Robert’s Homebrew Academy

Posted on February 2, 2011 – 9:51 AM | by OldManFoster

By Guphy Gustafson Photo by Scott Duncan

Robert’s Homebrew Academy is exactly what it sounds like: a guy named Robert teaches people how to brew beer (and make cheese!) for a stipend. Robert Carlson has been teaching classes for six months and brewing for almost four years. His homebrewed beer was so lauded by his friends that they convinced him to share his cheerful knowledge with the masses. I can attest to his brew’s deliciousness as I am drinking a bottle of his Belgian Christmas Dubbel right now. It was probably unethical of me to take it, but I am not even slightly remorseful. It is a gorgeous, very complex beer. Smokey, peppery and a little bit like bubble gum all at the same time – which is better than it sounds. Yum!

Carlson has always been into food. He grew up in the restaurant biz and went on to work as a chef. He also studied chemistry and microbiology at Cal Poly which makes him a little like Alton Brown without all the mugging and Dutch angles. Self-described as being unable to focus on one strain, he has brewed in American, German, English, and Belgian styles. He is experimenting with making wine, solar cooking and hard cheeses.

The classes are set up to be intimate, featuring a maximum of three people in a regular-sized kitchen; each class meets three times. The first day is a brew session that lasts about four hours; the class gets the mash going and pitches the yeast. A week later they get together to rack the brew. Two weeks hence they bottle everything and the students take the beer home with them to condition. Each student leaves with fifteen or so bottles of brew. Robert keeps one bottle and when it’s aged, the class has a Skype conference; they taste the beer together while Robert describes which step produced which flavor.

Carlson is confident that the class results will always turn out tasty. The students do every step under his guidance, so there isn’t really much of a chance for anything to go wrong. The homebrew class costs $100-125, with occasional deals, especially if three students sign up together. The cost includes all of the brewing supplies except bottles, which the students must provide. Carlson is happy to customize the classes; if students want a certain type of beer, the class will make that.

Carlson’s classes are unique in that the students are brewing in a regular kitchen. Carlson points out “It’s not a very big space, which gives people an opportunity to learn in a situation that would be like what they would do at home. People that go to Brew It Up! are brewing in a $9000 kettle and [use] all this fancy equipment that they could never use at home. When you come to my place there is a range like everyone has in their house and there is the same refrigerator that everyone has and the same sink that everyone’s got.” Carlson’s classes help beginning homebrewers check out the process to see if they enjoy making beer – or have an aptitude for it – before dumping $150 into equipment.

He also offers a cheese class, where his pupils learn how to make feta, queso blanco, and goat cheese (chevre). All cheeses are made in class and sent home with the student. The feta has a longer process so there are a few steps to finish up at home. He recommends starting with chevre. “It can be made overnight and its super tasty. And [it’s] so expensive to buy at the supermarket when you can spend $5-6 on goat’s milk and make half a pound of cheese. There’s not that much equipment for the softer cheeses: cheesecloth, pot, spoon, and a thermometer.” The cheese making class runs $50. Spend that money and you will know how to make cheese for the rest of your life. Bring homemade cheese to the office potluck and that promotion you been wanting is yours*!

In addition to the classes Carlson does staff training for restaurants and bars. He teaches wait staff how to pair beer with food, describe a beer’s taste, and how each beer is made so they can intelligently describe the differences between different styles of brew and what makes them special. Kind of a sweet gig, no?

robertshomebrew.com

*Dear yelpers, that was a joke. Love, Guphy

Tags: Guphy Gustafson, Robert Carlson, Robert's Homebrew Academy