One Ames resident has decided to take a step forward to follow through with his passion: making his own microbrewery. Did we mention that it’s free? More on that later.

Bluegrass music drifts out of a small, unassuming white house on a quiet, dark side-street. After knocking several times, a young man who calls himself “Little B” opens the door to a smallish living room, populated by hideously upholstered chairs and an eclectic collection of ’90s memorabilia including a “Terminator” (the original movie) poster, several pictures of pigs, a lava lamp and an impressive collection of VHS tapes.

It’s hard to believe this room has packed in parties of upward of 100 people.

On the steps to the basement, one has to duck under naked bulbs and surgical tubing, climb down the bare wooden steps into the cool chamber purposely chosen because it regularly maintains a moderate temperature between 60 and 70 degrees.

This is where the magic happens.

There are no boilers, boiling crucibles or beakers of florescent liquids in this laboratory — just shelves of grains, chemicals and kegs that line the red brick walls from the bare concrete floor, to the naked ductwork in the ceiling.

Here, we meet Kelly Bevins [corrected from Blevins], where he can brew as many different original beers as he chooses, but he is holding on to his own flagship beers, a raspberry wheat and an Irish Cream stout.

“That’s the big advantage we have over any other brewery out there,” Bevins said. “That we can brew whatever … we want.”

Kelly sets his can of Keystone on a nearby washing machine as he describes in fleeting detail the exacting 10-hour process of creating beer here at Boozetime Brewery, from cultivating the yeast to picking the ingredients, all the way to drying the hops on his rack that doubles as a beer pong table.

He has had to overcome problems with fluctuations in temperature, excess amounts of yeast in the house and, of course, the exceeding demand for his beer that he can barely keep up with.

Bevins isn’t exactly a traditional image of an entrepreneur, but somehow, as this former ISU student sits back lazily on the couch and he rolls a cigarette, it’s hard not to admire someone that manages his own business between his two full-time jobs.

“It all kind of started from the bottom. We started with little parties and grew from there,” Bevins said. “It’s ridiculous how fast we’ve grown when people started to drink our beer. It just got out of control.”

Because Bevins does not yet have his liquor license, however, he can’t legally sell his product. His solution? Give it away for free.

“We can’t make money, so what we’re doing is just getting our name out there.”

Despite his relaxed attitude, Bevins is passionate about his work. His close friend and fellow beer-enthusiast, Little B, found his passion for beer through his friend’s pursuit of producing a great product.

“I have a lot of respect for people who brew their own beer. Anyone can do it. That’s one of the really awesome things about it,” said Little B over the intrusive bluegrass music. “If he doesn’t like it, he’ll just dump it, which is good. He’s pretty perfectionist when it comes to his beer.”

Little B attributed part of the success to the growing microbrewery scene in Iowa due to a relaxing of regulations on beer.

“Right now its really starting to take off,” B said. ” I know people that have never had an interest in beer that are brewing it now. A year ago, you wouldn’t be able to find half the labels you can at Hy-Vee or Cyclone [Liquors].”

Fortunately for Bevins, his efforts so far will culminate in an event Thursday at DG’s Tap House at 9 p.m. in which he will partner up with the bluegrass band, Mary and the Giant, for a night of free beer, music and revelry.

“What I’m trying to present is that none of the Boozetime or Mary and the Giant really strived for this,” Bevins said. “It’s just been kind of viral.”