Making time for hobbies and diversions has been a challenge for me, with a toddler and a new born in the house. I've been trying to find the time to get back into it, and a friend may have given me the push I needed to get back on track.
A buddy from my weekly bible study brought up the idea of brewing, and asked if I would be interested in getting together with him and his brother for some beer making fun. Apparently they have both become disillusioned with their careers and toyed with the idea of opening a brewery or brew pub. They figured a little homebrewing might be just the thing to get their feet wet.
Ahh... The old "lets open a brewery" plan B that lives in the back of the minds of so many craft beer lovers, including mine. When our day-to-day lives slaving away at what ever we do for a living loses it's luster, visions of brew tanks dance in our heads. Sadly the plan typically includes these steps, and these steps only:
- Brew a few batches of beer
- Stumble upon the ultimate beer recipe with no real brewing training or experience
- Some how find funding to open a brewery or brewpub
- Become wildly successful with minimal effort
I'm still on step 1 myself... Oh well, no harm in dreaming and having fun while doing it. So, what's a good simple first beer to make with newbies? Any thoughts?
Easy cure for Plan B - every day for 10 days brew your most drinkable pale ale; all batches processed through to bottling. I'd love to implement the 'Plan B' but the thought of having to do the same 4-5 beers day-in and day-out is a bit daunting.
ReplyDeleteThreepwood, good idea! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if opening up a brewery would change the way I look at brewing beer... I mean I don't have to worry about keeping costs down or having to brew the same beer over and over (like Theepwood said it is a bit daunting)...
ReplyDeleteYet, the little voices inside my head say I should look into it...
Anyways... I think a good beer to brew with beginners is either a Pale Ale, Blonde Ale or maybe even a Wheat... all fairly easy both in recipe formulation and process...
Thanks Jorge, I was leaning toward a pale ale, but may go with a BIPA instead.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, not sure I've seen that acronym... you mean Black IPA or Belgian-style IPA?
ReplyDeleteIPAs are my fav... in fact I got the bug to brew after drinking Four Peak's Hop Knot IPA...
It's an IPA brewed with Belgian yeast. Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteI have tried to make a website that makes it easier for the beginner to start brewing beer. Perhaps someone will find it useful - http://www.brew-beer-home.com.
ReplyDeleteI found your page useful in many ways - good reading!
Thanks Jesper, feel free to return the linkage... ;-)
ReplyDeleteStep #4 is my favorite ;).
ReplyDelete