Hello world, and welcome to the new blog journal of my homebrewing adventures. For nearly two years, now, I've dabbled in homebrewing. I made mead, first. I made mistakes, first. I made things I would never make again, though they weren't unpleasant to drink. My motto, as one will learn, is drink (and/or eat) the evidence! I do not like to recreate exactly one or two things over and over again, and I treat recipes and/or kits as a place to start the brewing, not a place to keep the brewing. Experiment. Adjust. Make things different every time. Drink the evidence!
Today, I made a meteoric shift in my homebrewing. It began simply enough: I decided five gallon batches were vastly more beer than I could realistically and safely consume while maintaining employment, and I enjoyed trying out things, experimenting, iterating. Also, my wife and I are not rich. In fact, I'd say we're pretty deeply in debt to the student loan people, quite a lot, and more on that later. Basically, I can't afford to drink the beer I'd like, and I must resort to making my own. Amortizing the cost of equipment over numerous batches, one could easily produce very enjoyable beer, as good as anything expensive in the craft section, for close to the price of the very cheap beer. Particularly, all-grain, brew-in-a-bag brewing requires little equipment, but still allows for the bulk grain buys that lead to cost-effective beer!
I have, today, crossed over.
My voyage to all grain was slow. We've moved a lot these last few years. Every six months, we were somewhere new. I had no desire to buy even small new equipment when I was uncertain if we would have to be piling all we owned into a U-Haul and carrying it across town or across state or anywhere, at all.
We live in a house, now, that is owned, not rented. We can settle a little, and try to prepare the systems of our lives around our space.
In the days and weeks to come, I shall be posting my homebrewing adventures, with photos where possible, and stories of the day, always.
As my wife and I are up to our eyeballs in student loan debt (I have a Master's Degree, and she graduated from a private Art School without parental aid...) I will also be including links to things that will kick back a few dollars into my kitty, via affiliate links. I will also gladly sell you or your brewing-related company ad-space, with reasonable rates that might include free t-shirts or products. At the moment, though, I doubt with great seriousness anyone would sponsor a new blog on the tried and true subject of homebrewing.
I will also include other gastronomic discoveries from time to time, related to beer and beer brewing. For instance, have you ever made bread from your spent grains? (I have!) Have you ever made Vegan Ice Cream flavored with your beer or mead? (I have plans)
What do these things taste like? What do they look like?
Hopefully, soon, the world will find out.
Next entry: Grizzly Grain Mill, Round 1!
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