The husband's new hobby

Like I mentioned in my last post, I've been enjoying a couple new hobbies. And I'm not alone in that! Prompted by my Valentine's Day present, Mike has been dabbling in something he has wanted to do for years...brew our own beer.

Back in Madison, Wisconsin, some of our friends were quite well versed in home brewing and Mike has always wanted to give it a try. Now that we have more space (read: we're not in a tiny apartment) I thought now would be as good a time as ever.

I figured that getting a kit would be the easiest way to start, so we could get the hang of the process. We were sent a complementary kit from Red Envelope that came with everything we need to brew 1 gallon of beer: hops straining bag, guide to craft brewing, glass carboy, air lock, rubber stopper, siphoning tube, racking cane, thermometer, funnel, sanitizer, malt extract, grain, hops, and yeast. I gave it to him for Valentine's Day because nothing says "I love you" like a gallon of beer.

All of the equipment and ingredients ready to go:

Ready to steep the grains and boil the wort                                                      A-fermenting we will go!           

                                       

Mike says this kit was a great way to break into brewing because everything he needed to brew was included and the instructions were straight forward. It immediately got him thinking about doing it again and trying different recipes. He's already been to the home brew store in New Haven and has bought more supplies. Maybe I've created a monster? Well, at least I don't think we'll ever have to buy beer again.  Okay that might be premature. I guess we'll wait and see how it turns out first ;)

Brew master in training

We're so eager to see how it turns out; we should know in a couple weeks. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again to Red Envelope for sending us the kit and getting us into the exciting world of home brewing ;)

Have you ever brewed your own beer? How did it turn out?