Homebrew

Today I will purchase the ingredients necessary to make my 4th batch of homebrew. As a beer lover, homebrewing is a fun activity for me. You can get as simple or as complex as you want with making your beer.

I first became interested in homebrewing when my wife bought me a Mr. Beer kit a few years back. I know, Mr. Beer is probably a curse word to most real homebrewers. However, it was my first experience with making my own beer, so I'm definitely glad that my wife gave it to me. I made probably 4 or 5 batches with the Mr. Beer kit. The beer was OK, but nothing great. It was still cool to be able to tell people that I made it, though.

At a gathering with some friends, I was given a taste of some real homebrew. It was an IPA that my friend had made using malt extract and hop pellets. He did a boil, used a primary fermenter, and dry hopped it in a secondary fermenter. He told me all those details after I tasted it, because I couldn't believe that homebrew could taste just as good as a craft beer you buy in the store!

That sold me. I had to quit using the Mr. Beer kit and step up to a 5-gallon homebrew system. I decided to research and learn more about homebrewing. I bought a book titled "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian. His motto of "Don't worry, have a homebrew" showed me that even though homebrewing can look daunting to a beginner, it's easier than it seems and shouldn't cause you any stress. I highly recommend this book, even to people who love beer but may not necessarily want to homebrew.

After reading the book, I went to Northern Brewer in Saint Paul and bought myself a 5-gallon homebrew system. The first extract recipe kit I bought was for an Irish Red. It turned out OK. It was better than my Mr. Beer batches, but still wasn't quite what I expected. I re-read some parts of my homebrew book and learned I could do a couple things differently. The second batch I made was a recipe for a Trappist-style belgian strong ale. I made the changes to the brew process I learned from my first batch and was ecstatic with the results! This beer tasted exactly like I hoped it would! Now I knew that I could make tasty beer at home.

I don't often have a lot of free time, so I only occasionally make homebrew. Like I said earlier, this will only be my 4th batch in the last 2 years. I really do enjoy it, though. In the future, I will try to post beer sessions on this blog for the homebrew recipes I try. I think that will be a lot of fun!