Brew Party - Introducing New People to Making Handmade Beer
by Jim Vondracek on 09/11/11
On Saturday afternoon, our friends Paulina, Mike, Virginia, Dane and Nichole came over to brew an American Amber Ale. They brought their kids, who ran around our large backyard area and played pool in our basement. The kids really enjoyed their time. They are all pictured here, except for Faith, the youngest, who was too shy to have her picture taken at the time. The adults pictured are Dane and Virginia.
I gave everyone an overview of what we were going to do. Then we tasted the five kinds of organic malt we were using: Two-Row, Munich, Wheat, Caramel 20L, and Caramel 60L. Then onto grinding and mashing.
Virginia, Nichole and Paulina all brought knitting! Virginia brought some oven-potatoes and apple pie, and Paulina shared some banana bread she had baked. Here is a picture of Paulina knitting, next to the brew kettle, while Nancy (my spouse) visits with Mike (Paulina's spouse).
We did some tasting, too, starting with Sparkling Cider, then an English Mild, an English Pale Ale, an American IPA, a Cream Stout, and finally a Raspberry Mead. We talked a little about each style, focusing on aroma, flavor and a little history.
The Amber is fermenting away in the basement, at 62 degrees. I'll post the recipe and other info in The Beers section later.
This was a follow-up to a gathering a few weeks ago, when Paulina hosted all of us over at their home for a day of jam making and canning, which was new to me.
