Those Who Came Before
I was reading recently about how new brewers learn about homebrewing and was surprised. The fact most relied on YouTube videos and podcasts didn’t surprise me much considering the times we live in, but seeing many have no connection to a club or mentor was very surprising. I am not sure I would still be doing this craft without collaborating. I just don’t learn that way. And I don’t think I would have continued without the encouragement and support I got from my club affiliation.
Being a former teacher, I understand that everyone learns differently and the ways of learning change over time. I am more of a kinesthetic learner; I have to be fully embedded in the process to get the most out of it. I can read or listen about how to do things but really doing it is where my learning is embedded. There is so much information available that was not around even ten years ago, the depths of which are staggering. We brewers have a lot to choose from these days. But how does all this translate into making the best beer? When I got started I relied on asking questions and working with others.
One of the first people I ever talked to about making beer was Byron Burch, an owner of The Beverage People in Santa Rosa, California. My wife had given me a beginning beer making kit for Christmas 2009, and I had many questions. Byron was at the tail end of his retail career at the time and looking back at it he must have been exhausted by the myriad of really dumb questions many people had asked and here I was, asking even more of the same. I hadn’t read a book (including the one that came with the kit, Brewing Quality Beers, that he had written) or even done a very good job of reading the detailed instructions that came with the extract kit, but I wanted to talk with a person and get a firsthand idea of what I was getting into. I will never forget his patience. He listened to my questions, paused (without rolling his eyes, I might add), and then patiently explained how things worked. Often he started by saying, “Well, no, that isn’t how it works.”
Little did I know at the time that this man was the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Homebrewer of the Year in 1986, Meadmaker of the Year three times, and had been recognized with the AHA’s annual Recognition Award for his contributions to homebrewing. I also didn’t know that the club he started had won the AHA Homebrew Club of the Year from 1986–1995. This was an accomplished man in the world of homebrewing. I just knew him as a kind and patient man who took the time to teach me what he could.
It didn’t take long before I read his book (multiple times) and began using it as a resource guide. Then I started reading everything I could get my hands on and subscribed to Brew Your Own. It took me three years before I was ready to move to all-grain batches with a brewing partner. I also joined Byron’s homebrewing club, the Sonoma Beerocrats, and started participating in club events and competitions. Since this time in the mid-2000s my beer has steadily improved and I have learned a lot about the craft. I can thank fellow club members and those I have brewed with, but mostly, I thank and remember Byron for setting the stage for all this learning.
Byron passed away in 2015. I attended his celebration of life at Bear Republic Brewing Company. It was an honor to have him as my first brewing instructor. RIP Byron, but rest knowing you are remembered. This homebrewer appreciates you and what you did to help me and to promote to the world at large the art of making craft beer.
