The First Steps

A couple friends of mine, Gary and Brett, have been homebrewing for quite some time now. When I asked them to accompany me to Kirk's Brew, here in Lincoln, their first comment was, "we have converted another." I purchased my homebrewing supplies and a kit for an IPA, by far my favorite style of beer. With the tutelage of my friends a few weeks later I enjoyed my first home brewed beer while watching the Cubs on a Saturday afternoon. At the time of this posting, I have 2 twelve ounce bottles and one 22oz left of that first batch, and am looking forward to brewing it again.

The next time around I decided to go with something a little less hoppy, that my wife would like as well. I purchased a porter kit from Kirk's (www.kirksbrew.com/) and a 3 ounce bottle of pure vanilla extract. Kirk's kits include some grain, as well as malt extracts, and everything but bottles and caps to make your beer. His store is like male aromatherapy for me, with the aromas of barley and hops throughout. The brewing process went pretty smoothly, with my wife Marcie assisting. About 10 days after brewing, when we finally had time, we added the bottle of pure vanilla extract to the bottling bucket with the priming solution, and after 8 days in the bottle, we have a drinkable product. Both Marcie and I were a bit worried, since the fermentation vessel was only bubbling for about 36-48 hours. The IPA fermented at a good rate for almost 72 hours.

But with it being summertime, and lawnmower season, it's time for a good lawnmower beer. After trying a Sam Adams Summer Ale tonight I'm leaning towards a wheat brew with a touch of lemon. I have a couple of weeks to research the right recipe, so I'm open to suggestions.