This summer, I finally took the plunge into home brewing with the help of my neighbor. It's been a blast and I think, like many others, I've found something that I may do for the rest of my life. It has the perfect combination of science and art to make it fun and enough variability to keep in interesting as well.
This weekend, I brewed my third batch of beer. This batch was something much lighter and less alcoholic than my previous two batches. It's a Kolsch style brew. If you think of a standard, mass-produced beer, you'll have the basic idea. The primary difference with what I did and what the big breweries do is in temperature and the fermentation process (i.e. yeast). Your Miller's, Michelob's and Budweiser's are lagers, which ferment at lower temperatures on the bottom of the brew and for longer timer periods than your standard ale.
A Kolsch is an ale from the Cologne region of Germany that has lager-like qualities but ferments in the 65 F range. We'll see how it turns out. I pitched the yeast yesterday and as near as I can tell, active fermentation has begun.
UPDATE: Fermentation is going strong on day 4. I used new airlocks that behave differently than the ones I've used in the past.
2 comments:
Dude, you've got a blurg! I enjoyed reading all of your posts, especially your reunion with Amber, the girl you scarred in high school with some devilry you posted in her copy of the yearbook. Are you going to keep us all in suspense, or will you ever spill the beans and let us know what horror you inscribed? Actually, it is pretty cool that she was easygoing about it and didn't hold a grudge. What is it about being a teenager that makes us feel like we're the center of the universe? Luckily, in the ten years since I was a high school senior, I've matured into an exemplary man, full of wisdom and bonhomie.
I'd love to try your home-brewed beer, but - alas - my drinky days are long over. (strong spirits tend to summon my inner twelve-year-old in a Tourette's kind of way) I suspect, though, that you're gonna end up becoming a really good beermeister.
Okay, so now that you've got me hooked on your continuing life story, when is the next installment? May I bug you every few days with emails or texts, asking when the next chapter will be posted? No need to answer that, actually. I'll just assume that it's okay for me to stalk you, internet style.
Until then, best of luck with the home brewery, and give my best to your awesome family.
Hm.. I'll be updating my "life story" in small installments here when the mood strikes me. I have a love/forget about it relationship w/ this blog, but the political scene over the last 2 years has gotten me motivated to actually say something more often than not.
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