Have your friends ever laughed at you after tasting a couple of your "not so good" home brews?
Well, firstly let me tell you you’re not alone. And secondly, I have to admit that at one time or another, I have had to say yes to all three of those questions…You see, about five years ago, I thought home brewing was only for old alcoholic guys with nothing better to do. I assumed it was only possible to make lots of cheap, but barely drinkable beer.
But all this changed one Easter Sunday. I was sitting around with my three Uncles when it was time for all of us to get a fresh beer. My Uncle Greg jumped up and with a smirk on his face told us he’d make the trip to the beer fridge.
He brought back some long neck bottles without labels on them. I knew something was up, but wasn’t sure what. So I took a swig and didn’t really think anything of it. We’d been drinking Heinekens all day and this strange looking bottle tasted about the same.
Uncle Greg still had a big smile on his face and was looking at us waiting to get a response. I was just about to speak when he asked "How’d you like those ones boys? They’re one of my own. One of my home brews".
I had to do a double take. Suddenly the strange labelless bottle made sense, but the taste didn’t. I didn’t believe him at first, but after talking to him for a while, I began to learn a few things.
He told me that home brewing wasn’t just for old drunks, but for anyone who wanted to drink commercial quality beer at a fraction of the price. Being a broke uni student with a large thirst for beer, this sounded like the perfect thing for me.
So two days later when the shops opened, I rushed down and bought myself a home brew kit for about $80. I read through all the instructions and after hearing that home brewing is pretty damn easy, I set about putting my first batch on.
As I screwed the lid onto the fermenter I felt excited. The following 10 days were tough, I’m not the most patient… Read more…
