First things first: My first brew

First Things First is a series about territories uncharted, moments witnessed and experiences lived for the first time. Join Nik Jarvie-Waldrom as she attempts to make sense of why doing things we've never done before makes us feel so much.

Photo: Meg Howie

The crowd of people who enjoy craft beer grows daily, by the sip. In the midst of this crowd is a smaller group which works toward replicating or completely reinventing the taste and experience at home.

In the debut episode of First Things First, Nik Jarvie-Waldrom follows one home brewer’s journey from flat kitchen to commercially functioning brewery. Listen to Kerry Gray as he navigates a new environment of mash tuns, whirlpools and fermenter tanks, with a reimagined recipe originally created in London in 1924.

Kerry Gray waits for a "stuck sparge" to clear. Photo: Nik Jarvie-Waldrom

This very first episode of First Thing’s First couldn’t have happened without Gareth Ruck, Mike Pullin and Michelle Tamehana.