Remember that awful beer your roommate made in college in order to get access to some hooch when you were under age? It smelled somewhere between Aquanet and desperation and tasted even worse. The first attempts at brewing beer at home often start disastrously because the devil is in the details – both in the cleaning process and technique.

Bill DeBaun, avid homebrewer and head editor or DC Beer says the most common issues with off-flavored beer when starting out is “a combination of two things. First thing is a lack of attention to detail. As you brew more batches, you tighten up your technique. I think people don’t take to heart sanitizing everything. That, combined with the fact that there’s some kits out there that I think just aren’t really good as people expect. They expect the off-the-shelf pale ale extract kit to give them Sierra Nevada. Not going to happen. They’ll get something drinkable, but not professional, at least at first”.

So why bother, right? There is certainly no shortage of world-class beers available in our city. Why waste time making when you can be drinking? Deciding to make something instead of buying it stems from a host of reasons. Sometimes it is the process of creation that brings about satisfaction, regardless of how it turns out. Other times, no one is producing what you really want. As an amateur, you get to enjoy these nuances and subtleties in recipe variation. More hops, less hops, different yeast, or even adding some fruit — your beer means your rules. Exploring different variations allows you to see how diverse beers can be and gives you an appreciation for what others do.

But in the end, brewing is just fun. A few hours of your time can make you feel like a chef, chemist, and bootlegger over the course of a Saturday afternoon — and in a few weeks you get to drink the results.

And that is just what people all over D.C. are doing.

Back in early 2008, Mike Dolan and his brother started the D.C. Homebrewers Club to promote, share, educate, and enjoy the hobby of homebrewing in and around the District of Columbia in a social setting. Dolan says, “My brother and I had been homebrewing together for a couple years and we figured there must be other brewers like us in the city, so we put an ad on Craigslist in December and overnight we had 30 members coming to my apartment to share beers.” About a month later, their first organized meeting “featured samples of bocks, sour cherry beers, wet-hopped IPAs, alt beers, old ales, winter ales, kolsch, pumpkin ales, chocolate stouts, and one weirdly spiced beer.”

Since that first wintery meeting, their numbers have continually grown. Currently there are about 500 total members and some of them meet once a month to try out each other’s creations and socialize with the like-minded. Check out their website for a good source of local homebrewing news and meeting schedule.

If you’re curious to learn more, on October 23, American Ice Company will be hosting The Neighborhood Farm Initiative’s 2nd annual friendly homebrew competition along with a Homebrew 101 workshop. Sign up is free and proceeds go to support the urban agriculture non-profit. Winners will be judged by the attendees so this is a great opportunity to see what people in the city are brewing up. Winners will be awarded prizes and the knowledge they were making some beer for a good cause.

Two days later, Meridian Pint will host “Homebrewers Matchup V” with a chance to win gift certificates to Meridian Pint and be a part of the end of the year champions’ competition. These events have been a great time for all involved and is an excellent way to meet some homebrewers and ask how they got so good.

So get to it D.C. Maybe the next time you drink a beer, it could be your own.