Tjabe's Genesis Ale
Tonight, January 11th, 2006 A.D., Sam Koenen and I bottled our first batch of homebrew. The entire brewing process takes about three and half weeks, and we still have 10 days to go, but the beer is now in its final brewing process. We started the process the day after Christmas and used a simple, beginner's recipe for an American pale ale which Sam got from a friend. The process is a little complicated at first, but exciting every step of the way. There were only a few ingredients needed for this batch: a pale ale malt extract, cascade hops, and California ale yeast. We decided we would name our first batch after Sam's first son who was born two days after we started the brewing (too bad he won't be able to try any of it yet). The batch filled 47 bottles, just over 4 gallons. If you are in the neighborhood anytime after the end of next week, be sure and stop by, say hello, and try a bottle!
posted by Brian | 7:59 PM
4 Comments:
Brian have we met before? I am pretty good friends with Sam K from our days at MSU together.
So you guys are homebrewing huh? Awesome. There is nothing better than a batch of homebrew. I have been brewing for about 2 years now and there is nothing more satisfying than popping the top of your first bottle of that sudsy brew.
Here's a homebrew tip - on your next batch, forego the final sugaring before bottling and experiment with different candies in each bottle. black jelly beans are good, brown sugar as well. I've tried m and m's, and various jelly bean flavors. If you do a lighter beer, lemon and lime jelly beans are good too.
And, the best part of this is that you can make about a case of various experiments and then have a beer tasting party where you invite a bunch of your unbelieving friends! It's always a good time.
Let me know how this batch turns out.
Ryan - Thanks for the tip! Feel free to keep them coming, Sam and I are still pretty novice in our understanding of this new realm we've entered. I never would have thought of putting jelly beans in the bottles, that's crazy! Of course we just used ordinary corn sugar for this first batch. It's gonna be a long 10 days waiting for the batch to finally be ready to drink; what excitement!
I do hear your name mentioned quite a bit, but I'm not sure if we've met yet or not. I only met Christian for the first time this summer at our church retreat. Were you there? I'm sure it won't be too long till we do get to meet face to face.
Hey Brian - no, Ryan wasn't there this summer, just me and my family. I'm curious: how many other people at GVPCA are bloggers? Could you point me in the direction of their links? THanks much...
The only other blogger I know of in our church is Sam Koenen, and I have a link to his blog a few posts down. His is pretty new. Then of course your brother's blog. It hasn't really caught on too much here.
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