New Hobby
I find that after a significant amount of time has passed between LJ posts, it's relatively pointless to try to update you on the happenings of my life. So I'll just cut to the subject.
Thursday was my birthday, and Emily, in her great wisdom and who has been pushing me to find a hobby other than playing Metroid Prime 3, got me a homebrewing kit (for beer). It came with all the hardware you would need other than a stockpot for boiling. She also got me "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing," widely accepted as the bible for all things homebrewing related. I know that I'm kind of a beer snob and I've talked to her for a while about how I'd like to try my hand at brewing my own beer, and I think she took it to heart. So, after a trip to a local homebrew supply store today, I think tomorrow I'm going to start on my first batch. Since I've never done this before, I'm simplifying it quite a bit, using hopped malt-extract syrup with some crystal malt sugar for color and just a small amount of hop pellets (Cascade) to add near the end for aroma. The goal is an American-style Amber, which I thought was fitting because an American-style Amber was my first real beer love (also it's one style Emily and I both really like). If all goes well, I may step up to boiling my own wort or even mashing my own grain in the future, but first I need to get the basics down. So, whenever it's done fermenting and bottled, I'm hoping to have a tasting party, as long as it isn't nasty.
Hurray beer!
Thursday was my birthday, and Emily, in her great wisdom and who has been pushing me to find a hobby other than playing Metroid Prime 3, got me a homebrewing kit (for beer). It came with all the hardware you would need other than a stockpot for boiling. She also got me "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing," widely accepted as the bible for all things homebrewing related. I know that I'm kind of a beer snob and I've talked to her for a while about how I'd like to try my hand at brewing my own beer, and I think she took it to heart. So, after a trip to a local homebrew supply store today, I think tomorrow I'm going to start on my first batch. Since I've never done this before, I'm simplifying it quite a bit, using hopped malt-extract syrup with some crystal malt sugar for color and just a small amount of hop pellets (Cascade) to add near the end for aroma. The goal is an American-style Amber, which I thought was fitting because an American-style Amber was my first real beer love (also it's one style Emily and I both really like). If all goes well, I may step up to boiling my own wort or even mashing my own grain in the future, but first I need to get the basics down. So, whenever it's done fermenting and bottled, I'm hoping to have a tasting party, as long as it isn't nasty.
Hurray beer!