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Secrets of a
Phenomenal Homebrewer March 13, 1997 - The Outlook While thousands of
The Mar Vista resident who's been the winner the last two years of the prestigious Sierra Nevada California Homebrewer of the Year title and scores of other top awards, has taken his exceptional knack for creating beer and opened Angel City Brewing in Culver City. Last week, he gunned his van with the bright green, purple and yellow Angel City Brewing logo on it and began self-distributing kegs to the 10 bars and liquor stores that'll be selling what up until now has been a private pride and joy. But just as Bowe started eight years ago with a $39 mail-order homebrewing kit and ended up with $2,500 in sophisticated homebrewing equipment, he's also thinking big when it comes to talking a gulp of the thriving craft-brew market which during the last period measured (1994 to 1995) by the Colorado-based Institute for Brewing Studies brew a whopping 51 percent. "I find it just incredible that a huge city like Los Angeles really doesn't have it's own distinctive microbrews. So many other cities do. I'm looking to fill that gap," Bowe said from his modest office at Angel City Brewing that's strewn with the artwork of his sons, Micky, 6, and Sean, 4, and virtually wallpapered with a fraction of the scores of awards he's won. So was the road from homebrewer to professional a slick one? No, said Bowe. He secured business licenses late last year and leased his 1500-square-foot space in an industrial park in Culver City that, along with his office, includes open space and a walk-in cooler he bought that's capable of storing about 200 50-liter kegs. He contracted with Southern California Brewing in Torrance and is supervising the brewing of his recipes for Angel City Ale (a golden, amber malty beer that's not overly hoppy) and Vitzen (based on German Weizen, a wheat ale with a spicy finish that popular in that country), the two ales he's currently selling. "I want my beer made using the absolute state-of-the-art equipment. That's essential. I can't afford spending $500,000 to buy equipment myself, but I can get the same effect and still be in control of the quality of my product by making the most of equipment that's already in use," said Bowe, who's been offered a number of major master brewer jobs. Instead, Bowe was zipping up and down the 10 and 405 freeways, securing accounts with barkeeps (to sell his beer on tap) and liquor store owners (to sell if by the keg). In 1989, then his wife Kate was 8 months pregnant with Micky, Bowe, who has owned a construction firm for the last 12 years, said he was going stir-crazy. When he saw a tiny ad in the back of a construction trade magazine advertising a $39 homebrewing kit, he decided to send away for it to break the monotony. His first batch of light pale ale was good, he said. So, Bowe said, he kept making pale ale again and again and adding better equipment until he perfected it. Soon, he was frequenting homebrewing supply stores and joined a large homebrewing club (where members exchange beer and tips.) Contests -- as well as perfecting lots of other types of beers -- followed. Since 1992, he's racked up many awards, including lots of first places from the Los Angeles County Fair, California State Fair, and California State Homebrewing Competition. The Sierra Nevada California Homebrewer of the Year is the triple-crown of homebrewing in the West. You're named brewer of the year if you have the most points from competing in the California State Fair, the California State Homebrewing Competition and the Maltose Falcons Mayfaire (sponsored by the nation's oldest homebrew beer club). Bowe's first two years of competing in Sierra Nevada, he came in with the second most number of points. For the last two years, he's won the title. |
Southern Californians are raising a beer mug in toast to St. Patrick next
week, Michael Bowe will be raising a keg -- or maybe 50.