By Brannen
If you’re one of the early adopters of DC Geeks, you've been with us for a couple of years now. And by now you know that for (n) writers there are (n + 1/2n) opinions on just what makes a geek. Or to bastardize an old SCOTUS ruling: I don’t know what it is, but I know it when I see it. This is the camp that I tend to fall into, though not completely. For me, the topic areas are a know-it-when-I-see-it matter. But the attitude, the passion, the fire and obsession for that topic area – that’s what turns a hobbyist into a geek. Hello. My name is Brannen. And I’m a geek. An RPG geek. A media geek. A music geek (when last.fm labels your taste as “modern weird” you embrace it). A brew geek.
Aye, you heard me – a brew geek. Not a brew snob, let’s clarify that right now. A brew snob asks why on Earth you’d drink that. A brew geeks loves that you like brews, loves even more than you’re interested in how they come into being and why, and will snap up any opportunity to talk shop. It's not unlike running into a group of fellow Dark Heresy players while waiting in line: within ten minutes the build comparisons come out. Why? Sure, there’s some showing off. Who doesn't love acknowledgement and appreciation? But even more, its because we’re geeks. We can’t help sharing what we love, and it turns us on when we run into other people who share in that love.
Both are done for the glory of the Emperor. (Image via Flickr) |
Like the costumers who obsess over small visual details, or the linguistic geeks who are working on Klingon– Sindarin translation guide, brew geeks tend to slip into nearly every corner of our related fandoms. I've spent weeks laboring to recreate the brews from The Kingkiller Chronicle in the last year. I know someone who is obsessed with cocktails and making the real world version of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Hard drinks are a human constant. We'll ferment whatever can't crawl out of a bucket. Hard drinks are in our poetry, our art, our songs, our writing, to be found all through our imaginations. Not far behind that imagining is a brewer wondering just how to make it happen.
Just as detailed, original cosplay calls for a desire to pick up sewing or fiberglass or painting skills, so picking up brewing calls for its own skill set. You need to have a love of experimentation; a sharp eye for details; a good sense of sight, smell, and taste; a head for some specialized biology and chemistry; and patience. Lots and lots of patience. Imagine cooking brownies where you won’t know for two years if they turn out tasty or just a mess. That’s how brewing traditional meads goes.
Still, basic brewing isn't hard, just meticulous. The good news is that over the last decades the home brewing community has exploded. It's what has led to a lot of the craft brewing movement in the US, but just because some have gone pro it doesn't mean the hobby world has withered. If you want to focus just on your brews, there’s a good chance you've got a brew club in town. If you like the challenge of creation or giving your brews more context there’s always the SCA, which has a strong brewers’ guild, no matter where you are. And if worse comes to worst you can always hit up your local brew shop. The dark months are coming, and it’s the perfect time to start that first cider, to lay down your mead, or to whip up a quick beer to lure friends over.
That's hard to say no to. (Image via Flickr) |
Local Groups:
Seriously – just Google it or check for postings at local
brew shops. Its like trying to find a new gaming group, but not quite as weird.
Local Shops:
There may be more, but these are the ones I've personally
been to. As always, if you’re just starting out, if you’re confused, if you’re
looking for advice, just ask. And if you're too shy for that, look at the walls. I have yet to find a brew shop that doesn't have postings for classes, workshops, brew groups, recipes, and the like.
Flying Barrel - Frederick, MD
Annpolis Home Brew - Severna Park, MD
Maryland Homebrew - Columbia, MD
Kingkiller Chronicle brews? AWESOME!
ReplyDelete