Homebrewing blends ‘chemistry, biology, art’

Homebrewing is gaining traction in northeastern Louisiana. The Fort Miro Brewmasters is a club established in 2012 to support and educate brewing enthusiasts, and there’s no count on the number of homebrewers in northeastern Louisiana operating independently.

Chuck Murphy, president of Fort Miro Brewmasters, said the group has about 15-20 active members, but several people have expressed interest in joining in the past few months.

“It really is an amazing combination of chemistry, biology, art and community,” he said. “There is something really special about sharing a cold beer with a friend. It is even more special when it is a beer you’ve made.

“I think there are several things that are attractive about this hobby. First of all, I think we all have a desire to create something we and others can enjoy. In that respect, I suppose brewing beer is like art. Second and related to the first, I love sharing a brew day with friends. Other people enjoy brewing by themselves; it just depends on how you are wired. Third, you get to brew what you like. As wonderful as it is to create something others enjoy, it is equally fun to create something that is specific to your own tastes. You aren’t limited to what is offered on the shelf at the store.”

Jacob Norton and Taylor Arbour are friends who brew but have not joined the the club.

“I have been a beer drinker for many years, and several years ago I discovered that I had a preference for the craft brews as opposed to the mass-market beers,” Arbour said. “The small-batch brew really opened my eyes to just how tasty beer can be, and after drinking other people’s recipes for long enough I decided I’d like to try my own so that I could make beer even more precisely to my liking.”

Norton said his introduction to the craft came from trying a home-brewed mead he couldn’t buy in any local store. That lead to a further interest in beer and ale brewing.

“The thing that keeps me drawn to it is the joy of creating something, and specifically something that I love to drink and share with others,” Norton said. When I held the first bottle of mead in my hand, and when I poured my first home-brewed beer into a pint glass, and it foamed and formed up perfectly, I lit up with pride at a job well done. I didn’t know if I was more excited about getting to drink it or getting to share it with friends and family.”

The initial cost to become a brewer, Murphy said, can range from $50 for a Mr. Beer kit that makes about 2 gallons to $150 for a starter system that includes a 7-15 gallon boil kettle, a 6-7 gallon fermenter or two, and some other pieces.

“This kind of set up will make about 5 gallons at a time,” he said. “You’ll also have to buy some things to package your beer, whether you use bottles or kegs. Bottling can cost another $100 or so, while kegging is more expensive but far easier. Mead and cider making is a little different as you may not even need a boil kettle.”

Heath Lord, one of the co-founders of the Fort Miro Brewmasters, said a system easily can be piecemealed together, starting with a small propane burner like those used to boil crawfish.

“Then they want to start with a good pot, he said. “A good, clean stainless steel pot. It’s got to be 304 stainless steel because it’s food grade. You can’t just grab the one you boil crawfish in. Matter of fact, I would not grab the one you boil crawfish in unless you want a crawfish beer.”

Murphy said because of brewers’ DIY nature, there’s no such thing as a “typical brewing system.”

“In the end, there are certain things that homebrewers have to do,” Murphy said. “First, they have to get the sugars from the grains. If you don’t purchase extract, you have to get them out yourself through a process called mashing, which involves additional equipment. Next, you have to boil the liquid, making what is called wort, which is unfermented beer. Then, you have to cool the wort, add yeast, and ferment it. Finally, you have to package the beer and carbonate it. Each of those basic steps presents its own set of options for equipment and technique.”

Murphy said the most basic brewing system (extract) can be done on a kitchen stove. Using extract, a brew day will last about two hours, plus another two during fermentaion and packaging. Ingredients cost as little as $20 for 5 gallons of beer to $100 for 5 gallons of mead.

“Tonore’s is the only local store I know of selling beer-making supplies right now. Personally, I have bought several things there, including a fermenter and various ingredients. I know there are some apiaries that will sell local honey to make mead from, but I haven’t done so myself. I think several of our club members, including myself, often buy their supplies online, but as our community grows, it will be easier for retailers like Tonore’s to carry an even greater selection of products.”

“If someone thinks they may be interested in homebrewing,” Murphy said, “they can look up tons of information on home brewing online and read about everything from the very basics to the most advanced techniques. Resources like Howtobrew.com, Homebrewtalk.com or Homebrewersassociation.org are excellent sources of information.”

“Anyone who’s interested in homebrewing or who’s interested in learning more — whether you want to brew, whether you just want to sample or whether you want to experience — Fort Miro Brewmasters, is a great, relatively new, homebrew club, and we’ve got a lot of really good homebrewers in the club,” Lord said. “A lot of them are knowledgeable about the art of beercraft.”

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