I ordered a Mr. Beer home brew package the other day off of Woot.com because it was inexpensive and I was looking to take a try at making my own beer.
I know a few people that have been brewing beer and although the serious beer brewers scoff at the Mr. Beer package, they all agreed for the price it was a good "starter kit".
It has been sitting in my kitchen now for a few weeks and because of the nice three day weekend, I have decided to start the brew in hopes that I can maybe have some nice ale before Saint Patrick's day 2012. I just started the process and right now I have the utensils and brew container sanitizing.
It is a nice peaceful day, sitting here at the dining room table watching the snow fall gently from the sky. It reminds me of how beautiful Minnesota is year round. I find myself reminiscing of all the beautiful colors of the four seasons. Fall in this area is by far the most memorable with its deep browns, reds, oranges and yellows. Winter can get old, but the site of fresh powdery snow hanging over trees and drifts across the yard are beautiful before the dirt and traffic get to them. Spring brings the growth of orchids, daisy's, grass and dandelions. And summer is green and red with long days that end with the portrait ready sunsets almost every night.
As I sit and write this of course a large hawk or eagle swooped by the patio door into the back yard. I wasn't sure what it was as I was looking at the screen and only caught the blur of white and brown. I went to look and after about ten seconds I found the visitor at the edge of the now bare woods. I grabbed my flip and tried to sneak back for some good footage of our feathered foreigner, but he left at first sight of me in the window (see video below).
Minnesota Mementos from Alba Family on Vimeo.
Back to my brew! With everything sanitized I continue with my brew. I added some filtered water to the brew container and then started on the "Booster" concoction. Starting with four cups of filtered water, I slowly mixed in the "Booster" until it was almost completely dissolved. I then turned up the heat and waited for the concoction to boil.
Once the "Booster" came to a boil, I added the Hopped Malt Extracts [HMEs] to create my wort. This was very easy as the HME I was using came in a nice can from Mr. Beer (using the West Coast Pale Ale). Once the wort was created, I transferred it into the brewing container and then added more filtered water to fill the brewing container to the desired level.
Once the remaining water was added, I stirred the brew vigorously to mix the wort and filtered water. Once it was completed, we added the brewing yeast provided. After waiting a little over five minutes for the yeast to dissolve on its own, I finished "pitching" the yeast by vigorously mixing the brew once again. After pitching the yeast the cover was attached and I placed it into an insulated cooler to keep it at the desired temperature and out of the dark for the next two weeks.
The video on the page is a short highlight of the process. I hope to continue the documentation of this first brew in a few weeks (about January 26th) as long as everything goes well.