Tomorrow night, I brew...

OK, I'm finally get off my keester and brewing a batch this weekend...

It'll only be a recipe kit brew, but at least it's something. After work today, I made a quick stop over at brew and wine hobby to pick up a new hydrometer (I broke my last one), a new bung (I had problems with my last bung too), some sanitizer (no story on this, just needed some), and based on some input from some of you out there, an American Pale Ale recipe kit. Actually it's Brewer's Best American Micro Style Pale Ale... Is there a difference between American Micro Style Pale Ale and American Pale Ale?

This recipe is designed after the most popular micro pale ales. Good body, golden color and plenty of hops.

I also did a little research on the cost of parts I'll need for my eventual ascension to the lofty heights of all grain brewing... All in due time though, all in due time...

Baby sitting while brewing...
A couple of my buddies, young budding home brewers in their own right, may stop in and brew with me... Not sure yet, but the original plan was to either brew or go out. Since the mother in-law has departed, I'll be baby sitting that night and therefore firmly planted at the old homestead. So this may or may not be a solo operation this weekend... The boy should be out cold by 7 p. m. so brewing shouldn't interfere with the lad's well being, nor vice-versa...

Baby's and homebrew, a match made in heaven...

Some issues I must deal with:

• Must clear some of the snow and ice from the back deck to use the turkey cooker...
• Must ensure I have propane for the turkey cooker...
• Must beg Dave to let me use his wort chiller, then again, maybe the snow would make a nice chilling pot holder? Would that work???
• Most post the old update to Franken-Brew before I post again... (I'm months behind on my blogging and brewing...)
  

Crap! I just had a thought... Do I need a special bung for a "better bottle" carboy? Might need to get one as my secondary glass carboy is still holding tight to my old bung...

Do you loan out your brewing equipment?

I've been trying to get my friends to brew for a while, and now three of my friends are brewing. My buddy Dave recently cooked up his first batch of home brew... He went with a cider, and is eager to brew a batch of beer... We may even get together this weekend and brew something together.

Dave called me today and asked if I had any extra bottles, and if he could borrow my bottling bucket and the rest of my bottling gear. Now Dave is a great guy, very generous, etc... So I have no problem loaning him my gear, especially if it helps solidify his stature as a home brewer. But what about you?

How do you feel about loaning out and sharing home brewing equipment? Do you have any horror stories about broken equipment or items that were never returned? Or maybe you got something back a little less clean than the way you left it...

Post a comment and let me know your thoughts on loaning out your gear and share you experiences...

Back in the saddle again...

I'm finally starting to get back into my groove, now that I'm home from my recent 3 months of training and the holidays are behind us. During that last 3 months or so, I missed brewing and only blogged a little bit about a couple of brewery tours I went on in the DC/Baltimore area.

Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things I really need to set some goals, and here they are:

1. Brew something, anything, even a kit... (Yes, it's a little regression but it's better than nothing...)
2. Build my mash tun, finally...
3. Look into buying or building a wort chiller...
4. Brew something all grain, no kit, no training wheels..

So those are my near term goals... First things first, I need to pick up a kit or something and brew a batch, just to get my feet wet again... What should I brew? Any suggestions?