If you’re a beer nerd, chances are you’ve given some thought to homebrewing. I know I’ve thought about it for a long time, but it always seemed like a lot of...work. My friend Jen, ever the pragmatist, suggested I strike up a relationship with a homebrewer and enjoy the fruits of his labor. I’d like to tell you, Gentle Reader, that I rejected this plan on purely feminist grounds. The truth is, I was worried about ending up in a long-term relationship with some chucklehead who listens to Nickelback and tells quasi-racist jokes simply because he makes a peanut butter stout that I wish I knew how to quit. No. If it was to be, it was up to me.
Still, I held off for months. Then some of my old Michigan friends started homebrewing and I started getting jealous. When I logged on to Untappd and saw that one of them had checked into his own beer, I knew I had to take action. I grabbed my credit card and went straight to My Old Kentucky Homebrew.
Upon arriving, I spent some time walking around in a daze. The shop is small, but well-stocked with equipment, supplies, kits, and ingredients. The hops fridge was, of course, my favorite feature.
They also have some merchandise, including a very cute t-shirt in purple (my signature color – only 322 shopping days ‘til Christmas!) that I will buy the moment I don’t feel like a total poseur wearing it.
Paul, the proprietor, was very helpful in explaining all the equipment I would need. But what beer should I make? It occurred to me that the best way to know if I was doing this right would be to make something I know, so I grabbed one of the many free recipes available, a clone of my favorite beer – Bell’s Two Hearted. Paul assembled the ingredients, handed me an instruction sheet, and gave a great overview of the process. I guess the terror was evident in my face, because he then mentioned that he teaches a free Intro to Brewing class every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm. Now we’re talkin’!
I attended the class last week and I’m still intimidated but very excited. Maybe I’ll make the beer Two Hearted wishes it was and men who are too lazy to brew will want to date me. Maybe I’ll make something that tastes like an unholy cocktail of soy sauce and skunked Rolling Rock. We’ll see. Either way, I’ll tell you all about it.
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