Didn't see any threads on this...my apologies if I missed it. My BIL got me a gift certificate to Hopsters for Christmas. I'm psyched as I've wanted to check it out for some time. My home brewing experience consists of one, single failed batch using a Mr. Beer kit years ago, so know that going in. Curious what to expect when I get there? I'm leaning towards the bourbon barrel stout, but I'm wondering if there's any "artistic integrity" allowed with these beers? As in, if I want to toss in some vanilla beans or something, or switch up the hops/malts from the recipe, am I allowed to do that? I know full well that I may screw it up and am fine with that...but I'd rather make something awful that I had a hand in creating as opposed to something decent that I just followed a pre-created recipe for. Does that make sense? Would love to hear experiences from people who've been!
You might get more help in the homebrew forum. I've never brewed at a place like this or Dejabrew in Shrewsbury but they seem to be flexible with things like that, I would talk to them and see what they can help you do. If you get the homebrew bug there are some cool central MA homebrew clubs and we'd all be happy to help you get up to speed, I belong to M4.
Never done it, but have friends that have. I think you can do pretty much anything you want, but any variation is an up charge from the base cost of the brew you select. I can't stand the place as a bar and the owner (Lee) is an absolute douche, but everyone I know that's done it had a good time during the actual brewing process.
My girlfriend got me a Hopsters brew session about a year ago. It's a good way to learn the basics of brewing. They'll let you tweak things if you'd like - I doubled the amount of bourbon soaked oak chips I added, but it didn't end up as good as my wise self would've expected. So I'm sure there won't be an issue if you want to add a dash of this or a dab of that. They have a whole ingredients room that you get to pick everything out of. Ultimately, you're not gonna make some incredible beer because it's a fairly basic brewing process, but it's definitely fun to brew and enjoy some good beers and flatbreads along the way!
More malt types than malt ratios...and that was just an example. If I wanted a "rack" beer without any of my own tweaking or adjusting, I'd just go to Julio's and buy one of the 7,000,000 that are out there. I know I don't know what I'm doing, so I wouldn't radically change anything, but if I can't tweak it to some degree, I just don't see the point. And, again, I understand going in that the changes I make may not ultimately be for the better of the overall beer, but they'd add individuality, which is what I'm after.
Some years ago when I brewed at Barleycorns in Natick, they easily let me swap out one of the hops, in an otherwise house recipe, for another varietal I wanted to use. I'd imagine Hopsters would let you do the same...it's probably common enough.
Really? He seemed all right in my encounters with him. I've only been in quick to get homebrew stuff though.
I'll echo this sentiment, he definitely has a bit of the douche, but he wont be involved in your experience so it's worth a try
He used to post videos to Facebook that were just him talking/ranting about things. the few times I've been in (including opening day, I think we were the first customers) he had clearly been drinking and was just obnoxious to talk to. Then again it's Newton, so it can be hard to separate one douche from another.
I also went reeeally early on (pre-bar/food), but he was very nice to us. Gave us a tour of the facility, let us very generously sample (for free) the beers they had already made. Definitely boisterous and seemed desperate for positive word of mouth, but hey, made for a great experience.
I guess the one thing I felt a little weird about was when I was paying for the grains and hops (that I had gathered myself) he circled the tip section of the bill several times, in case I missed it.
