Bottling Day

It took a few hours to sanitize all of the equipment I would need to bottle my beer after two weeks of fermentation. However, I managed to get the beer bottled and capped fairly quickly doing it by myself. Of course I could not have done any of this without consulting "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing" a.k.a. "The Homebrewer's Bible" by Charlie Papazian (side note: not sure if homebrewing is one word or two but I like it better as one). If anyone is thinking about venturing into homebrewing then this book should be one of your first purchases. It educates you on how to make your own beer with detailed instructions throughout the whole process all the while keeping you calm and collected by reminding you "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!"

It is an interesting time to be a beer lover and enthusiast. Restrictions are being lifted on what and how people can brew across the nation and it is leading America into a sort of beer renaissance. Craft breweries are starting up at a crazy rate and are slowly but surely stealing away market share from the major breweries that produce cheap, tasteless, light beers and that put more effort into marketing their beers than they do into making them. For someone that has dreams of opening up a brewery themselves (like me), these facts can be both encouraging and alarming. Since there are now more than 1,700 breweries in the U.S. and more than 600 in planning, it can be a little overwhelming wondering how the hell someone is supposed to create a profitable business with all of that competition. Luckily, most craft beer drinkers do not only like one type of beer or even one brand of beer regardless of how good it may be. People like variety and that's what craft brewing is all about--delivering tasty and unique beers with fresh and, sometimes, unusual ingredients.

After ten days of aging the bottled Honey Wheat Ale in a dark corner of my living room it should be ready to drink. In the meantime I will continue to read (I recommend "Brewing Up a Business" by Sam Calagione, Founder of Dogfish Head) and educate myself as much as I can about the beer world. Oh, and have a homebrew from a previous batch of course!

Winging It

After deliberating for several days on how to start this blog off on the right foot I came to the conclusion that I would begin in true American fashion by using a time-tested approach that has served me well in my 21 years of life--by winging it.

Like every man that enjoys drinking beer has probably thought about at one time or another, I want to start my own brewery. While pursuing a Masters degree I am currently researching, planning, and dreaming all things beer during much of my spare time. This obsession has led to a new hobby I have adopted over the past year which will hopefully help me in my quest to open a brewery: Homebrewing. Two weeks ago I started brewing a Honey Wheat Ale recipe that I got from Alternative Beverage in Charlotte.

Tomorrow is bottling day and after a few days of aging and letting the priming sugar carbonate the beer it should be ready to drink. As you can see in the picture, the beer is currently still sitting in the glass carboy in a dark corner of my living room (I turned the flash on my BlackBerry for the picture).

I will provide an update hopefully tomorrow once the bottling is complete. Until then I encourage everyone who does not already brew their own beer to do so. It is a fun, educational experience and hobby that has tangible and delicious results.