Some years ago I became interested, as most beer lovers do, in the idea of brewing my very own beer. It couldn't be that hard could it. I started collecting any used beer bottle I could get my hands on in anticipation of filling said bottles once more. But this time with an even finer ale... my own ale. A Cooper's homebrew kit was promptly acquired a few weeks later from the local department store and I was off and running. I don't even remember the my very first brew and that probably speaks volumes of the quality. I'm sure I drank it all and it probably wasn't even bad. But, as I type here now thinking back, it certainly was not memorable. The part of the process that I absolutely hated (now that's a strong word I warn my own kids against using) was the most definitely the painstaking, time consuming bottling process. Yeah, yeah I know... such a first world problem but hey it just wasn't for me and the sun smartly set on my brewing days shortly after rising. Think of those places near the poles where the sun just makes it over the horizon in the depths of winter. That was my brewing life... but now there has been a rebirth.
As I began to enjoy ever more expensive beers and started dropping $80-$100 per carton, I quickly realised that this had become a darn expensive habit. I was getting into IPAs which, not long ago, were quite rare down here in Oz and rarely locally brewed. With a young family and a modest income I decided that this spending could not last but nor could the regular desire for fine ales. The only way forward was to check out what was happening in the homebrew scene to see if there was a feasible way of getting around that pesky bottling process.
I was absolutely blown away by what I found. No it wasn't the fact that I could have my beer on tap through the use of a keezer or the like. It was the discovery of endless amounts of information, particularly on YouTube, dedicated to the humble homebrewer. The forums too were awesome and the homebrew community, particularly out of the states, was alive and thriving. And as I have quickly learnt, the homebrew community is unbelievably sharing, encouraging and well, just really friendly. Like most of us I had become accustomed to flaming in almost every thread of every post on every forum... everywhere. Not in the homebrew community!
Brimming with confidence knowing that someone in the world could solve any issue I came across as a homebrewer, the sun has risen again on my homebrew world and it is amazing. And I'm loving it so much I've started my very first blog. My intention and hope is to pass on to the community what I have learned, what has worked and what has not worked for me. As you know almost everyone's homebrew rig is unique, only slightly different at times but, regardless, the end result can always be great beer. Of course there are some basics to get right but once those are mastered it is a truly rewarding hobby and, like most other great hobbies, one where you'll always be learning.
The tipping point on taking this step in writing here now was most probably the Bertus Brewery blog. Please go there now and you'll quickly know what I am trying to emulate. Thank you Scott from Arizona! If I can make my posts half as interesting I'll be one happy brewblogger and someone out there might actually learn something from BartBrew,
Within 4 weeks I will post my experience brewing Bertus Brewery's American Amber 3.0. I've done it once before and it was beautiful. It's probably the first beer of mine that my friends and family have truly appreciated. And as I am still very much a beginner it is the first time I am re-brewing a recipe and I'm very interested to see if my system and methods can produce consistent beers given the identical recipes. We'll soon see...
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