Workshop Path
Every hands-on workshop at the academy follows the same disciplined arc we use for our own pilot batches. You start with a style in mind and leave with a carboy in primary fermentation, plus the notes to repeat it cleanly at home.
We sit down with your target style, water profile, and available equipment. You define the malt bill, hop schedule, and yeast strain before any grain is weighed.
Crack the grain, dough in at the right strike temperature, and hold your saccharification rest. We check pH and conversion with iodine so the runoff is true to the recipe.
A rolling 60-minute boil with timed bittering and aroma additions. We run a whirlpool to settle trub, then knock out through a counterflow chiller straight into the fermenter.
Oxygenate the wort, pitch a healthy yeast slurry, and seal the fermenter. We log gravity daily and adjust temperature to keep esters and diacetyl in check.
Drop the temperature to clear the beer, then rack to a keg or bottle with priming sugar. We target a precise CO₂ volume for the style, not a guess.
Two weeks later we pull a sample, score aroma, body, and finish, and compare it against the style brief. You leave with a written evaluation and adjustments for the next batch.
Workshops run on weekends with a maximum of six brewers per session so everyone touches the equipment. Bring your own fermenter if you want to take the batch home, or use ours and transfer after packaging.
See session formatsWhat you gain from a workshop
Each workshop session is built around a single brewing problem: recipe balance, fermentation health, or packaging consistency. You leave with a method, not just notes.
We walk through three amber ale grain bills and taste the difference each crystal malt makes. You learn to adjust color and body without guessing.
Using a simple water bath setup, we show how a few degrees change ester production. You practice reading the signs of a stressed yeast before it ruins a batch.
Compare a classic noble hop against a modern variety in the same pale ale base. You learn which addition drives bitterness and which drives aroma.
We bottle a batch together and review common faults: under-carbonation, chill haze, and oxidation. You get a checklist to diagnose your own bottles at home.
A short tasting session pairs three finished beers with regional dishes. You understand why bitterness cuts fat and how roasted malt stands up to grilled meat.
Bring a sample of your latest batch. Our instructors give direct notes on aroma, body, and finish, plus one concrete change to try next time.