On this episode of Brewer to Brewer Daniel True of Stepping Stone Brewery interviews Zahra Tabatabai the founder of Back Home Beer.
Tabatabai shares her journey of brewing beer inspired by her Iranian heritage, including her grandfather’s beer-making in Shiraz. She discusses the historical significance of beer in Iran, the challenges of brewing in New York, and her plans to expand her brewery. Tabatabai highlights the cultural aspects of her beers, such as the blue salt lager and the Nowruz IPA, and her efforts to raise awareness about Iranian culture.
As Tabatabai looks to grow, she offers insight into running a brewery Kickstarter, navigating difficult industry challenges, and show she stays focused on her future goals, including opening a brewery with a taproom in Brooklyn.
Listen to the whole conversation on the Brewer to Brewer Podcast. Download below, or on Amazon, Pocketcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This episode is sponsored by:
Our Tropics yeast is based on a London Ale strain, but we added a new gene to its genome that codes for a unique thiol-releasing enzyme. The enzyme converts the precursors in barley to free thiols that smell and taste like passionfruit and grapefruit. It’s super clean. No off-flavors like burnt rubber or other sulfurous notes. Just tropical aromatics. You don’t have to do anything unusual either, like mash hopping. Just pitch dry Tropics and supercharge your hazy IPA.
Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) is based in North America—specializing in growing and producing quality malts for the craft beer and distilling industries. With local farms and Malthouses spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, MMC’s commitment to excellence is fully ingrained into every batch it produces, ensuring breweries and distilleries of any size can create the finest beverages on the planet. Visit www.malteuropmaltingco.com to learn how MMC can support your malting needs. Contact MMC at customersuccess@malteurop.com or (844) 546-MALT (6258) for questions or to place your order.
Is your fermentation data still a mystery? Upgrade to Sennos. Their in-tank sensors provide real-time predictive analytics so you can catch issues early save your batches and grow your profit margins. Brew smarter and scale your brewing operation at sennos.com And! Meet Sennos next in April 2026 at the Craft Brewers Conference. Get a free Sennos demo and enter to win an iPad at their booth #2106.
John Holl is the editor of All About Beer Magazine.
JohnHoll@allaboutbeer.com
