For years I have been searching for a hobby. Sure, I work out and do some writing, but these activities are more a reflection of who I am as a person, and not interests that I have cultivated over time. Several times I have attempted to pick up and play the guitar. A few days later I put the guitar back in its case and shove it into the corner of a closet. Last year I finally sold my guitar, putting an end to this potential hobby once and for all. Finally, after years of searching, my quest for a meaningful pastime is over.
It all started last winter. I was traveling in Southern California and Mexico with some friends. A buddy of mine and I were talking one day, and we thought that it would be fun to try brewing our own beer. Life got busy for us both, and the idea was set aside. One day, about a month ago, we decided that if we were ever going to make our idea a reality, we needed to stop talking about it and actually do something. After some internet research, we drove across town to a well-known brewing supply store.
There is a lot to think about when it comes to brewing beer. You have to decide what kind of beer you want to make, how much money you are willing to invest, what type of equipment you will use, whether you have adequate storage space and if you are willing to commit to the necessary time that is required for crafting beer. The number of beer kits we had to choose from was overwhelming. There were Belgian ales, wheat beers, lagers, stouts and porters. After some consideration we decided to do something basic and purchased the beer kit for making Indian pale ale. (India pale ale is a beer that ranges from amber to copper in color. It is usually associated with a medium level of alcohol content. Depending on how the Indian pale ale is brewed it may have a bitter taste, although it is possible to accentuate the malt or hops.) We purchased a beer kit and much of the necessary equipment. We looked around and found other things we would need, like a 40-quart pot at a restaurant supply store for half the cost.
A little later than expected, on the evening of May 10, we began the brewing process. The most important thing to keep in mind when making beer is to give yourself permission to become overly neurotic about cleanliness. Everything has to be thoroughly sanitized. Once everything was cleaned we boiled and steeped the grains. After the grains cooled, we added the malt and hops. We brought the mixture to an hour-long boil. Then we quickly cooled the beer down to the designated temperature. Using a hydrometer, we checked the gravity of the beer. The alcohol content of our Indian pale ale would be approximately 5.5%. We then poured the beer into a five gallon bucket with an airlock. This would allow the fermentation process to begin.
Six days later it was time to transfer the beer into a new carboy. We checked on YouTube to review the process for siphoning beer into a new container. We were pleased to note that our concoction was an orange gold color just like the beer on the video. Once we sterilized our equipment again, we began the siphoning process, taking care to reduce splashing which would increase the level of carbon dioxide. When the beer was safely in its new fermenter, we ended up storing it in my entry closet to keep it out of the way and to insure that the beer could ferment at a consistent temperature.
Saturday, May 29 was bottling day! The bottling process is similar to what we had done two weeks earlier when we transferred the beer. Before we bottled our beer, it was time to add sugar which we boiled down. As we bottled the home brew, we were able to take a taste. The beer was not yet carbonated, but it had a very pleasant taste. Outside of some minor mishaps with the bottle capper, we ended up bottling two cases of beer. We plan to drink the beer in a week, although it is good to let the beer age up to a month.
One of the things that I learned during this process is that a person who is blind could not do this without sighted assistance. There are a lot of measurements that need to be precise, and it is important to be able to determine the color of your beer. The color of the beer you are brewing is very important. Using video from YouTube we were able to insure that our Indian pale ale was the appropriate color. A discolored beer would indicate unwanted irregularities in the brewing process such as old hops or unclean equipment. Also, sight comes in handy when making sure you don’t get unwanted sediment in your Indian pale ale.
Besides, sharing the brewing process with others is a great excuse to hang out and have some laughs. Hopefully our beer will turn out to be drinkable. Even if it is not, we have plans to make a second batch of beer that includes our own unique twist. Whether we ever become brewmeisters is not important, I am just excited that I found a challenging hobby that also calls for a degree of creativity.
