Dušan Stevanović, Front-End Developer and Homebrewer

My name is Dušan Stevanović and I am a front-end developer. I am currently developing web apps using ReactJS.

I chose a career as a developer so that I could have the opportunity to work with something creative. From my first line of code in CSS, when I saw an immediate impact on a web page, I knew that I was hooked on web development.

I am originally from Belgrade, Serbia, but in May 2021, I accepted a job offer from a tech company based in Stockholm, Sweden – I have lived here with my family ever since. Stockholm is a beautiful city; I fell in love with it when I visited while working as an IT consultant.

Outside of work, I am really passionate about homebrewing. Brewing beer was on my to-do list for quite a while, so I was reading a lot before I actually started – it eventually became my passion since the Covid pandemic started. So, it was a nice indoor occupation for that moment, but eventually grew into something much bigger for me.

The first beer that I brewed was New England IPA (India Pale Ale), or at least I tried to brew that not-so-easy style for my first brew. From the start, I wanted to go into all-grain malt and not use extract malt. When fermentation is over, and your beer is carbonated in bottles, it is the best feeling ever when you try it. At that moment, you realise: ‘I just brewed an actual beer by myself’. That was an amazing feeling!

My passion goes mostly towards American-style IPAs – both coasts (East and West Coast style). I had good reviews from my fellow brewers with my Mango Pale Ale. I also like to experiment with red IPA style. I am mostly crafting my own recipes, since I strongly believe that brewing beer is all about experimenting.

I currently use a 30l all-in-one system from BrewMonk. For fermentation, I have a Spiedel 30l fermenter. I am mostly kegging my beers, but for some styles that benefit from aging (like Russian Imperial Stout), I choose to bottle. I also have a load of gadgets & resources for brewing: hydrometer, PH meter, salts for water treatment, etc.

My favourite Home Brew was definitely my last batch made in Serbia: NEIPA style with Galaxy & Nelson Sauvin hops – I called it Oceania NEIPA. I brought a whole keg to my last-day farewell party at my previous company … everyone seems to like it very much, and the keg went out in one hour 🙂

I also like to visit craft beer places: my favourite is Dogma Tap Room in Belgrade. I used to go there frequently with my wife and kids – when the weather was nice, we used to bring a Frisbee and an American Football since they had a grass field outside, so it was an awesome family routine. Also, there was always some nice beer and food – I really miss that place and the people from the brewery.

I have a few future goals with my homebrew. I dream about my small brewery and tap-room, with some nice food. Who knows, it might happen. I am inspired by these family restaurants where every member of the family has a role in it, and my kids have a good attitude and ideas on how to contribute 🙂

I see a few similarities between my time as a Homebrewer and my job as a Front-End Developer. For both things, you need to invest patience, time, and effort (but I guess there is some extra hygiene that needs to be applied for homebrewing in particular!). Also, there is punctuality involved in both processes. A constant learning curve and education is a must, but it also comes with rewarding factors. I’ve never drunk the program that I wrote, but I certainly enjoy writing it the same as brewing it!

My advice to anyone interested in Homebrewing is to invest time in it, educate yourself first, hygiene is 70% (maybe more) of brewing beer, and expensive equipment doesn’t make you a good brewer – good practice and hard work does! Treat your water and don’t forget to enjoy the process. It can be hard, it can be painful, but at the end of the day, if you do it properly, you will have found a hobby (or occupation) for the rest of your life 🙂

There is always more than tech. As humans, we are social beings, with our flaws, hopes, and dreams. When for example, you are new in the company, the best way for barriers to fall down is to hang out after work with your colleagues and get to know people – the fact that they are not just an avatar on Teams or Slack anymore will benefit all of you. Making a real connection with people is what counts. In my company, we have people from all over the world. I consider myself lucky because I got a chance to meet all of these nice people, and it probably wouldn’t happen if technology did not connect all of us. Let’s not forget that technology was invented for the people, by the people, so that people can consume it. Technology gives you the opportunity to relocate to a different part of the planet and to work with someone from another part – together, you then build something amazing. Wow! If I wasn’t on that ‘train’, after this I would be for sure!