The Begining

It's always good to start at the beginning, if you start at the end you already know the outcome, start in the middle and you just might be confused. This past Christmas I got a great gift from my father-in-law, a home brewing kit from Mr Beer. 

The Christmas present that started it all

I was very excited, I've always wanted to make beer but didn't know how to start, now I had a start. The kit came with everything to get me in trouble, er... I mean started... I had bottles, fermentation keg, sanitizer, malted extract, yeast, and instructions. I read through the instructions to make sure I wasn't completely lost when I went to brew. The Mr Beer process is really simple, after you sanitize all your equipment, anything and everything that will come into contact with the beer, all you do is boil water, add the malt extract, stir vigoursly, put it in the mini-keg, and some more water, stir again, sprinkle the yeast, screw the lid on, and put the keg in a dark location with a constant temperature between 68 and 76 deg F. 

I checked on the keg the next day and I could see the "action" of the fermentation, all kinds of froth and bubbles in the top of the keg, I was excited. So now comes the hard work, I had to wait 2 weeks until I could bottle the beer, then another 2 weeks before it goes into the fridge to condition for at least a few days, the longer the better. I continued to follow the directions got the beer bottled, let the secondary fermentation and carbonation happen, got it in the fridge. 

During the waiting process I decided that I had to name my beer and create a label for it. I posted on Facebook asking for suggestions on my brew, some suggestions were good, some not so good. In the end the suggestion by my sister-in-law Nancy....Bronco beer was born. I ordered some Avery labels and got to printing.

I was very excited to crack open the first bottle and taste my creation. As I poured the golden liquid into the glass, the aroma of a basic American light beer filled my nostrils. I raised the glass and drank....delicious! I had successfully made beer in my kitchen! There was only one aspect of the beer that I was a little disappointed with, the beer wasn't carbonated much as it should be. I did some research on the Mr Beer forums and turns out I put it in the fridge before the carbonation cycle was complete. I know now how to tell if it is ready for the fridge and my next brew will be fully carbonated when it goes in. More on my second batch, a lager, in another post. 

I decided to document my journey into making beer at home and also to taste as my different beers as I can and give my opinion. There is a local liquor store that sells beer by the bottle so I have started getting a weekly mix-and-match six pack on my way home from work on Fridays. What better way to unwind at the end of the work week then with trying new beers. I will post on my first 2 mix-and-match six packs in a separate post, until then...

Here's to beauty, wit, and beer, and to a full stomach, a full purse, and a light heart.