Recommendations for learning how to brew beer in London?

Question

As a beer lover I've enjoyed thousands of great beers over the years. In doing so I've learned a fair amount about the differences in types of beer and how they're brewed, but I'd like to take the next step and brew my own.

There's a ton of information online regarding home-brewing, and it's hard to tell what's correct, what's good and what's nonsense. I'd prefer to attend a hands-on course to learn, taste and ask questions about the beer brewing process.

Here is a (in-complete, unordered) list of the places I've come across:

• Brew Club
• UBrew
• London Fields Brewery
• London Beer Lab
• Brewlab

Has you attended the beer brewing classes available around London? If so, which do you recommend? Why?

Answer 1

I'll take a stab at this... I would start with a good homebrewing book and walk through the process. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is where I started 20 years ago and it's still a great place to start.

I was also very active in my homebrew club so I would definitely reach out to them too. You can learn so much so quickly watching someone else. I think this is where you would learn a lot about beer styles and tastes.

I taught in the wine making program at a local community college for a couple of years. This school also had a brewing program. I would only go this route if you really, really want to be a serious brewer. You can brew really excellent beer just learning on your own or hanging out at a homebrew club.