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ENLARGE
Steve Headstream, left, watches the homebrew awards at a past Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines festival.
Editor’s note: Brew Genius, a new weekly feature, profiles some of the homebrewers competing at this year Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywine Festival, which takes place Jan. 8-10 at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa. For more information on the event, visit www.bigbeersfestival.com or call High Point Brewing at 970-524-1092.
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Brewer details
Name: Steve Headstream
Hometown: Denver
Career: Retail store manager for The Brew Hut, a homebrew supply store
No. of years homebrewing: Since October 1993.
Homebrew club: Foam on the Range
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Vail Daily: Evolution of a brewer: From a style and/or technique standpoint, where did you start? Where are you now?
Steve Headstream: I started where most people start, with that first basic brewing kit and a copy of Charlie Papazian’s “Joy of Homebrewing.” I devoured the book and haunted the homebrew stores until I had a good supply of gadgets. My early beers were extract-only beers, and turned out well enough that I pursued it, although I could follow the same recipe and have a different beer every time. Now I still make extract beers for their simplicity and ease, while making all-grain beers for more exacting styles.
VD: Do you brew alone or with others? Why?
SH: I prefer to brew together; any more it’s the social aspects I enjoy the most. A couple of friends, beer and steaks and beer and brewing and a long afternoon — that’s the ticket!
VD: Where do you brew? How many beers do you have cellaring at any given time?
SH: My equipment is portable enough that I usually travel to my friends to brew. Cellaring beers? I found a bottle of my Cherry Fever Stout from Oct, 1993, so that’s the oldest one I have. Unfortunately I drank the second to last bottle a couple of years back and now only have the one. The last time I cleaned out my beer closet, I discovered I only had 10 cases of beer — I started to twitch and had to schedule some brew days to stock back up!
VD: Do you brew enough to drink your own beer all year long?
SH: Now that I work at the homebrew store/Dry Dock microbrewery, I have a fringe benefit program so I don’t brew as much as I drink. I still brew a couple of favorite recipes: a Hefeweizen and a Belgian pale are annuals.
VD: What is your favorite commercially produced beer?
SH: My favorite commercial beer is St. Bernardus Abt 12, a Belgian dark specialty beer. It’s a good one to stay at home and share with friends.
VD: What’s your ultimate beer and food pairing?
SH: The ultimate beer and food pairing occurred at the very first Brewer’s dinner in Vail some years back: Avery’s The Beast and Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout paired with a flourless chocolate lava bomb with the density of plutonium. Sip and nibble and have the flavors fight it out in your mouth -— there were no losers that night!
VD: What are you entering in the Big Beers Homebrew Competition this January?
SH: Unfortunately I don’t have any big beers ready this year. I had an amazingly wonderful Belgian pale ale, but I drank it all.
VD: Why is beer wonderful?
SH: Beer is wonderful because it goes well with any food, has lots of carbohydrates for energy, and is the best social lubricant available today.
VD: If you couldn’t drink beer, what would you drink?
SH: When I go to a restaurant and the choices are Coors Light and Bud, I enjoy iced tea.
VD: Has the hops shortage affected you?
SH: The hop shortage has been played up in the media more than I think affected homebrewers. I ran out of only a couple of varieties at the homebrew store this summer, but really that’s no different than any other year. As a seasonal crop, a few hops run out just before the harvest brings fresh hops back. And truly, the shortage has perhaps driven a few people to experiment with hops that they might not have encountered in the normal brew day. The Sorachi Ace Hefeweizen was a fabulous find from that experimentation!
VD: What beer did you try recently that you really loved?
SH: Over Christmas, in Chicago, I found St. Benedict’s Winter Ale from Stevens Point Brewery in Stevens Point, Wisc. Holiday seasonals have been a favorite style of mine for years, and I seek them out whenever I travel. This one is a deep malty, caramel Belgian style suitable for fighting off the cold Chicago winters. And balmy Denver winters, too!
======
Brewer details
Name: Steve Headstream
Hometown: Denver
Career: Retail store manager for The Brew Hut, a homebrew supply store
No. of years homebrewing: Since October 1993.
Homebrew club: Foam on the Range
=======
Vail Daily: Evolution of a brewer: From a style and/or technique standpoint, where did you start? Where are you now?
Steve Headstream: I started where most people start, with that first basic brewing kit and a copy of Charlie Papazian’s “Joy of Homebrewing.” I devoured the book and haunted the homebrew stores until I had a good supply of gadgets. My early beers were extract-only beers, and turned out well enough that I pursued it, although I could follow the same recipe and have a different beer every time. Now I still make extract beers for their simplicity and ease, while making all-grain beers for more exacting styles.
VD: Do you brew alone or with others? Why?
SH: I prefer to brew together; any more it’s the social aspects I enjoy the most. A couple of friends, beer and steaks and beer and brewing and a long afternoon — that’s the ticket!
VD: Where do you brew? How many beers do you have cellaring at any given time?
SH: My equipment is portable enough that I usually travel to my friends to brew. Cellaring beers? I found a bottle of my Cherry Fever Stout from Oct, 1993, so that’s the oldest one I have. Unfortunately I drank the second to last bottle a couple of years back and now only have the one. The last time I cleaned out my beer closet, I discovered I only had 10 cases of beer — I started to twitch and had to schedule some brew days to stock back up!
VD: Do you brew enough to drink your own beer all year long?
SH: Now that I work at the homebrew store/Dry Dock microbrewery, I have a fringe benefit program so I don’t brew as much as I drink. I still brew a couple of favorite recipes: a Hefeweizen and a Belgian pale are annuals.
VD: What is your favorite commercially produced beer?
SH: My favorite commercial beer is St. Bernardus Abt 12, a Belgian dark specialty beer. It’s a good one to stay at home and share with friends.
VD: What’s your ultimate beer and food pairing?
SH: The ultimate beer and food pairing occurred at the very first Brewer’s dinner in Vail some years back: Avery’s The Beast and Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout paired with a flourless chocolate lava bomb with the density of plutonium. Sip and nibble and have the flavors fight it out in your mouth -— there were no losers that night!
VD: What are you entering in the Big Beers Homebrew Competition this January?
SH: Unfortunately I don’t have any big beers ready this year. I had an amazingly wonderful Belgian pale ale, but I drank it all.
VD: Why is beer wonderful?
SH: Beer is wonderful because it goes well with any food, has lots of carbohydrates for energy, and is the best social lubricant available today.
VD: If you couldn’t drink beer, what would you drink?
SH: When I go to a restaurant and the choices are Coors Light and Bud, I enjoy iced tea.
VD: Has the hops shortage affected you?
SH: The hop shortage has been played up in the media more than I think affected homebrewers. I ran out of only a couple of varieties at the homebrew store this summer, but really that’s no different than any other year. As a seasonal crop, a few hops run out just before the harvest brings fresh hops back. And truly, the shortage has perhaps driven a few people to experiment with hops that they might not have encountered in the normal brew day. The Sorachi Ace Hefeweizen was a fabulous find from that experimentation!
VD: What beer did you try recently that you really loved?
SH: Over Christmas, in Chicago, I found St. Benedict’s Winter Ale from Stevens Point Brewery in Stevens Point, Wisc. Holiday seasonals have been a favorite style of mine for years, and I seek them out whenever I travel. This one is a deep malty, caramel Belgian style suitable for fighting off the cold Chicago winters. And balmy Denver winters, too!
