“Small business owners often put their heart and soul into their business, and too often consumers forget that to save a buck ordering online. If we lose sight of that, those small businesses will not survive. I’ve seen that play out firsthand in our community multiple times and I can’t help but wonder what more I could have done to help.”

John Black – Mission Commander for The Bay Area Mastronauts

Absolutely on point.

Since Hoppin’ Grape store closing in May 2022, homebrewers have struggled with delay on their online orders and a limited ingredient availability for basic brewing needs. Most members of the B.A.M Homebrew club live in the Clear Lake area, and if they can’t wait for their ingredients, they have to make the long drive into Houston to visit Farm Boy Brew Shop on N. Shepherd. Forgetting your salts, yeast or other ingredient OR worse – having equipment troubles on brew day is a real pain in the arse. With the lack of local expertise nearby to help, homebrewers don’t get that extra bit of support they need to keep the brew day going.

We are happy to hear that Saturday November 4th, at 11am, Sitta Brew Hub, a new small homebrew business, will open it’s doors to offer up quality key ingredients and supplies for fermented beverages, including craft beer! Kevin Sitta, owner and operator of Sitta Brew Hub, has been a hobby homebrewer for over 10 years. Kevin will be joined by his wife, Liz Sitta during opening weekend.

“To be honest, I am opening up this homebrew shop for selfish reasons – not to get rich but have access to ingredients I need to brew beer!”

Kevin Sitta

Name sound familiar? Kevin Sitta has been active throughout the homebrew community, even entering the realm of professional brewing by way of lending a hand at several breweries in town including Vallensons’ Brewing & Bakfish Brewing in Pearland and Saloon Door Brewery in Webster. In tandem with Hoppin Grape and Vallensons, Kevin participated and won a veterans homebrew competition and had the opportunity to brew his winning recipe at Vallensons’, which was named Sitting Warrior West Coast IPA. This brew raised money that were put towards Semper Fi & America’s Fund charity funds. Well done! Sitta has plans to get the store fully operational over the next year, with focus on keeping key brewing ingredients regularly in stock.

“When Hoppin Grape closed, it was apparent there was a real need to serve this community and that is what I am interested in doing.”

Kevin Sitta

Sitta Brew Hub will feature and stock all major ingredients required for brewing including specialty and base grains, fresh hops and yeast, ready-to- brew kits, brewing hardware and eventually offer private brewing events so that you can brew up your own batch of beer with personalized labeling to enjoy at home. Sitta plans to keep his professional career working in the IT industry while balancing time to manage the business affairs. Meanwhile, Dean Simpson will be the friendly face behind the counter, playing a key role in the day to day operations at Sitta Brew Hub. Simpson, who became a homebrewing enthusiast during his time in the military, thereafter managed a local homebrew shop named Homebrew Party (sounds fun!). This was, at one time, San Antonio’s only source for homebrewing supplies. His retail experience he gained there, the brewing knowledge has has acquired since, and his education in the hospitality industry will contribute to Sitta’s entrepreneurial vision.

In addition to a retail storefront, Sitta Brew Hub will host beer tasting events and plans to expand into bar hardware servicing very soon. Want a discount? Join a local hombrew club. Sitta plans to provide this perk for all club members across the state.

Swing by the new homebrew shop next weekend during the soft opening event and say hello to Kevin and Dean. And be sure to share your upcoming homebrewing plans – they are ready to support you!

Sitta Brew Hub is located at 618 FM 1959 Houston TX near Ellington Field.

Follow Sitta Brew Hub on Facebook.

The post Sitta Brew Hub opens to the community near Ellington Field first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Sitta Brew Hub opens to the community near Ellington Field appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The Grain Cellar offers free classes to learn how to brew including 1 on 1 brewing session opportunities. They start you off at the basics, the ingredients, tools and common methods but even offer advanced brewing techniques including CBD and other new world adjuncts if you are looking to mix things up or go beyond the traditional styles. If beer isn’t something you want to create, The Grain Cellar offers lessons on how to make wine (great for gifts !), mead, and cheese as well. The Grain Cellar offers anything you could need to make your own brew such as specialty grain, pitching yeast, classic and modern variety hops, and even used equipment to make it easier for any rookie or experienced brewers. In addition to running this local small business, he is actively involved with the local beer communities – offering assistance, knowledge, and expertise with other beer businesses in the area. I had my first 1 on 1 class at TGC recently and we brewed a porter style beer, I was so satisfied with the results I immediately to shared it with my friends. Need a co-pilot in learning? I would highly recommend these sessions. Preston took the time to graciously answer all of my many questions. He often says ‘knowledge is free’ but I am also glad he gave me enough knowledge AND confidence to enter the Rogue Brewers Home Brewing Club’s competition that he hosts every last Friday of the month at 7pm. 

Not sure what you want to brew? Preston has hundreds of beer recipes across all styles to choose from or simply spend some time chatting about your dream beer and he can help you create it. I’ve gone from someone who knew nothing about brewing to helping co hosting a class with Preston and sharing wort with people who happened to walk in. I am excited to be a part of the homebrew community and happy to support The Grain Cellar for all of my homebrew needs.

Everyone needs a ‘Preston’ friend around to help jump start a new passion and I can say that I would not be comfortable brewing my own beer if I had not visited The Grain Cellar and ran into Preston. I’m very lucky to have this gem in my area and I look forward to learning more and even competing in the home brewing competitions in the future.

The Grain Cellar is located at 1712 1st St. E. Humble TX 77338.

Swing by, enjoy a sample and ask Preston how you can start brewing too! Cheers!

The post Brewing a passion for beer at The Grain Cellar first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Brewing a passion for beer at The Grain Cellar appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Here I am 8 years into my journey, and I am in my third year serving as the Vice President for the Bay Area Mashtronauts Homebrew Club. I have gone from a few early batches of decent beer that may have only tasted okay, but certainly gave me an immense sense of pride to winning medals and awards in homebrew competitions. I love homebrewing and how it enriches my life, but most importantly to me is my development of my sensory skills and descriptors so that I can familiarized myself with the myriad of beer styles that exist.  I have worked hard to taste and learn, and I have been able to earn the rank of Certified Judge from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). I love learning about craft beer, the vast range of styles of beer, and how to use my senses to describe beer in all aspects as I drink it.

When using all your senses and focusing on describing each aspect of the beer you are drinking from a sensory perspective, I find it adds a great deal to the overall experience of enjoying that beer. That is a big reason I wanted to be a contributor to Houston Beer Guide. The most worthwhile part of my experiences has been learning to objectively taste a beer and build a large vocabulary to draw from to describe it. It is something that I am passionate about and would love to pass on to the readers who are interested in more in-depth reviews than you typically see on Untapped or Social Media.

I have decided that for my beer review pieces, I will treat these beers as if I were judging each beer as an entrant in a homebrewing competition and use the BJCP scoresheet as a guide to lay out my thoughts. I feel that this will help me to better organize my thoughts on the beer, as well as make the post a little easier to follow.

I always endeavor to continue to learn and grow in my knowledge of craft beer and homebrewing, and luckily that means drinking more beer. Hope you will all drink along with me!

The post Contributor Introduction: Tristin Marcks first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Contributor Introduction: Tristin Marcks appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.