Eyes Opened to a New Hobbie
The other day I was introduced to a world that I knew existed but had never explored. It is a world full of unfathomable depths that can make the mind swirl and the mouth become numb with anticipation. It is a world that I had never thought could hold so many possibilities for someone like me. This is the world of home brewing. Over the years I have drank my fair share of beer and have always had a decent palate that would require a decent quality. Since moving to Oregon I have really been bordering on the edge of beer snobbery, which I am alright with because it means I don’t buy crap. I also roast my own coffee which I find is a similar, yet less time consuming, endeavor and I am also a novice gardener. There is something to be said about being able to consume something that has been forged by the sweat of one’s brow, or in the case of home brewing after hours of spending time with close friends and drinking. Even if one was able to find a higher quality product than that which was brewed, roasted, or grown by oneself it still wouldn’t measure up because whenever you take part in producing something part of yourself goes with it. Every morning when I wake up with my three-year-old and grind my coffee beans there is part of me that takes a little extra care to make the end product perfect. I do this because I enjoy good coffee and I also want to preserve the part of me that is in the mug. I have been hooked on home brewing. I will never be able to go back. Don’t get me wrong, I will drink other beer in the future, just as I will drink other coffee, but it won’t be the same. I haven’t even tasted the beer that we started the other day but I can tell you that the first glass will be the best glass of beer I have ever tasted.
luke said,
Wrote on May 6, 2008 @ 10:12 pm
Two things I need/want to learn how to do … roast my own coffee, and home brew. I’ll have to come over and learn.
Ben said,
Wrote on May 7, 2008 @ 8:09 am
Absolutely any time. I should have my home brew equipment in a week or so and I am already set for the coffee. I think we may need to bring along the expertise of some of our fellow bloggers for the brewing.
JASon said,
Wrote on May 7, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
Aj asked me the difference between a pale ale (a brew we have in the house currently) and a lager. Apparently a recipe for beer bread calls for a lager, and she wanted to know if we could use the pale instead of the lager.
Long story short, I came across this site in my search, and figured it would help you (and us all) in the experimentation of the new hobby.
Ashlee said,
Wrote on May 7, 2008 @ 8:14 pm
Mmmmm, beer bread.
Ben said,
Wrote on May 7, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
I guess you could use a lager if you wanted to but that is kind of like taking a rusty pick-up with a raised suspension to the prom when the old man’s Bentley is sitting in the garage with the keys in it. Lagers are all most good enough to drink if all you have in the house in moonshine and therefore not good enough for bread; I also bake all of our breads so I am a little defensive when it comes to bread ingredients. Most bread recipes call for either a lager or something dark like a porter or a stout. When either of these is the case I leave the stout alone and replace the lager with a pale ale or an IPA, depending on what kind of bread you are looking for.
MattC said,
Wrote on May 8, 2008 @ 6:31 am
I don’t know much about baking bread, but I think I would steer away using beers with prominant hops.
Here’s a Homebrew Log I have been keeping and recently updated with the batch we’ve been discussing.
The following three are my favorite homebrewing sources. Book: The complete joy of homebrewing by Charlie Papazian Magazine: http://www.byo.com/ Website (for gear): http://morebeer.com/