Bobcats in the Burgh & Beer in the Belly

3 hours of boil, one week in a fermenter, two weeks in another fermenter, sloppily bottled and stored for two weeks, worried about constantly and finally, last night, enjoyed thoroughly with good company.

finally, my first batch of homebrewed beer, an american amber was ready to drink. i’m not going to modest about it, it came out really good. i was quite pleasantly surprised because a lot of people say the first batch will be horrible. i spent more time in books on brewing than in the kitchen brewing, i think that made the difference.

it’s full-bodied with a very hoppy aroma and slight roast undertones and a mellow, yeasty after-taste. 5.5%ABV

it was a great night for the first pour. the streets of pittsburgh are finally walkable since the latest snow storms two weeks ago and fun was had with fellow ou-alum

Brewin’ Ain’t Easy…

I’ve always wanted to brew my own beer, well, ever since I worked marketing at Gritty’s. So, I finally did it. Donny, like most men, always wanted to try this, too, so together like giddy school girls, we made our first batch last Friday.

I had a few people over and we brewed an American Amber. That pic with the siphon is from today when I had to re-rack the beer from the plastic fermenter to the glass carboy. This will give the final beer more clarity. Just one of the many, many steps (and therefore opportunities of error) in making your own beer. A couple weeks, then bottling, then a couple more weeks, then drinking!