www.markpude.com Wasting your time since 2000.

I Brew Beer

Well its that time of year again.  You know, the time when I remember that I have a website, server space that I pay for yearly (I may or may not have just gotten the bill), and that I don't use either of them very much.  Typically my excuse is that I don't have anything going on that I feel like sharing with the entire world (or more accurately the two or three people that land on this site due to a Google search gone awry), let alone something that anyone would want to read about.  Well as a result of a Christmas gift from my lovely wife, I think I have the former concern solved - something I want to write about.  The later problem, whether anyone is interested in reading, is really none of my concern - thats your problem.  The exciting topic to which I am referring is homebrewing beer.

Yes, I got a homebrew kit for Christmas.  I have to give Leslie a lot of credit for doing as much research as she did and getting what appears to my untrained eye to be a pretty nice quality set of equipment.  She got me the Gold Homebrew Kit and a Brown Ale Ingredient Kit. The equipment came in time for Christmas, but the ingredient kit did not. Fortunately she also got me some reading material, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian. I started reading through the book, its really a pretty interesting read - He gives you lots of useful information and tips but keeps it light and entertaining at the same time.

After reading a few chapters, I was too eager to wait for the ingredient kit to come any longer. I charged onto the interwebs and found a cool homebrew shop in Leominster, MA, NFG Home Brew Supplies. Leslie and I went to check it out on Sunday before the Pats game. Its literally the second floor of somebody's house and its packed from floor to ceiling with anything you could ever think of needing for homebrewing. The owner was there and was really helpful in telling me what I needed to brew my first batch of beer and answered a few questions I had that my book hadn't addressed. Any time I get into a new hobby, I worry about snob-nosed weenies that have been doing it for years giving noobs a hard time for wanting to join them. To my delight, that was not the case (at least at this shop) with homebrewing!

After heading home with the missing peices (namely ingredients, a Nut Brown Ale kit, and a brewpot) and finding the Patriots up 24-0 at half time, I went into the kitchen to fire up the stove. Following Charlie's advice - apparently you're supposed to drink homebrew while making homebrew (store bought will do if its your first batch) - I poured a pint of Gardner Ale House Winter Lager and began my adventure.

To be continued...
(Read Part 2)
(Read Part 3)