I've been brewing up a storm lately. I'm drinking the last bottle of an American Wheat as I type this, in celebration of another successful boil. I just pitched the yeast on a Pale Ale, after first soaking a couple pounds of specialty grains and then boiling malt extract and hops (I think the term for this level of brewing is partial grain). It's easily a 4-hour job with lots of wet hands and measured steps and a few moments of excitement, and I think I'm getting the work flow down. I could use a couple more pieces of equipment, but the current setup works nicely.
Last night I racked a Double that had been fermenting for a week. It had plugged up the airlock on the 2nd day with it's extraordinary krausenhead. When I opened it up to siphon into the 2nd fermenter, I had to push aside a 2 inch layer of yeast scum or whatever to get to the beer. I didn't taste it, but I smelled it and it smells great! I'm real excited about that one.
One other success I had was an Oatmeal Stout. It's dark and delicious and should get better with time, to a point. So I'll put aside a 6 or 12 pack for next winter, to see what develops.
I'm seriously digging this hobby. It can be reduced to the very basics: water, malt, hops, yeast. Or it can be all about the nearly endless variables that go into brewing. And the end result of this experimentation? Beer! I love beer, and I love learning, and I'm having a golden moment. :)
