The story of a homebrewer going pro isn’t anything new, but it’s rare when a brewer makes the jump outside of his/her home country. The U.S.-born Christopher Sidwa moved to Australia in 2008 and took his hobby to the professional level when he cofounded Batch Brewing Co. (Sydney, Australia). Hoping to inspire a new generation of homebrewers, he has released a new book Brew A Batch: A Beginner’s Guide to Home-Brewed Beer (Murdoch Books) that offers up all a budding homebrewer or curious-about-brewing drinker needs to fall down the rabbit hole. Senior Editor John Holl caught up with Sidwa to talk about the book, brewing, and advice to homebrewers.
CBB// What was your introduction to homebrewing?
CS// It came indirectly. I learned making beer was something you could do at home, and I liked the idea. It also came from drinking beers such as Sam Adams Cream Stout and Newcastle Brown Ale. It may even have had something to do with the fact that I couldn’t legally buy beer when this was going on in 1999.