Welcome to Faces in Beer, one of PorchDrinking’s most ambitious projects ever.

Normally when a new writer joins our team, they go through a process where they cut their teeth on some easy first assignments–a beer showcase, or maybe an Ultimate 6er. Not Erik Stabile. Our newest writer pitched his onboarding project without hesitation: “I want to take film photographs of brewers and develop the film in the beer they brewed.”

Intrigued? So were we. Stabile explained he had been experimenting with developing photos in unconventional mediums and was ready to try craft brews. The pH of every beer is slightly different, and therefore each photo would theoretically reflect the unique makeup of that beer. It was going to be a temperamental process and potentially a giant failure, so naturally we were totally on board.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be rolling out our results of this ongoing project. If you’d like to see behind the scenes or follow Stabile’s other work, you can catch him on Instagram at @mrstabile, or at www.erikstabile.com.

First up…

Weldwerks Brewing Co.

• Name: Neil Fisher
• Position: Co-Founder, Head Brewer
• Developed In: Juicy Bits NE-style IPA
• “I’m not worried if [this experimental photography process] doesn’t work out. We appreciate experimentation–that’s what drives us here.”

 

• Name: Skip Schwartz
• Position: Innovation and Wood Cellar Lead
• Developed In: Coffee Maple Medianoche
• “I am covered in brewery tattoos. My back is like a shitty beer fridge.”

 

• Name: Derek Gold
• Position: Production Manager
• Developed In: Juicy Bits
• “This is like picture day at school, but better, because there’s beer.”

 

• Name: Jordan Wheeler
• Position: Senior Packager
• Developed In: Coffee Maple Medianoche
• “My pseudonym is Gordan Waller. Never done anything good under that name, though.”

 

• Name: Neil, Skip, Derek, and Jordan
• Developed In: Froot Camp: PB + J Berliner Weisse
• “We gotta do a Step Brothers pose, right?”

 

All photos here were shot on Ilford Delta 100 black and white film. Interested in trying this out yourself? Below is Erik’s recipe, a hodgepodge of several other recipes he discovered in the film community. Have film-developing questions? Reach out to via Instagram @mrstabile, and check back here for our next installment of Faces In Beer (coming soon).

The Faces in Beer Developer

Safety: be sure to wear a mask, eye protection, and gloves.

You’ll Need
600 ml of beer
50 grams washing soda*
12 grams of ascorbic acid (powered vitamin C)

Directions
Heat 600ml of beer to 90°F.

Mix in 50 grams washing soda* and whisk until dissolved.

Stir in 12 grams of ascorbic acid (powered vitamin C) and mix until dissolved.

Develop at 68°F for 20 minutes. To get the beer down to 68°, I suggest a cool water bath. Place your beer in a metal mixing bowl, and place that bowl in a larger mixing bowl filled with ice water. Wisk until the beer’s temperature drops to 68°.

Add your beer to the developing tank and agitate for the first minute, then again for 15 seconds at the top of each remaining minute.

Wash and fix per the film’s instructions.

*Washing soda is not the same as baking soda. Don’t have washing soda? You can make it by heating baking soda to 400°F for 30 mins.

Download a PDF of this recipe here.

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