Land O'Lakes one-stop shop for home brew equipment, offers classes | Pasco County | tampabeacon.com

LAND O’ LAKES — Derek White is ready to pour over plenty of notes.

And all of them are about beer brewing.

White opened his store, Afford-a-Brew, about six years ago because when he lived in Land O’ Lakes, he found there was no nearby shop featuring all the gear, materials, ingredients and other odds and ends to home brew beer. He figured there would be plenty of local craft beer enthusiasts, many of which also wanted to try their hand in homebrewing.

Which is why, on top of the equipment and ingredients, White also offers brew-making classes — a one-on-one, hands-on lesson where beer lovers learn the ins and outs of what it takes to craft a brew and even go home with a case of beer.

“I actually started brewing about 10 years ago,” White said, “and I needed a closer source for beer supplies and opening one when I lived in Land O’ Lakes was a no brainer. … The business is selling the supplies, and doing the classes is somewhat of a courtesy and, generally, after someone takes the class, they turn into a (supplies) customer.

“So it's a little of a return on investment,” he added. “I would say about 1 out of 5 customers become brewers — that he or she takes to it pretty well. Most of the time it's a fun thing to do or it was gifted to them, but you can usually tell they won’t stick to it, which is fine because I know they’ll enjoy it and go home with beer.

“For me, I was absolutely hooked on a quest to learn to make beer.”

White, as he said, was gifted a home brewing kit that he did with his brother and friend. The latter two didn't get quite as hooked as White — “The beer didn’t come out that great,” he added — who then started getting all the equipment to frequently homebrew.

“95% of my beer is homebrewed and I have a kegerator with five taps always available, so my friends love me,” White said with a laugh. “In college, I really started getting into styles from around the world — while going to (the now closed) World of Beer in Land O’ Lakes and the one in Westchase. … I don’t really have a favorite style because I love so many styles and every style has a different story and how it came about.

“I get enjoyment out of a different style each time.”

The classes will focus on different styles, as it will be tailored to the participants. White talks to them — there’s never more than four per class, so he can really focus on one or two batches — and figures out their favorite style, then pulls the ingredients — grains, hops, yeast — before going over all his notes. It's here they’ll get a history lesson on the style as well as talk about why the style brews and tastes the way it does.

For example, he was working with Land O’ Lakes resident Brad Black, who is brewing a German kölsch beer that Black will be taking to the 4th Annual Brewtoberfest held by Pasco Brewers Guild at Craft Life Brewing in Hudson on Oct. 19. Black has taken the class, but did so again, with his dad, John, so he was able to perfect the kölsch brew for the event.

“I’m always going to keep that format of one-on-one in class,” White said. “That allows me to pace myself, and I don’t overwhelm them. I let people ask questions as well because while they’re thinking about these things, it’s easier to give them the info, at the same time, go through the process and produce a good product.”

Brewers take home notes, with a summary of what they need to do and then also detailed instructions of all the ingredients and equipment used. They also leave with a case they’ll bottle during the class, and in about five days or a little over a week, the beer will be ready to drink.

White also has wine-making classes and holds monthly bottle shares, too. He knows the clientele who come to brew are doing it, perhaps, as a one-time fun outing — couples, father-son duos, friends are all popular groups — and that most of the time it was a wedding or birthday or Christmas gift.

White’s cool with that since he’s not about to form his own label. He's content to teach his craft and head home to pour one of his home-made beers.

“Beer making is more popular here, but,” he added, “they basically get to choose the style they want to make and then walk out with a case of beer. I don’t know many beer lovers who wouldn’t love that.”

Mike Camunas is a staff writer for the Tampa Beacon. He can be reached at [email protected].

Afford-a-Brew beer-making classes

Where: 4022 Land O' Lakes Blvd., Land O’ Lakes

Cost: Prices for classes start at $39; $179 for 2 and 5 gallons of beer.

Details: One-on-one classes teaching participants the ins and outs of homebrewing beer, from hops and grains selections to fermentation to yeast cultivating to bottling and more.

For more information, visit www.affordabrew.com/classes.

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