I'm now a brewer. I say that with more than a small amount of pride. This is because I love beer, I have done for years; arguably since before I actually liked beer. For those of you that don't have a clue what I mean; teenage lads in Britain drink pints (or at least try to). From about the age of 14 onwards, one tries to sneak into the pub or snaffle a can/bottle of your dad's beer and have a pint. It's something of a right of passage, a mark of manhood. However, if you ask most beer drinkers to be genuinely honest, they will admit that beer is an acquired taste. Give them a few pints and they will probably open up and say that they initially found beer horrible and their first pint was an absolute mission to finish (but they did for form's sake). I can certainly attest to the fact that, in my case, I had to work hard to get my taste for beer.
Once I got the taste however, I was off. Fortunately I got past the cat's piss lager stage fairly quickly. A Stella-induced hangover (and a couple of incidents of the world falling over after a few pints) served to put me off a bit. More pertinently, I had heard that girls liked sophisticated guys and as a teenage boy I was forever coming up with schemes to get girls. I became that guy who ordered Guinness in the pub in the mistaken belief that different was synonymous with sophisticated. It didn't stop me being as much of an oaf after a few though so I guess the scheme wasn't all that clever. I still retain a lasting affection for Guinness though and it opened my eyes to a novel concept; beer with flavour.
When I got to Uni my taste broadened to include my true passion when it comes to beer; real ale. I love the rich flavours, the regional varieties, the amusing names and the fact that it was cheaper than any of the decent lagers at the union bar. The hand pumps and the elaborate labels that real ale comes out of in the pub also attracted me to them. It was just so much more mysterious and exciting than a pint of piss.
For the last eight or so years I have sampled many, many ales from all over the country (and some rather good ones brewed in the British style on foreign shores). I will admit my knowledge of it hasn't expanded too much. Generally when asked how I like my beer, I would answer, "plentiful". I know which beers I liked and which ones I didn't like although I never really expanded my vocabulary and knowledge sufficiently to describe why it was that I liked them or properly explore the flavours in my mind.
However I love playing with flavours and in the kitchen and have always fancied having a go at making my own beer. Not to mention the fact that doing so would save a pile of cash and deny the treasury their bounty for my passion. This opportunity was made available to me when I got a home brewing kit for my birthday recently.
Despite being fundamentally impatient in nature I decided to do this properly. Firstly I did a lot of research about beer; the making of it, the ingredients and ways that flavour can be altered and developed. Admittedly some of this was due to the fact that there was a gap between being told I was getting the kit and actually receiving it. Researching was a way of building anticipation and excitement. Being a scientist at heart I have also started keeping a detailed journal to record my research and keep notes about the process ensuring that I can control the variables to the best of my ability and, ultimately, tweak the final product.
After all the research and anticipation, my first brew is now complete. I have to say, I'm rather pleased with it. It tastes of beer! Albeit not the best pint I've ever had but far from the worst either. It also has a rather pleasing fizz, the technique for which was picked up from a fascinating conversation I had at the local home-brew shop. Unfortunately I can't take all the credit for it. The kit in question included a pre-made mixture of malt that water and yeast was added to. My visions of delicately combining ingredients to produce a beer that is unique to me hasn't come to fruition yet. Admittedly there are some advantages; the whole process is far quicker than starting from scratch. Also, raw ingredients are actually quite hard to come by so this is the only viable large-scale option.
Some further research has revealed ways of tweaking these home-brew kits to make them more personal and enhance the flavours. In the future, I'm looking forward to nailing a recipe and process that will create the ultimate beer for me. In the mean time, I'm off for a pint!
JR
Once I got the taste however, I was off. Fortunately I got past the cat's piss lager stage fairly quickly. A Stella-induced hangover (and a couple of incidents of the world falling over after a few pints) served to put me off a bit. More pertinently, I had heard that girls liked sophisticated guys and as a teenage boy I was forever coming up with schemes to get girls. I became that guy who ordered Guinness in the pub in the mistaken belief that different was synonymous with sophisticated. It didn't stop me being as much of an oaf after a few though so I guess the scheme wasn't all that clever. I still retain a lasting affection for Guinness though and it opened my eyes to a novel concept; beer with flavour.
When I got to Uni my taste broadened to include my true passion when it comes to beer; real ale. I love the rich flavours, the regional varieties, the amusing names and the fact that it was cheaper than any of the decent lagers at the union bar. The hand pumps and the elaborate labels that real ale comes out of in the pub also attracted me to them. It was just so much more mysterious and exciting than a pint of piss.
For the last eight or so years I have sampled many, many ales from all over the country (and some rather good ones brewed in the British style on foreign shores). I will admit my knowledge of it hasn't expanded too much. Generally when asked how I like my beer, I would answer, "plentiful". I know which beers I liked and which ones I didn't like although I never really expanded my vocabulary and knowledge sufficiently to describe why it was that I liked them or properly explore the flavours in my mind.
However I love playing with flavours and in the kitchen and have always fancied having a go at making my own beer. Not to mention the fact that doing so would save a pile of cash and deny the treasury their bounty for my passion. This opportunity was made available to me when I got a home brewing kit for my birthday recently.
Despite being fundamentally impatient in nature I decided to do this properly. Firstly I did a lot of research about beer; the making of it, the ingredients and ways that flavour can be altered and developed. Admittedly some of this was due to the fact that there was a gap between being told I was getting the kit and actually receiving it. Researching was a way of building anticipation and excitement. Being a scientist at heart I have also started keeping a detailed journal to record my research and keep notes about the process ensuring that I can control the variables to the best of my ability and, ultimately, tweak the final product.
After all the research and anticipation, my first brew is now complete. I have to say, I'm rather pleased with it. It tastes of beer! Albeit not the best pint I've ever had but far from the worst either. It also has a rather pleasing fizz, the technique for which was picked up from a fascinating conversation I had at the local home-brew shop. Unfortunately I can't take all the credit for it. The kit in question included a pre-made mixture of malt that water and yeast was added to. My visions of delicately combining ingredients to produce a beer that is unique to me hasn't come to fruition yet. Admittedly there are some advantages; the whole process is far quicker than starting from scratch. Also, raw ingredients are actually quite hard to come by so this is the only viable large-scale option.
Some further research has revealed ways of tweaking these home-brew kits to make them more personal and enhance the flavours. In the future, I'm looking forward to nailing a recipe and process that will create the ultimate beer for me. In the mean time, I'm off for a pint!
JR
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