From Teetotaler to Total Beer Geek

My introduction to beer was typical for any Midwestern teenager.  Friends heading out to a nearby field lane, reservoir, or creek with a case of pull tops; picking fights, diving too fast on gravel roads and racing back home in time for curfew.  My aversion to risk and the fresh memory of older kids in a tragic accident kept me from abiding.

College brought better opportunities to indulge, but typically the beer available was tough to enjoy.  To this day the sight of a "Beast" can is enough to give me a headache.

Then I discovered Ales and microbrew...  Once I found gainful employment and local beer cases began to expand beyond twelve packs, I awakened to a much broader world.

I was hooked and particularly drawn to the process of brewing.  In 1992 my wife and I bought a starter homebrew kit, Charlie Papazian's book, and we were off to create our own.  Thanks to the simplicity of extract kits even our beers were quite good.  We soon began to try more complex recipes, experiment with adjuncts, and after a close call with a bottle bomb even started using mini-kegs.

In the mid-nineties our focus turned to raising a family and brew days took a back seat to a busy schedule.  Fortunately, a couple of years ago my wife rekindled the flame by buying me a brand new kit for my birthday.  The combination of the opening of a local homebrew supplier, beer loving neighbors and a little more disposable income have propelled this hobby to new heights.

These day's our beer starts with a big bag grain instead of a can of extract.  All of our beer is on tap and the plastic buckets have been replaced with a stainless steel conical ("The Ferminator").  This year I even grew my own hops!  Fall is perfect for brewing, so stick around to see where the home brewery takes us next!  -D

Comments

[braddog]

Nice post!