Ferment

Malt, hops, yeast and water. Start with a kit or an extract brew, then move to all-grain when you want full control. Most ales are ready to drink in three to six weeks.

Grapes are the classic, but fruit wines from mulberries, plums, mangoes or lychees are where the fun is. Wine rewards patience: most improve a lot after a few months in the bottle.

The easiest brew there is. Fresh-pressed or preservative-free apple or pear juice plus yeast makes a cider in about two weeks. Add berries, ginger or spice for variety.

Honey wine, maybe the oldest fermented drink of all. Use plenty of nutrient and keep the temperature steady. Fruit meads are called melomels; spiced meads are metheglins.

Hard teas fermented with brewer's yeast, and kombucha fermented with a SCOBY. Tea adds tannin and structure, and pairs beautifully with citrus, stone fruit and ginger.

Where the categories blur:Graf: cider and beer.Braggot: mead and beer.Cyser: mead and apple.Pyment: mead and grape.Hard seltzers, Italian grape ales and anything else that breaks the rules belong here too.

Ginger beer from a ginger bug, root beer, lemonade and fruit sodas. They're mostly low in alcohol, but carbonated in the bottle, so watch the pressure and refrigerate on time.

Not to drink, but made with the same microbes and the same skills: sauerkraut, kimchi, hot sauce, pickles, kefir and sourdough.