It’s no secret that the roots of the craft-brewing industry run deep into the fertile soil of homebrewing. The growth of the industry is largely dependent on talented and dedicated homebrewers honing their craft and carving out their own turf in the craft-brewing revolution.
One brewery is taking it a step further by providing the actual recipes to their beers by packaging them with the beers themselves. The Homework Series from San Diego’s Ballast Point is a line of beers designed to pay tribute to their homebrewing roots. “We’ve always been such an open book with our recipes since we started Home Brew Mart in 1992 and the brewery in 1996,” says Colby Chandler, Ballast Point’s vice president and specialty brewer. “Honoring our homebrewing roots is part of our vision statement, and putting the recipe on the bottle was something we’ve always wanted to do.”
In fact, the very first beer released in the Homework Series is a hoppy red ale that Chandler designed as Red Scent Ale in 1998. One his favorites to share with his fellow homebrewers, it was a natural choice to be the flagship for the series. “The first one was my wedding beer, and I was a little selfish in wanting to have it again.” Four more beers—Belgian-Style Double IPA, English-Style IPA, Pumpkin Ale, and Hoppy Belgian-Style Pale Ale—have joined that Hoppy Red Ale in the Homework Series.