Southwest Grape & Grain to offer beginner beer brewing class

When Southwest Grape and Grain owner Donavan Lane began brewing his own beer some two decades ago, the learning curve was a little bit steeper than it is today.

“The first batch of beer I ever tried to make was honestly kind of a mess because I didn’t know what I was doing,” Lane said. “I didn’t have the proper equipment. And just the wealth of knowledge available to people today — with the internet versus 20 years ago — is completely different. I read some different home brew books that quite honestly were pretty poorly written and didn’t explain processes very well.”

With a little bit of trial and error, Lane gradually developed a better understanding of the steps involved to produce a drink he could actually enjoy. These days, proactive beer aficionados can likely find a plethora of how-to-brew videos all over YouTube — but there are other resources available for budding home brewers.

Southwest Grape and Grain has offered beer brewing classes since it opened, and while the options have expanded over time, one doesn’t need to have any prior knowledge to get started. On Saturday, May 17, the establishment will hold its version of brewology 101, a beginner class that will provide attendees with the foundation they need to get started creating their own collection of lagers, pilsners and stouts from the comfort of home.

“We kind of teach that class with the assumption that the person attending the class doesn’t know anything about how beer is made, where it comes from, ingredients, processes — any of that,” Lane said. “So in the class, we touch a little on, the history of beer, where it comes from, the basic ingredients that go into beer, the beginner process of brewing, what equipment you’re gonna need and then walk people through what the step-by-step process is gonna be to brew their first batch of beer.”

Class sizes range from five to 30 people, and Southwest Grape and Grain has a space specifically dedicated to those sessions. Due to time constraints (the course is approximately two hours), students won’t actually brew beer during the class, but the business has virtually all the equipment and ingredients they might need for sale on the retail side. Even with a wide variety of beer options available in stores and breweries, the do-it-yourself route still has plenty of appeal.

“Most people initially probably get involved just because they appreciate some good craft beer,” Lane said. “There’s some people who also brew for some cost savings. There’s the cost of initial investment of buying equipment and stuff, but once you have that, you can definitely make good quality home brew for cheaper than what you can buy if you’re going out and buying a case of a good craft brewery’s beer.”

Lane says that the most common mistake home brewers make when they’re first starting out is not paying the proper attention to sanitation.

“The slightest little bacteria can infect the beer and sour it,” he said. “So beyond just cleaning your equipment, you have to take that extra step of sanitizing it, which is very simple and straightforward to do. We sell a few different food grade sanitizers that you just dip your equipment in, and it will kill 99.9% of bacteria.”

Those who complete the beginner class will have the knowledge necessary to move on to the advanced brewing course, which next takes place on June 21. According to Lane, the beginner classes emphasize “extract brewing,” which allows them to use ingredient kits to simplify the entire process. The advanced course offers more tips on buying individual ingredients and creating more unique recipes.

“Brewing beer can be very complicated, but if you learn the basics, it can be a fairly simple process to make some pretty good beer,” Lane said. “I think a lot of people just have never explored it and don’t realize how easily they actually can make some beer at home for themselves.”