Homebrew

Back in December I purchased a Starter Kit from Michigan Brewing Co. along with my first recipe, an Imperial Stout. I’m a fan of stouts but having never home brewed I guess I should have started with something a little easier to make. The stouts, being high gravity, tend to take quite a while to ferment and require around four weeks in the primary and the same in the bottles.

This first try did not go as planned due to my failure to add both packs of yeast so the gravity got stuck and I bottled it high. It tastes pretty good but I think this one will need to stay in the bottles for quite a while before I can enjoy them on a regular basis.  In the meantime I’ve brewed an Amber and Vanilla Porter. Porter is another one of those beers that takes forever to finish but it’s tasting pretty good so far. A couple more weeks and the porter should be a great beer. So far the Amber is my favorite probably just because it was easiest to make and did not take forever to condition.

The down side to all of this is I’m drinking more than I’ve ever drank. I’d say I average five to six beers a week which is not too much beer but still it’s got me thinking. I’ve never had an addictive personality but sometimes I picture myself being the guy who drinks a six pack a day and makes excuses as to why it’s normal. There’s times when I would like a beer early in the day but I stop myself because after all only alcoholics drink a beer before noon right? right?