Raison D'Etre

so this past Saturday I tackled another item on my list. I brewed my first batch of beer. Not by myself you understand, I needed A LOT of help from Nathan, because all grain beer brewing is complicated. Who knew?? My lack of interest in math through high school came back to bite me on the a$$ this weekend when I realized that brewing beer involves a bunch of different math skills. I left that part to Nate because it was taking all my concentration to just understand all the steps involved with brewing. And the cleaning. And the lifting of very heavy carboys and buckets of grains and such. And did I mention all the cleaning. I don't think it helped that I chose to try this recipe. One of my favorite beers and one that is not available in California (yet). Definitely not a simple recipe for a novice to start out with, thankfully my brewing husband is an expert...(he'll laugh when he reads that). Did you know it takes like 6 hours to brew a batch of all grain beer. And that's with two people. I had a really good time though.  Possibly it was just spending time with Nate and working together on something he loves to do. That he was able to share his passion with me for the first time ever. I usually use the time he is brewing to get things done (like errands). I can't promise you that I will be brewing again...I am waiting to see how this batch comes out. It's not like scrapbooking where in 6 hours you usually have a finished product to admire and share. Now I have to ferment if and then bottle it and then in like a month or so, I can take my first taste to see how I did. I'll keep you posted.

How was everyone else's weekend?

jen

Comments

[Nate]

It was really great to brew with you, too! Here's a link to the Raison D'Etre all-grain recipe:
http://www.brew365.com/beer_dogfish_head_raison_detre.php

It comes from Sam Calagione's book Extreme Brewing, with an all-grain conversion performed by Brew365.

[Nicole]

how cool jen!
I worked at a brew pub for over 5 years and find the entire process very intriging....although I think I will stick to just drinking the brew once it's ready in a bottle :)