When you’re sitting back after a long day, trying to relax and unwind with a nice glass of wine or a cold brew, do you ever stop and wonder how amazing the beverage in your hand is?  I mean, what a wonder that someone eons and eons ago actually thought of a way to combine water with other solid materials (grapes, wheat, barley, etc) to make a sublime libation that tasted so good as well as held various mystical and magical properties (as in make me stop thinking so much and take a deep breath for a change).  I often stop and mentally say thank you to that person, and more importantly the winemaker or brewer of the specific drink I am enjoying at that exact moment.

While I’ve studied wine (and with that winemaking) for some years now, I’ve only recently begun to dive into the science of brewing.  Sure, I knew how beer was made, but I didn’t really grasp the full concept and all of the variables that influence the outcome until I decided to start homebrewing.  Actually, this epiphany came at the suggestion of the wonderful folks at Sam Adams who hold an annual homebrew competition called Longshot and encourage employees, consumers and the media to give it a go and gain a better understanding of just what it takes to make that frothy goodness in your glass.

It is quite difficult and laborious to create a delicious wine at home (or at least I’ve found other people’s attempts to be less than great upon tasting), but the more I looked into brewing beer at home the more I realized that I could actually create something exciting… and drinkable!

I started with a basic Pale Ale kit and Charlie Papazian’s The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (Third Edition).  I thought the kit would be fairly simple and straightforward, especially since I was using a liquid malt extract recipe as opposed to all grain (basically a huge shortcut in homebrewing, cutting out a good amount of time and work).  It turned out that it was pretty easy to follow, and very convenient to have all of the ingredients in pre-measured bags. 

This first attempt gave me a solid foundation of the brewing process, including sanitizing (you have to sanitize EVERYTHING), ingredients, use of equipment, timing and the all-important patience that is required.  Depending on the style you’re brewing, between making the brew, fermentation and aging, the amount of time from the very start when you begin sanitizing your bucket to the very end when you finally crack open that first bottle of homespun brew can be anywhere from a month to three or four or more (again, depends on style and aging requirements).

The pale ale came out decent enough; certainly good enough for beer pong use.  But the experience started something within me, a little fire under a little kiln that screamed out to me to make something different, make something new, make more homebrew.  So I read articles, browsed forums and blogs, visited my local homebrew shop (Maltose Express, a wonderful shop with a fantastic, friendly and immensely informative and helpful staff) and read Mr. Papazian’s book from front to back.  By the time I had finished, based on numerous pieces of authoritative information and peer advice, I had concocted a recipe all my own… a Mexican Chocolate Stout.

I am moving my stout to secondary fermentation this weekend, and I can’t really tell you when it will be completely ready for consumption.  All I know is it tasted amazing before primary, and I can’t wait to see how it evolves.  And I’m already dreaming up new ideas and recipes for my next homebrewing adventure. 

You know that saying, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime”… wouldn’t you like to learn how to drink for a lifetime?  It only makes you appreciate those times when it’s handed to you more, and gives you the satisfaction to know that you can do it on your own too.

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