So you started making beer at home, and that was good.

Then you started getting better at it and joined a club with like-minded individuals to swap stories, tips and brews. Then you got even better and started winning homebrew competitions. But what’s next? How do you find out if your brews are fit for mass consumption?

Enter Peoples Pint Brewing Collective. Founded by Doug Appeldoorn and Peter Caira in 2015, the collective has recently opened a brick-and-mortar facility with a tasting room, on Cawthra Ave., in the space formerly occupied by Junction Brewery.

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“We got tired of going to events that were serving flagship beers and there was nothing really new,” Appeldoorn said.

So he and Caira began organizing events where they would bring together artisanal home-brewers for one-off events where people could sample beers being made in basements across Ontario.

The idea grew, and the brewery, which opened in March, now has a tap that is totally dedicated to homebrews, if you can make the cut.

“We don’t let anybody come and brew, GTA Brews sets up the schedule,” Appeldoorn said.

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Formed in 2013, GTA Brews, which has about 300 paid members and a large Facebook community, holds events where brewers compete.

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And the competition is serious, explained GTA Brews president Eric Cousineau. The club holds competitions, such as the upcoming Spring Showdown, and a larger competition in the fall called the Brew Slam Homebrew Competition, in which a panel of judges are told the style of beer and do a blind taste test. Judges have all completed a Beer Judge Certification Program.

“The hobby does a great job attracting both engineer-minded and creative-minded people, which allows us to inspire each other to become better brewers. The best brewers successfully balance both science and art in their brewing method,” Cousineau said.

Winners get a chance to have their brew on tap at People’s Pint.

“(GTA Brews) has a deep connection to People’s Pint, and I’m very proud of the collaborative tap they have dedicated to our homebrew club,” Cousineau said.

GTA Brews member Clayton Hoy recently offered his Coconut Brown on tap at People’s Pint. It was tapped on April 27 and was all gone two days later.

But it’s not just about home-brewers at People’s Pint. Brewers use the facilities to brew something different that may not have mass appeal or may not be cost-effective to produce in quantity.

“Our goal is to have a good cross section of beer, something that is accessible to everyone. But on the other hand we want experimental beers too,” Appeldoorn said.

A recent example was a Kona blond beer brewed by Cousineau that had about $30 of coffee beans in just the 19 litres they produced. It would not have been cost-effective to make it on a larger scale, but worked as an experimental one-off, explained Appeldoorn.

Brewer Erin Broadfoot, co-founder of Little Beasts Brewing in Whitby, said brewing beer at People’s Pint gives her a chance to be creative and try something new.

She believes the brewery fills an important niche.

“When you’re a home-brewer, being able to brew and put things out for the public is amazing,” Broadfoot said.