My Own Beer

I've been looking into brewing my own beer for almost a year now, and after digging through craigs list for a while, I pulled the trigger on some equipment last week. Three days later (this weekend) I brewed my first batch--an IPA. I made about 5 gallons of it, which will give over two and a half cases of beer, roughly. I won't know how it turns out for another 3-5 weeks, so we'll see, but I can say it tasted pretty delicious before going into the carboy to ferment.

Anyway I'm like a little kid with this stuff already. I've already made my own recipe for a brown ale that I plan on getting going this weekend before I head to the beach. I've also been cruising the online forums to learn more about the process. These people in the brewing community are like mad scientists, talking about measurements and percentages and chemical reactions. Another funny aspect of it all is that if you go to google videos and look for some how-to vids, you'll notice that about 80% of the guys in the videos look like the type you wouldn't allow within 100 feet of your kids on the playground.

Anyway I plan on getting another few gallons racked away to do their thing over the next few weeks while I'm on the coast with some good friends and the Jackson dog.