Get Brewing

Long day? How about a beer?

But, not just any beer: a beer of your own making. Maybe one made with evergreen? Or, how about a chocolaty porter infused with mint? Did we mention the bacon beer yet?

If you were making your own suds, then you could be enjoying any one of these—or adding your own unique spin on them.

"I've done pretty much every style at this point," said Paul Kreiner at recent home brewing demonstration for restaurant week. "You can do anything you want with home brewing... but they don't always turn out great."

The evergreen infused Christmas ale was one of those, but as they say in cooking, you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette.

On a recent Friday evening at Palmer Place as the dinner rush picked up, in a corner by the bar was Kreiner, passing out free booze. You might wonder why a restaurant like Palmer Place would be literally giving the beer away, but...

"You can't sell it," Steve Palmer, owner of Palmer Place said simply. "When you make your own it's illegal to sell it."

You can't sell it, but you can give it away. As a special event at , Palmer brought in his good friend Kreiner to show the crowd how it's done.

Kreiner got his start as a garage brewmeister about five years ago, but he's been working with beer for longer. At his day job, he's a salesman for Burke Beverage Company—one of the region's biggest distributors of some of your favorite brews.

"It was something fun to do," Kreiner said of getting his start.

Since his humble beginning, Kreiner's brews have come a long way. Last year he won first place at a competition in Lincoln Park put on by Square Kegs Home Brew Club. Kreiner won first place for a dopplebock he entered in the Amber, Dark, and Strong Lager category (gets specific doesn’t it?).

Starting your own basement, garage or backyard shed brewery is pretty easy, Kreiner said as he passed some of his brew out to a pair of Palmer's regulars. His tips? Buy a cheap beer kit for about $60 to start to see if you like it. If you do, go buy a book. And if you get really into it, just keep experimenting. Kreiner suggests starting with an India Pale Ale (IPA) to start.

"It's the easiest to make and have it taste good," he said.

So, when is Palmer Place going to start its own line of delicious home brew?

"It's something we've thought about," Palmer said. "We've thought about partnering with a brewer, but we'd want to have a lot of control."

Good thing they know someone like Paul Kreiner: a guy who knows a thing or two about making fremented grain taste so damn good!