Brew this month
Calendar

What to brew, month by month

Lager season, Märzen in March, Big Brew in May, summer heat and kveik, cider and wine harvest, then Learn to Homebrew Day and gift season: a year in a cold-winter or a hot-summer garage.

Updated November 2026 · 9 sources

Baskets of grapes and apples beside pumpkins at harvest time
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Your garage decidesGarage and basement temperatures swing with your climate and each year’s weather, so treat these as reminders, not rules. Event dates come from the American Homebrewers Association; check their site each year.

This month

November

Learn & gift season

Learn to Homebrew Day and gift season

Learn to Homebrew Day opens November, then gift season for brewers 21 and over: first kits, upgrades and well-carbonated bottles.

  • Learn to Homebrew Day is the first Saturday of November How-to
  • Shop gifts for brewers 21 and over Gear
  • Price out a first setup with your own numbers Open tool
  • Brew a stout or winter warmer now for the holidays How-to

Garage and basement temperatures swing with your climate and each year’s weather, so treat these as reminders, not rules. Event dates come from the American Homebrewers Association; check their site each year. Full calendar and sources.

Printable brew-day log and recipe sheetLog every batch: water, mash, gravity, yeast, temperatures and packaging; print a blank sheet.

The whole year

Cold-winter garage · Freezing winters: an unheated garage or basement can hold lager temps (northern US, higher elevations)

Lager seasonSpring brew daysSummer heatCider & wine harvestLearn & gift season

01JanuaryLager season

Lager season: put the cold garage to work

  • Brew a lager while the garage holds about 48–55°F (9–13°C) How-to
  • Check your lager yeast’s maker temperature range before you pitch How-to
  • Add a controller and heat wrap so cold snaps don’t stall fermentation Gear
  • Keep fermenters off a freezing slab: a mat or a chamber helps Gear

02FebruaryLager season

Lagering and cold-crashing while it’s cold

  • Lager last month’s batch near freezing for several weeks How-to
  • Set keg pressure for your serving temperature from the chart Open tool
  • Plan a Märzen recipe to brew in March Open tool
  • Clean and inspect draft lines before spring How-to

03MarchSpring brew days

Märzen in March, the classic spring lager

  • Brew a Märzen now and lager it until fall How-to
  • Work out salt additions for a malty amber Open tool
  • Calculate strike water for the mash Open tool
  • Size a starter if you use liquid lager yeast Open tool

04AprilSpring brew days

Spring clean-up and outdoor brew days

  • Deep-clean fermenters and kegs before warm weather How-to
  • Propane burners run outdoors only, well away from the garage How-to
  • Plan a batch for AHA Big Brew on the first Saturday of May How-to
  • Leak-check CO2 fittings with soapy water How-to

05MaySpring brew days

Big Brew and National Homebrew Day

  • Brew along with AHA Big Brew (first Saturday of May; May 1, 2027) How-to
  • Brew a pale ale or IPA before summer heat arrives Gear
  • Check bitterness with the IBU calculator Open tool
  • Keep a brew-day log for every batch Open tool

06JuneSummer heat

Summer heat: control fermentation temperature

  • Tape the probe to the fermenter: active beer runs warmer than the room How-to
  • Build a chamber from a fridge or chest freezer and a controller Gear
  • Try kveik yeast for hot-garage batches How-to
  • Brew a hard seltzer for summer How-to

07JulySummer heat

Hot garage: chill fast, ferment cool

  • Use a plate chiller or a pre-chiller when tap water runs warm How-to
  • Use a swamp cooler or chamber for ales Gear
  • Start kombucha only with a pH meter on hand How-to
  • Store bottles out of the heat while they condition How-to

08AugustSummer heat

Home Fermentation Day: mead and kombucha

  • Mark AHA Home Fermentation Day in August with a mead How-to
  • Rehydrate wine yeast with Go-Ferm as the maker sheet says Gear
  • Confirm kombucha reaches pH 4.2 or lower How-to
  • Line up juice or a cider kit for September Gear

09SeptemberCider & wine harvest

Apple harvest: hard cider season

  • Make hard cider from fresh or store juice How-to
  • Use Campden tablets and pectic enzyme per the label How-to
  • Take a gravity reading before you pitch Open tool
  • Brew holiday ales by early October How-to

10OctoberCider & wine harvest

Grape and juice-bucket season

  • Start a wine kit or a juice bucket How-to
  • Stabilize before you backsweeten wine or cider How-to
  • Serve the spring Märzen at the right keg pressure Open tool
  • Test the heat wrap and controller before cold nights Gear

11NovemberLearn & gift season

Learn to Homebrew Day and gift season

  • Learn to Homebrew Day is the first Saturday of November How-to
  • Shop gifts for brewers 21 and over Gear
  • Price out a first setup with your own numbers Open tool
  • Brew a stout or winter warmer now for the holidays How-to

12DecemberLearn & gift season

Holiday gifts and a winter lager plan

  • Give a 1-gallon kit to a new brewer (21+) Gear
  • Prime gift bottles with the calculator, never by guesswork Open tool
  • Clean kegs and lines before holiday parties How-to
  • Plan January’s lager while the garage cools How-to

Based on: BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines (6A Märzen); Big Brew for National Homebrew Day; Learn to Homebrew Day; AHA events (Home Fermentation Day, formerly Mead Day); SafAle US-05 product page (temperature range, storage); LalBrew Voss kveik (temperature range); Beer, hard cider and distilled spirits: production; FST-297: Kombucha brewing under the Food Code; CPSC holiday cooking safety (outdoor propane fryers).

Sources

  1. BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines (6A Märzen) — BJCP
  2. Big Brew for National Homebrew Day — American Homebrewers Association
  3. Learn to Homebrew Day — American Homebrewers Association
  4. AHA events (Home Fermentation Day, formerly Mead Day) — American Homebrewers Association
  5. SafAle US-05 product page (temperature range, storage) — Fermentis
  6. LalBrew Voss kveik (temperature range) — Lallemand Brewing
  7. Beer, hard cider and distilled spirits: production — Penn State Extension
  8. FST-297: Kombucha brewing under the Food Code — Virginia Cooperative Extension
  9. CPSC holiday cooking safety (outdoor propane fryers) — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission