As Jack Nicholson once said, “Beer, it’s the best damn drink in the world.” Yes, whether it is a cold one to pump you up for the football game, or a not-so-cold one to wash away the taste of another bad football game, beer stands out as a drink of choice among many college students. But, as anyone who has spent more than an hour at a frat party knows, there's only so much Busch, Natty or PBR one can handle.
So what’s a student to do? Buy better beer? Switch to wine coolers? How about another option – make your own beer.
Home-brewing has become a popular trend among college students nationwide, and Northwestern is just beginning to catch on. Home-brewing consists of small-scale, low-budget beer crafting, usually enough for a small party or a good stash for later use. It starts by crushing barley and washing off the sugar to create “wort,” or hot sugar water. Afterwards, you boil it with hops, add some yeast, and let it ferment for a few weeks. Then, voila! You have a beer created entirely in your own home.
“There are endless variety of beer styles, and making something all your own is incredibly rewarding,” McCormick senior Ian Preston wrote in an email. He's been a home-brewer since November 2011. “It takes at least a month from start to finish, so it gives me something to wake up for every day.”
Northwestern also has a home-brewing scene beyond student life. Northwestern video production specialist Mark Skala has been making his own beer for about two years.
“I've always loved cooking, creating flavor combinations, I thought that would translate somewhat,” Skala wrote in an email.
Although at times a little pricey, home brewing holds many advantages over buying a six-pack at D&D. You can create flavors that are nearly impossible to find in stores, like Skala’s pumpkin-cardamom Indian pale ale. You also control how much you make, how much alcohol per bottle, and the overall quality of the beer. But the best part of home-brewing comes in the creative and personal names, like Preston’s Frisbee House special “Frisbeer” or Skala’s “Commissioner Gordon.”
What better place to start homebrewing than in Chicago? The city offers an expansive home-brewing culture, with groups like the Chicago Beer Society and the Chicago Homebrewing Alchemists of Suds offering professional tips and feedback.
“Chicago might be the best place to be a home-brewer,” Skala wrote. “Clubs and groups like the Chicago Beer Society have been pioneers in home-brewing and and have gone on to support the pro-brewing scene in a gazillion ways.”
Add in a large microbrewery scene and home-brewing competitions like Iron Brew, it’s no wonder that Chicago has become one of the largest home brewing cities in the nation.
Of course, with any great alchemy experiment comes some mishaps. Some mistakes stem from mixture errors, leading to strange tastes like Skala’s ashtray-flavored “Two Packs a Day Pale Ale.” Other mistakes are just part of the nature of the brewing culture.
“Sometimes, well always, we drink while we brew,” Preston wrote. “So our attention to detail goes downhill towards the end.”
But don’t let the pitfalls scare you. Home-brewing remains a rewarding experience for any beer lover. It allows for experimenting with creating new flavors you couldn't get at any market. While some, like Skala, enjoy it as a hobby, others have higher aspirations.
“I will be brewing the rest of my life,” Preston wrote. “Of course, I plan on opening a brewery someday if engineering doesn’t work out.”