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So I’ve started a new hobby, brewing my own beer, and I’ve even started a beer brewing journal: Tipsy Bear Brewmaster Journal to record my (mis) adventures. The journal is not really supposed to be public, although it can be; it sits on my development server- so not a live location. However, I have gotten some interest and comments, so I thought I would repost my Easter brew day adventures on our live blog. The following is from: Easter Brew: Brew Day.

I am now sitting on the couch, drinking a glass of wine, (I’m not sure I could drink beer at this point), and I’m throughly tuckered out. I spent the majority of my day today brewing my first ever beer! But as I sit here relaxing, breathing in the smells of malt, hops, and yeast, I feel like I’ve really achieved something. At the same time, I also feel really tense and nervous, because now I have to sit and wait a month to find out what happened today! (I’m also hoping that the airlock doesn’t explode off the top of my carboy!)

Today was hectic. I actually had a few last minute things to get; I got all of my brew equipment from Homebrew Heaven yesterday, but I left out a few grocery store items like ice and bottled water. I got up bright and early to drink coffee and review some of the technique in How to Brew, but when I leisurely made my way to Safeway to pick up my last minute ingredients, I discovered that their kitchen gadget section didn’t contain a few key things I needed- namely a funnel, a turkey baster (or wine thief), and a giant Pyrex jar! Stunned, I rushed to Target, only to find that it was closed for Easter Sunday. Finally, I had to drive 20 minutes to Walmart- in of itself a soul crushing experience- only to get lost in the store, and wait 30 minutes in a checkout line.

By the time I got home, it was 1 o’clock, and I knew if I didn’t get started, I wouldn’t get done until after dark. So I bravely set up my camera and tripod, and started cleaning the kitchen. The thing about brewing that I took away from How to Brew is that it is most essential to clean and sanitize. In fact, of the 4 hours I spent in the kitchen brewing my Easter Beer- 3 of them were cleaning, and only 1 of them was actually boiling the wort!

Kitchen cleaned, I started sanitizing. After sanitizing, I desperately hoped that no stray bacteria would find its way into the beer. Finally, I started boiling the brew water. Things started well, I got the malt into into the brew with no problems, brought it to a boil, and then added the bittering hops. It was then that disaster struck.

Seriously, I turned my head away for one second. I knew that I had to be vigilant for boiling over until the hot break was reached, but I didn’t think it would happen so fast! As I turned my head away to check the progress of some other sterilization I had going, I heard a dreaded sizzle, and as I looked over, I saw a mountain of foam trying to climb its way out of my brew pot and douse my oven fan!

Bravely, I stabbed my spoon into the pot, and starting blowing with all my might hoping to settle the foam down, which it soon did, but the damage was already done. Here’s the thing about brewing beer- everything is sticky. From the malt to the yeast to the hops, even the powdered malt extract is sticky!  The boil over caused a mess that I couldn’t clean up right that second, and even as I futilely tried to dab with a paper towel, I was basically caramelizing my oven… it would take a scraper to get the resulting residue off.

After the hot break, things went pretty smoothly. I boiled for another 45 minutes, then added the finishing hops with 15 minutes left to go. Unfortunately, the problems weren’t over yet.  Stupidly, I started my yeast way too early, causing the started yeast to settle down before I pitched it into the beer. Then even more stupidly, I added another packet of yeast to my already started yeast, which caused all sorts of craziness. I still pitched the 2 packets of yeast into the beer… I’m seriously hoping the dang thing doesn’t explode!

Finally, I got the beer into the carboy, and under the table to ferment. Since today is Easter, I’m naming my beer my Easter Brew, which is synonymous with first attempt brew, Batch #0001, etc. I seriously have no idea how it is going to turn out. I’m going to post the recipe that I’m using tomorrow… as well as the blank recipe form I created, and my overnight observations. I’m setting my alarm for midnight and 4 am just to check my brew is bubbling!

Lessons learned from day 1:

1. Clean, clean, clean… then sanitize.
2. If you don’t clean it up as soon as it happens, you’ll have a sticky mess.
3. Read more before you start up a month long project.
4. Get started earlier… it takes a while.
5. Learn how to use an airlock… its not mentioned very clearly, and yours keeps popping off the top!
6. Pay attention, the hot boil happens fast!