I started listening to the BN about three months ago. I drive an hour each way to and from work and was looking for something brewing related to help pass the time away. I found the Sunday Show on Stitcher and was hooked. BN is all I listen to in the car now.
I have always enjoyed a good pint and “attempted†my first home brew back in 1975 while still in high school. I have great folks who enjoy good food and drink so I wasn't too surprised that my Mom let me give it a shot. I got the boil into the carboy but my sanitary skills were not the greatest because I fermented a batch of something green and smelly I recall. As a side note about my Mom – she was recently in Europe and I received three post cards telling me how great the beer was. Her way of teasing me.
A friend of mine is a home brewer and he got me back into the fun. I have helped him brew a few extract batches which turned out well. Doing more research I started thinking about doing partial mashes and thought the jump to all grain wasn't that much more. I joined PALE / Plainfield Ale & Lager Enthusiasts (Plainfield, Illinois) homebrew club last year and have learned much from the members in the club.
I held back from brewing my first batch as I made the decision to go all grain. I attend an All Grain class held by one of the local breweries and watched some of the club members brew days. I took my time collecting bits and pieces and it finally all came together. Four weeks ago I had my first brew day doing an all grain Cream Ale. I wanted to keep the grain bill simple and low cost in case I screwed things up. I had no problems with the mash and all the numbers were spot on. I used a bucket for the first fermentation and it is now in a carboy ready to be bottled tomorrow. I did do a couple of rookie mistakes – I forgot to add some Irish Moss as well as dumping the whole kettle into the bucket with out straining. That is why I got it into the carboy on the fourth day. But I have no signs of anything funky going on in the carboy with some slight fermentation still going on. My son, wife and I did have a taste before it went into the carboy and we got hints of corn and a sweet fruity flavor. I am hoping the White Labs Cream Ale yeast will come through and finish the flavor off nicely.
I am not much of a hop head and enjoy British/Irish bitters, milds, browns, stouts etc. and also German and Belgian wheat beers. Personally I enjoy a great session pint over bigger beers.
I am looking forward to getting to the forum and learning more.
Yes, I learned about proper sanitation the hard way. I went back to making wine after that first experience. Didn't make beer again for almost 30 years.
