Fellow beer drinkers and beer lovers…I am proud to say that I have officially brewed my first batch of beer!  Now keep in mind, I’m using the term brewed; I’m only a portion of the way through the process, and I still have a ways to go before I can enjoy a pint of this concoction.  However, I will start with an overall assessment of the experience to date:  OUTSTANDING!!!  I would not have imagined that one could have such an amazingly enjoyable time doing something like brewing beer.  Now, that is not to say that it didn’t come without any stress and hard work; a little elbow grease goes a long way in churning out a good time in life!

I began the process with Mr. Shilling as my assistant in the process.  After picking up several gallons of water and a few other small supplies, we met at our good friend Derek’s house (he being the creator of the delicious pumpkin ale you may have read about previously).  As he has a few batches under his belt, I figured it would be helpful to have someone around who is somewhat familiar with the process; plus he was also brewing his own chocolate stout that evening, and what better way to bring friends together than to brew beer!  We got a somewhat late start to the process, but no matter.  We begin by sanitizing EVERYTHING we would need.  This step is arguably the most important one out of the whole process of home brewing; the last thing you want is a spoiled batch of beer due to dirt particles, residues, etc.  Once we had everything cleaned and sanitized, we got our pots of water boiling and it was go time…

Once I had my grains steeping, it was a bit of a waiting period, just making sure the appropriate time was given for the wort to begin forming.  My brewing pot felt a bit on the puny side compared to Derek’s; the grains he had steeping were pushing his pot of water to the brink of overflowing.  But luckily he somehow kept it all in check.  At this point the aromas wafting through the house were absolutely incredible!  After a while of salivating and daydreaming of the goodness that would eventually transpire, it was malt time.  This being my first brew, I opted to go the extract route, as opposed to an all-grain brew; I will get there eventually, but I wanted to keep it somewhat simple so I could give attention to detail.  At this point I realized the disadvantages of electric burners (Derek’s stove was electric), as it was becoming incredibly difficult to keep the wort at a consistent temperature.  Eventually it gave way to a slight boil over of the wort, but no harm no foul, we managed to stop that immediately and keep on trucking…

If you recall, I chose the ESB ingredient kit from the good folks at Victor’s Grape Arbor.  This is actually a slightly different style than you might think: with all the ingredients, I realized it was actually an Extra Special BROWN, a different take on the traditional ESB.  So during the hopping process, I tried a slightly different variety of hops than the recipe had called for, and I substituted Hallertau hop pellets for the Kent Goldings as a finishing hop.  I figured this would be a good start to putting my own personal touch on a beer, and if it doesn’t work that great, oh well.  After hopping was complete, the wort was chilled to the appropriate temperature and into the primary fermenter it went.  At this point, I made a rookie mistake: instead of hydrating my yeast first, I did as the recipe instructions called for and simply sprinkled the yeast directly from the package.  NEVER AGAIN!  This caused me 14 hours or so of anxiety for fear that I had pitched dead yeast.  But alas, all was right in the world of fermentation; I sealed and airlocked my beer in the primary fermenter, and by the next evening I begin to see the bubbling indicating fermentation.  Success was on the horizon!

After 3½ days in the primary, Shilling and I racked the batch into the secondary fermenter to finish off for about a week.  This process was a bit of a trial; I think I’ll be investing in a fermenter with a spigot, as I immediately realized the benefits during racking.  However, all went smoothly and the ESB is now sitting happily and quietly awaiting bottling within the next week.  The aromas are already taking shape; it has a very smooth, nutty aroma, almost reminiscent of banana nut bread.  Bottling will take place this next Monday, and I shall provide more updates.  Overall, it was a great start to my adventures in homebrewing, and a big thank you to Shilling and Derek for their assistance and advice.  For anyone interested in brewing your own beers, I highly recommend it, as it is an extremely fun and exciting endeavor.  Just make sure and save one for yours truly!  Until next time…

Prost!

Cryptogrind