Saturday, May 3, 2008

Big Brew Day

'Today was Big Brew, the anniversary of Jimmy Carter once again making homebrew legal. We weren't able to make it to the Guild's meeting today, but we did manage to brew some of our own - and of course, we toasted at noon in honor of the celebration.
Today we brewed our first Brown Ale, affectionately title "Back Porch Brown #1." To add to our normal all-grain set-up, we added for the first time today a second burner - so we could use one for heating the hot water and one for mash temperature control. All went well if you don't count the following: the wort chiller hose still has a leak, and when we were funneling into one of the carboys Tristan, our 21 month old son, stuck his hand into the brew. What can we say, we train them young and they're curious!! ha ha ha.
This is our first try at a good Brown Ale. We figure that a good brown ale is essential because in our society Americans have a pallete that has been bred to appreciate the taste of a good brown ale. Often, when training novice brewers how to brew ale, the first ale taught is a basic Brown Ale. With this being the case, brewing a Brown Ale is essential. We've chosen to name our's "Back Porch Brown."
Today we also added our second burner for the process, which could've eliminated the need for an insulation jacket, though we still used the jacket in order to save propane and constantly running the gas. Eco-thoughts: tis better to insulate than to waste gas! (Ok, even my immature mind snickered at that one ..... if you didn't, grow up and get a little immature .. laugh more! It is funny!!)
Either way, is a photo:

Ten gallons of sweet "Back Porch Brown #1" fermenting. I've been trying to upload a good photo of it all brewing, but for some reason it just won't upload. Don't you love the age of computers, blogs, and all that technological shit???
Hope you toasted to the day that once again we were all allowed to homebrew legally once again. And we hope you toasted to those who said "Fuck this shit" and brewed anyway all along - because, in all honesty, where would we really be without them??
No matter which way you view it, brew on!

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