Since we last met, or since I last blogged ( That sounds weird) many things have happened. My beautiful daughter is eating homemade baby food and I am making home brewed beer. While I love the whole process of making baby food and watching her eat it and cover herself with it, my wife has extensively covered every nook and cranny of the process. Therefore, if you wish to learn more about that, visit my wife's blog. However, if you wish to hear of my experience brewing my first batch of beer, stay tuned here.As a believer who enjoys alcohol in moderation with a clear conscience, I have begun to brew my own beer.
I've not always thought this way. I was raised with mindset that alcohol was 'bad' and that nothing good comes from it. I actually thought that it was a sin to drink. My parents decided to raise us six boys with that mentality, and who can blame them? However, there was not a time when I was taught that drinking was permissible. Upon going to college I had the opportunity to go to on a trip to Europe with my mother, my brother and his fiance, and some of my friends from high school. Up until that point, my biggest reason for not trying any alcohol was because it was illegal. As good a reason as any, I suppose. But in Europe, I was no longer on United States soil, and therefore I was not bound by US laws; since the drinking age was 16 in most of the countries that we visited, I felt freed to taste test.
My first beer was a 'wietbier' from Germany, and it tasted nothing at all like I expected. I now know that this was most likely from the fact that here in the good ol' US of A, most people drink cheap beer like Budweiser or Miller. This wietbier tasted more like a light cider that was carbonated but not as much as typical soda. I tried various kinds of beer while I was on my trip and, in moderation, enjoyed almost all of them.
When I came back home I observed the law and waited until I was of age to drink and then I tried a couple. I found out that having my first beer in Germany, where beer was practically invented, may not have been the best choice, as everything else was sub-par.So, I was perusing the series of tubes connecting everyone, some call it the internet, and my interest in the beer making process led me to find home brewing kits. These kits can range in price, depending on what you want with the cheapest one costing around sixty dollars. I figured it would be fun and interesting to make my very own beer. While there is the initial cost of the kit, I could make around fifty-five bottles of beer for thirty dollars. And this is good quality beer. If I bought this much beer it would cost over one-hundred dollars at the very least. So in time, this would turn out to be the cheapest route too.
Well, I started out this post wanting to write about my first beer brewing experience, but it is already rather long winded so I will say adieu and call it quits for now. My next post, whenever that may be, will be on brewing my first batch of beer.
Grace and peace.
