Advice for New Homebrewers

A veteran attorney who brings almost three decades of experience to his work as a partner at Alegria & Barovick LLP, Andrew Barovick litigates directly for the firm’s clients. Away from his work, Andrew Barovick has become a craft beer enthusiast. Many brewers of craft beers start out making small amounts at home. Here are some tips for the novice homebrewer.

1. Invest in a coiled immersion chiller, which will usually costs approximately $50 to $70, so you can cool large volumes of wort quickly. Doing so allows you to drop the temperature of the wort below the dangerous ranges that lead to the development of bacteria, lowering the risk of your beer being contaminated.

2. Every piece of equipment that touches the beer, from spoons through to fermentation buckets and rubber stoppers, needs to be boiled immediately and sanitized. Sanitize using iodine or a specialist sanitizing agent, ideally for at least 1 minute. Doing so reduces the risk of bacteria contaminating later batches.

3. Be patient during the fermentation process, as it can sometimes take up to two days for the results to start becoming visible. If there is no sign of fermentation after this period, adding some more dry yeast to the mixture will usually accelerate the process.

Craft Beer Tasting Tips

A graduate of Columbia University with a BA in English, Andrew Barovick studied for his JD at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Now a partner at Alegria & Barovick LLP, Andrew Barovick enjoys sampling craft beers when he is not at the office.

Generally created by small producers, sometimes even in the home, craft beers are available in a multitude of varieties. Here are some tips for getting the most out of a craft beer tasting experience.

1. Take more than a single sip before deciding whether you like the beer, as craft beers tend to be more complex than their mass-produced counterparts. Appreciate everything from the initial aroma to the aftertaste.

2. Consider writing your experience down if you are struggling to describe it verbally. According to craft beer expert Randy Mosher, our brains often struggle to comprehend flavors and assign descriptions to them.

3. Avoid over-chilling the beer, as this prevents you from getting the full experience. Craft beers are generally best enjoyed at a little below room temperature, though many producers will recommend specific temperatures, too.

Some Health Benefits of Cross-Country Skiing

A seasoned attorney with solo practice experience, Andrew Barovick works as a partner with Alegria & Barovick LLP, where he advises on the selection of new cases and helps clients obtain benefits or money they deserve. The leader of an active lifestyle outside of work, Andrew Barovick enjoys cross-country skiing.

Sometimes referred to as “Nordic skiing,” the activity provides a workout to both the upper and lower body, as practitioners generate locomotion themselves rather than by relying on a slope. Consequently, cross-country skiers tend to develop strong cores, legs, and arms via not only repetitive pushing and pulling, but also the effort required to maintain balance.

According to Health Fitness Revolution, which provides resources related to both physical and mental fitness, cross-country skiing results in more calories being burned per unit of time than any other sport, with the most ardent practitioners consuming over 1,100 per hour.

Moreover, the activity is touted for being low impact, especially when compared to jogging, as the feet land relatively softly after being lifted but a short distance from the ground, thereby minimizing trauma to muscles and joints.