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Beer, for many, might be nothing more than a tasty, alcoholic accompaniment to a meal or sporting event. But judging by the kegs, refrigerators and home-grown hops found in Ed Bielaus' Rockville basement and backyard, beer is not just a drink — it is life.

Bielaus, who did not want to disclose his age but said he's been around long enough "to birth Methuselah," is a renowned home brewer with nearly 20 years of experience. He recently captured second and third place and honorable mention awards at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair's Amateur Homebrew Competition Aug. 14.

A Long Island native, Bielaus, a director of photography for his own production company, has won more than 350 awards for his brews, including back-to-back first-place finishes at the 2008 and 2009 Amateur Homebrew Competition at the fair and the Best of Show win for his witbier, named Corporate Theocracy Wit, at the 2005 Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing, which is considered by some to be the Super Bowl of home-brewing competitions.

Bill Ridgley, another home brewer and a member of the area's Brewers United For Real Potables along with Bielaus, started singing Bielaus' praises as soon as his name was mentioned.

"He's one of the best home brewers in the area," Ridgely said. "In fact, he's one of the better home brewers on the East Coast. He puts time and effort into brewing and wouldn't put anything in a competition if he didn't think it would win."

Bielaus' journey into home brewing materialized from a New Year's resolution in 1992. When a friend told him a mutual acquaintance brewed his own beer, Bielaus thought he could upstage him. Within the year, he started home brewing and was competing by 1996.

Since 1992, he has produced more than 300 beers and at least 25 styles. An avid gardener, Bielaus grows his own hops and strives to make his beers organic.

Making any form of alcohol comes with certain legal parameters. Although home brewing became legal under federal law in 1979, it is illegal in Alabama and Mississippi. In Maryland, a home brewer does not need a license to brew for home consumption or competition, but cannot sell beer.

On tap in his basement are two of Bielaus' finest. His English brown ale, called Picnic on a Frozen River after a song by the German rock band Faust, is a beer he describes as having a subtle taste that is close in character to the more widely known Newcastle Brown Ale.

The Iceman Freezeth, a best bitter, is exactly how it sounds, he said — a bitter, somewhat tart pale ale with a low alcohol content.

When asked to disclose the recipe for The Iceman Freezeth, Bielaus hesitated — not because he was afraid to reveal any secrets, but because the complexity of the ingredients and composition is too advanced for just anybody to attempt to make at home, he said.

"I make brewing as hard as possible," he said. "If it ain't easy, it ain't worth it."

With a palate as sophisticated as his, Bielaus might come off as some sort of beer snob. He does not care for American pilsners like "your Millers and Budweisers" and only considers the "OK" Yuengling as "a training-wheels beer." European lagers, such as Heineken and Stella Artois, are fine for the most part, he said, but "pedestrian." Yet none of those selections rank as poorly as Rolling Rock, one of the worst beers on the market today, in Bielaus' opinion.

Even with all of his accomplishments, Bielaus is modest. Aside from holding high regards for large-scale brewpubs such as Rock Bottom and Gordon Biersch, he keeps the hundreds of awards he has won hidden away in boxes, not wanting to spend too much time discussing competitions.

Home brewing does not come cheap. Bielaus estimates he spends a minimum of $2,000 per year on ingredients alone, but monetary awards and prizes help alleviate the cost. On average, brewing five gallons of beer costs more than $25 for ingredients such as yeast, he said.

For Bielaus, beer and home brewing are not about the prizes or the drinking — it's about the process.

"You can drink and party somewhere else. I like the learning aspect," he said. "This is not a hobby — it's a part of life."

With more than 18 years of experience and more than 350 brewing awards to his credit, Ed Bielaus offered some insight on beer and advice for novices looking to brew their own beer from home.

-First step: Start with a visit to Homebrew Digest. Step-by-step instructions, forums, blogs and general information can be found on its website at www.hdb.org.

-Types: As eager as you might be to create a batch of espresso stout or dark cherry lager, start with the basics. "Keep it simple at first – go with ales, not lagers."

-Temperature control: Make sure to ferment brews at the correct temperature. Ales, for example, should be fermented between 65 and 70 degrees. "Wait until you use a hydrometer to see if it's fermented or you'll be making bottle bombs.

-Sanitization: "Keep it clean." Recycled bottles used to store homemade beer that are not properly disinfected and sanitized will bring down the quality and taste of your brew, no matter what ingredients went into it. A self-described neat freak, Bielaus uses Star San, a flavorless, no-rinse, food-grade sanitizer with a low pH level and Powdered Brewery Wash to ensure cleanliness.

-Refrigeration: Bielaus stores all his beers in refrigerators set at 32 degrees. "Once the beer has reached condition, I keep it all cold."

-Serving: Unlike most people who enjoy drinking ice-cold beer as soon as it's poured, Bielaus said the best way enjoy a beer is to let it sit and warm before drinking. "Let it warm up and get a little flatter, then try it."

According to Webster's New World College Dictionary, a hop is a rough twining vine of the hemp family. The dried ripe cones of the female flowers are used for giving beer and ale a bitter taste.

nnourmohammadi@gazette.net