A New Crafting Hobby... Craft Brews!

Over the past few months, Kevin and I have been brewing beer.  I do believe we started in October, and have now made 3 different batches of beerliciousness!  [Okay, maybe only two are beerlicious...  I wasn't a big fan of brew #1]

Like many blog posts I've intended on writing and sharing... this is a wee bit belated.  :o)  I had this awesome idea that I was going to do a "one year anniversary" now and then house post this summer.  Problem is, when the house was "picture perfect" (which was maybe once) it was dark.  Oh, and like a couple weeks ago.  Oh well!  Maybe after two years of buying the house.  :oD

Oh yeah, beer.

Kevin and I are calling our beer and brewing "operation" (ha!) the Muddy Rudder Homebrew.  Ya know, named for our favorite little buddy and his propensity to attract mud from the far corners of the earth (seriously, its like his superpower).

So, here's a little bit about the home brewing thus far:

Our first beer was a simple brown ale that came in a can.  Like the kind that's hard to mess up.  Well... we did!  Ha!  No, no issues with contamination or anything...  more of a too much bottling sugar (in my opinion) and not enough aeration at the beginning of the fermentation.  It's drinkable, and to be honest some bottles taste alright, but not at all bottles.  Oh, and some bottles, they are bubbly messes when you open them.   So this first beer, which I've dubbed "Beginner's Brown" came in at a whopping 2% alcohol.  Oh yeah.  We're just above a near beer. :op  It does make for some excellent beer bread though!

Second beer was a Christmas Ale.  Again, we went with a simple can extract kit.  Seeing as our first batch wasn't a smashing success, we didn't want to get too big for our britches by doing a more legit recipe.  Christmas ale came in around 5-6%.  We remembered to aerate the snot out of the beer with this nifty thing you put on the drill.  Bet Kevin didn't think he'd be using his birthday present to make beer! ;o)  We ended up having a few people over to share the beer, and have been giving it away to friends and family as a Christmas card of sorts.  Since this beer was made during Rudder's "bed rest" with his sprained paw, we named it Broken Wheel Ale, after his gimpy paw.

Our most recent beer, and my personal favorite thus far, is the Maple Wheat.  First recipe followed beer that was a wee bit more complicated.  Holy cannoli the smell of hops in your kitchen is AMAZING!  I think that was my favorite part of the whole brewing process (favorite part was definitely not clean up post bottling...).  We used Vermont maple syrup that Kevin's dad brought up.  This one was a good compromise for us because I love all things maple, and Kevin loves all beers that are wheat.  :o)  Haven't named this one yet... Any suggestions?  The color of the beer is the same as Rudder's "highlights" in his hair [disclaimer: I do NOT dye my dog's hair, he just gets a bit blonde in the sun.  :o) ]

Right now we're on a home brewing break - we aren't the world's fastest beer drinkers. :o)  We're planning on making a St. Patty's day beer for Rudder's birthday (which is on St. Patrick's Day).  Not sure what kind yet...  I'm still crossing my fingers for a honey cream ale... but who knows what beer recipe will make Rudder us drool.  :o)

[update: I want to try a Mexican chocolate oatmeal stout!  I think it perfectly describes the little dude: chocolate and oatmeal colored, with a little kick!  Oh, and he's a bit stout in the waistline at the moment... ha!  To be discussed with co-brewer Kevin...]