Soda, Anyone? The Rejuvenating Tonic Bar

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2013 issue of Zymurgy Magazine

By Drew Beechum

How can a homebrewer talk homebrewing without, well, homebrewing? Every year, this riddle pops up for homebrewing clubs across the nation. We want to have some fun and pour our beer at beer festivals, but due to a variety of factors, many festivals declare that no homebrew can be poured. Ingredient displays, videos, and even fermenting flasks of fluid are fine, but beer and brewing are verboten.

It’s only getting worse with new interpretations of state law as far as homebrew leaving the home (see From the Glass on page 7). The American Homebrewers Association, of course, is helping to fix those issues as they arise (your membership dollars are important!).

For Los Angeles area homebrewers, this problem arises every year with the LA Beer Week Festival. With a venue, Union Station, belonging to the era of starlets being plucked from obscurity at Schwab’s soda fountain, it’s the perfect opportunity to show the softer side of homebrewing with the kid-friendly art of soda making.

These are not the sickly sweet concoctions sold everywhere, but a more adult take: less sugar, brighter, more challenging flavors, and more refreshing. These are beverages designed to cool and quench, and provide a break from beer during a festival.