As promised, I have brewed my own beer… and it’s delicious! It does not taste like soap! It’s a golden-red ale, super sparkling and foamy. Yum.
Quite a relief actually, because for the past few weeks I’ve been slightly concerned that I was slowly brewing a poisonous, foul concoction that would make me sick. I have to be honest: I found the whole brewing process intimidating and confusing, and I was sure I’d done something wrong.
In hindsight, taking a class at The Brooklyn Kitchen would have been a good idea. Instead I just bought this book and the Introductory Kit from Brooklyn Homebrew. It contained all the information I needed, except for the most basic. For example, do you know how to siphon liquids from one container to another? I sure as hell didn’t. Nor did I know how to put the top on the plastic bucket (with a mallet, my husband informed me. I thought it just kinda rested on top. Ha.)
The kit comes with all kinds of equipment: plastic buckets, a thermometer, siphoning tube, more random plastic tubes, a bottle capper, bottle brush, bottle caps, etc… I used most of it but not all. I just didn’t know how! I skipped the whole chapter on the hydrometer (it indicates the alcohol content of the beer) because there were too many charts and numbers. Might be a good idea to revisit that.
Luckily, everything turned out well. Apart from the hydrometer, I really did follow most of the instructions. The most important one was sanitization: everything that comes into contact with the brew has to be clean and sanitized. I found the best solution was to keep a bucket of sanitization solution (a simple bleach and water solution) ready to go whenever I was working on the beer.
The most annoying part of the process? Finding 40 empty bottles of beer. You can either collect the bottles over a period of time, that’s pretty easy. You can even buy empty bottles all ready to go. Even easier. OR, you can empty and clean 40 rancid bottles all at once, like we did. That sucked. Especially since these bottles had been laying out in the sun in my friend’s backyard for a month, rusting (that bottle brush sure came in handy.)
Having done it once, I’m ready to do it again. It’s not a fast or easy process, and learning the process was occasionally frustrating. But the end result is worth it. I have a case of delicious beer that is uniquely my own. I’m so proud!
Next up, barley wine.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
YESSS! I have the same kit, and I took the Brooklyn Kitchen class, but I’ve been too chicken to actually get in there and make some beer. Now I’m feeling inspired!
I’m so proud little sis! I actually have all the ingredients for my next brew purchased (since at least a month ago), but I haven’t gotten around to actually making it yet. I still have trouble with the siphoning, but it’s a lot easier if you get an auto siphon thingy:
http://www.amazon.com/Auto-Siphon-Pump-Beer-Wine/dp/B000E60JF6
You are an inspiration Diana! I have to find time on my Fall and Winter To-Do List to get a small brew kit and brew some beer. Enjoy the suds!