True Brews

A comprehensive yet approachable guide to making fermented drinks at home. Emma Christensen covers over fifty recipes spanning beer, cider, mead, sake, wine, kombucha, kefir, and naturally fermented sodas, all built on the same core techniques and basic equipment.

Why Start Here

True Brews is the rare brewing book that treats fermentation as a single, unified skill rather than a collection of separate hobbies. Every recipe in the book builds on the same fundamentals: sanitize, mix, ferment, bottle. Once you learn to brew a batch of kombucha, you already understand the basics of making cider or mead. Christensen writes like a cooking instructor, not a chemistry professor. She assumes you have a soup pot, a plastic bucket, and curiosity. That low barrier to entry is what makes this the perfect first book.

What to Expect

At 192 pages, this is a concise, practical guide. Christensen opens with the essentials of sanitation, fermentation science, and equipment, then moves through chapters organized by beverage type. Each recipe includes clear instructions, timing notes, and flavor variations. The tone is warm and encouraging, written for people who have never brewed anything but want to start experimenting. If you want a single book that opens the door to the entire world of home fermentation, this is it.