“I’m Just Saying”

My friend and I tried something interesting recently. We tried to brew our own beer. This was one of those decisions that came to us while we were in the midst of about 20 days straight of drinking this summer. We both had seen the commercials for Samuel Adam’s home-brew contest. Although we missed the deadline for the competition, we decided we still wanted to brew our own.

We bought the usual homebrew still and a few different brewing kits. Then naturally they set there for a few weeks before we decided that we should follow through on the actual process. First, we had to sterilize all parts involved. Then we had to mix the five gallons of water with the partially pre-made kit that Tyler had bought online. It was a mix for an India Pale Ale, the only type they had left. Neither one of us were big fans of pale ale, but that didn’t matter. After we mixed the two and sealed the container, we had to let it sit for a week.

Ideally, the beer is to be bottled after it reaches a varying, specific temperature. This is where we messed up. We waited almost a week longer than normal to bottle the beer. At the time, we didn’t think that this would be that big of a problem. We wrong. After we let our bottled beer sit for two more weeks, we opened one. Normally there would be a pop, and some head that would signal a good seal and actual carbonation. This didn’t happen. No carbonation means bad beer. It was terrible. Imagine the worst tasting, strongest beer, only without carbonation. Now, multiply that terrible taste by about a thousand. Needless to say, it was a failure.

We will be starting our newest brew soon, and I will be sure and keep updates posted throughout the process.