contribute to the brewing industry in a lot of ways. We've been working on the curriculum with people like Downing [great name for a beer-drinker...] and Bill White, and it's ready to go this fall.

- How many students?

SG: It's full. Two hundred applied, but we took twenty-four — which is kind of a nice number in beer terms. We may add a few more if we can.

- Always room for another sixer?

SG: Right, haha. There were applicants from all over the world. Twenty of the twenty-four are Canadian. They'll be brewing beer from day one. We're even constructing a custom-made [1,500 square foot] brewing facility for the program. The graduates will walk out of here with provincial diplomas, and great job prospects. It's a very exciting project.

I take the opportunity to grill Gill about his interest in the brew industry — what with him being a wine-expert by trade. He professes a growing passion for the craft-brew scene over the last few years, and even admits recently ducking out of a "boring" wine-evaluation meeting to attend a craft-brew event instead. Gill's just returned from New York with cases of craft brews, and he's looking forward to working through them. "Which ones?" I ask. "Ah...I knew you were going to ask me that!" He can't remember, but he listens keenly to some of my suggestions of great NY beer.

As a craft-brew-loving convert, Gill excitedly informs me that the course will be integrated with a working, commercial brewery, and their beers will be sold throughout the province. Any chance of getting them in BC? Not likely. Canadian provincial laws and regulations can make beer distribution tricky for smaller producers.

Ontario alcohol laws have perplexed Gill on occasion before. He recounts a tale about a private wine store he ran on Bloor St. in Toronto that had the misfortune to be situated on the border of a "wet" zone and a "dry" zone. After a visit from the police, Gill was forced to divide the store in half, with alcohol only permitted to be sold in one half of the building. "It was totally crazy," he says, but with good-humour rather than irritation. You get the impression talking to Gill that he enjoys the challenges and variety his work throws up. Perhaps that's part of the reason his course is on the frontier of Canadian brewing education.

I will keep informed about the course, perhaps even try and talk to a student or two, and report back. My thanks to Steve Gill for an informative and fun interview.