Behind a Good Homebrewed Beer is a Good Homebrew Shop

I sit in my favorite chair enjoying a fresh homebrewed beer knowing that it took hours to brew and weeks to ferment and clarify prior to this moment. As I taste the results of my hard work, all I can think is, "How would Doug Kimpel evaluate this beer?" After all, without Doug, my local hombrew shop proprietor, I speculate whether the fruits of my labor would even be palatable.

Would he be impressed? Would he look at me with caring concern and say, “This beer really isn’t very good”? Or would he smile with contentment and nod his head in appreciation? What I do know is he would care about the outcome no matter what. You see Doug Kimpel is the sensei to my gakusei in the dojo of home brewing.

The Dojo and its Sensai:

The first time I walked into Just Brew It in Fayetteville, GA, I was there to try my hand at crafting homemade wine. Little did I know, I was beginning my journey to libation enlightenment and eventually, good beer. I didn’t bow as I stepped in the shop, like you do at a real dojo, but I recognized immediately that this was a place of solace and respect. The thought was reiterated when the shop owner greeted me with a warm look and an engaging question.

His basic inquiry, “How can I help” was more what you would expect to hear from a teacher than a shop owner. In most retail establishments I would have taken it as “What can I sell you”, but at Just Brew It, the question of how to help ran deep. Why was I here? Sure I was looking for ingredients and know-how for making wine at home, but my calling was of a greater significance. I knew immediately that wine was just a segway into brewing beer - a chance to get my feet wet if you will.

Once I saw the elaborate inventions and creative gizmos that come along with brewing, not to mention the many beer styles and variations I could brew, I was smitten. One could easily find himself immersed in a world of hops and grain, yeast and adjuncts, brew kettles and mash-tuns and the list goes on. As “intoxicating” as this was, I needed guidance. I needed a helping hand to steer me away from potential pitfalls. I needed knowledge to bring recipes to life in the glass. As a sensei with his gakusei, Doug took me under his tutelage and thus began my beer-making odyssey.

Although only a couple years into practicing my craft, I look back on the beginning stages of my journey and begin to notice why I’ve been, in my humble opinion, relatively successful. Doug’s guidance has been an integral part of, not only my appreciation and enjoyment of home brewing, but also of my success in the pint glass. We share stories and recipes when in the shop and I know I can rely on his knowledge to direct me down the path of better beer making. His willingness to teach is so genuine you can’t help but improve. It’s people like Doug who lead me to believe if you find good home brewed beer, chances are there is a good home brew shop in the area with an owner willing and able to teach you how to craft a good beer. It’s our job to find that shop/shop owner and ask questions. We must be willing to learn and accept criticism to achieve our better brewing goals.

I look forward to each visit I make to the shop and I always come away with something new to consider or a new adventure in beer making to embark upon. Although I would receive funny looks and possibly the occasional chuckle, I feel like a bow upon entry and a bow upon exit would somehow be the right thing to do. Maybe in this case raising a mental glass is a better way to go.