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how I (hope to have) spent my summer vacation

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20080630_homebrewing.jpgEmily has already chronicled what was a pretty fantastic Philadelphia weekend. So I’ll just second the Philadelphia Brewing Company tour: it’s free and fascinating, and, as you might imagine, comes with beer. Their Kenzinger is so embarrassingly good that I’m thinking seriously about how to get a case down to DC.

Naturally, though, all the talk about mash tuns and wort got me thinking about giving homebrewing a try. I know, I know: it’s not a money saver. It’ll smell. My beer will be just okay, and my friends will quickly get sick of drinking it. But it sounds fun! And I have a garage, which should help contain the unpleasantness. Besides, at the hipster flea market Emily and I bought this book (rescued from among piles of ironic VHS tapes, ironic video game accessories, and ironic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchanise). So really, what choice do I have?

But I could use some advice, o people of the internet. I’ve assisted a friend with siphoning and bottling before, but that was in the distant past. More recently I had a look at some of these videos and found myself mostly-convinced by the claims associated with the beginner’s kit that they’re pitching. Anybody have any other sage wisdom for me?

Image by Flickr user pusgums (ew), used under a Creative Commons License

About the author

Tom Lee

4 comments

  • If you want to sort of go into the wading pool of homebrewing, I highly recommend checking out the Shenandoah Brewing Company. They provide storage for your beer as it brews, recipes and ingredients, and a place to hang out while the wort boils. A couple of the beers I’ve made there have turned out spectacularly, and none have been undrinkable.

  • The most important skill a brewer can learn is sanitation – anything that touches your beer (or future beer) must be properly sanitized. Any good home brewing book should describe how this can be done but you are best off getting some sanitizer from a home brew shop. Next; you can make some pretty darn good beer without all the hassle and mess of a full mash regime by doing what’s called a mini-mash. Basically, brew a recipe that uses many malt extract but also uses specialty malts steeped directly in your brew kettle.
    E-Mail me directly if you would like me to send you a recipe and instructions for a mini-mash brew.
    Cheers!

  • Thanks guys! That’s a fantastic collection of links and advice. Dean, I imagine that my first attempt will probably be constrained to whatever extract-based recipe comes with the kit I purchase, but the mini-mash approach sounds interesting — I’d certainly feel a bit more authentic if I was using at least some unprocessed ingredients.

By Tom Lee