Mmmmm... Beer

As a early Christmas gift to myself, I purchases a beginner brewing kit from a local home brew supplier.  It has been sitting in my basement since November, waiting to be used.  On Saturday, my friend, Justin, came over to teach me how to use the kit.  I was extremely nervous.  I can cook.  I can bake.  I can follow simple instructions.  But, for some reason, I really didn't think I could do this.  

For the last month, I have been reading various brewing books and magazine to learn how to use my brew kit.  It is all very scientific and to be honest, I was never very good at science.  So, I just kept getting more and more nervous about this whole proposition.  

Saturday began as chaotic as ever.  Justin arrived with 2 1/2 of empty beer bottles and some extra equipment to speed the brewing process.  The first main step in the brewing was seeping the grains and the hops in hot water.  I wish I could post a smell on this blog.  It was amazing.  I could have stood there with my head over the pot all afternoon.  It was a warm, earthy smell.  It was completely amazing.  

I have to applaud Justin for being about to put up with my craziness, all afternoon.  He said the entire process normally takes about 3 1/2 hours.  Sadly, that was not the case for my first go.  But, Justin was holding up rather well.

After an couple hours of seeping the grain and the hops, it was time to cool the brew.  Justin was kind enough to bring this crazy contraption called a wort chiller.  It is a piece of copper tubing that cold water is run through to cool the brew.  Unfortunately, we could not get the chiller to connect to any of my sinks.  So, we used nature's chiller.  This was effective.  It just took a bit longer.

But, finally, after almost six hours, the brew was ready to be placed in the fermenter.  I set the whole thing in the basement to wait the required amount of time before bottling.  I was extremely excited when I went downstairs on Sunday morning to find the liquid in the airlock slowly bubbling, as the yeast began to react with the sugars and create CO2.  This is going to be a long two week wait.