greypilgrim76
Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2020
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 3
Hi All,
I started extract brewing in 2008 while I was in grad school getting my PhD in English, and over the course of about a year and a half, I brewed several different batches--bitters, ESB, coffee stout, bourbon barrel ale, dark wheat, and several IPAs. I probably overdid it, but it was a lot of fun. We moved in 2009, and our new house only had an electric stove, so I got away from brewing, and then we moved again in 2014 when I got a job, and my brew equipment ended up in the attic because as a new professor, I was WAY too busy to brew.
About three months ago, for no particular reason other than finally having a spare moment or two, I got all of that equipment out of the attic and cleaned it up. My brew bucket had cracked, my wort chiller had busted, and some DME I forgot about had liquefied, but other than that, everything else was still in good shape. I bought a Big Mouth Bubbler to replace the bucket, got a new chiller, and restocked my consumables, and in November, I brewed my first extract batch in nearly ten years--NB's Brickwarmer Holiday Red. I finally cracked one open a couple of weeks ago, and it turned out really well. Last Sunday, I brewed a batch of NB's Dead Ringer IPA (which I ordered with the Brickwarmer to save shipping costs). I also made a starter with yeast harvested from bottles of Bell's Amber, just to see if it'd work. At first, I wasn't sure it would, so I bought a backup pack of Omega West Coast I, but then the starter took off, and I found myself with an orphaned pack of yeast. So, of course, I had to order ANOTHER kit, and I'm planning to brew NB's White House Honey Porter in a couple of weeks. I think it's fair to say I'm back into homebrewing.
I'm also hoping to switch over to all-grain brewing, maybe by this fall, by getting an Anvil Foundry system. I feel like I've gone about as far as I can with prepackaged extract kits, and because one of my favorite things about homebrewing is the detailed process, I think all-grain will appeal to me. I also like the idea of having a bit more freedom to tailor batch flavors and size.
I also planted some Cascade and Crystal hops in my back yard a couple of years ago, so I'm excited to finally have a use for them!
Anyway, before I start posting questions, I figured I should jump in and say hi. This forum has been super useful as I've gotten back into brewing, and I'm sort of amazed about how much has changed (or at least further developed) since I last brewed ten years ago. (For example, the Big Mouth Bubbler is so much easier to clean than my old Better Bottle fermenters!) I'm excited to be getting back into things, and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I get up to speed!
I started extract brewing in 2008 while I was in grad school getting my PhD in English, and over the course of about a year and a half, I brewed several different batches--bitters, ESB, coffee stout, bourbon barrel ale, dark wheat, and several IPAs. I probably overdid it, but it was a lot of fun. We moved in 2009, and our new house only had an electric stove, so I got away from brewing, and then we moved again in 2014 when I got a job, and my brew equipment ended up in the attic because as a new professor, I was WAY too busy to brew.
About three months ago, for no particular reason other than finally having a spare moment or two, I got all of that equipment out of the attic and cleaned it up. My brew bucket had cracked, my wort chiller had busted, and some DME I forgot about had liquefied, but other than that, everything else was still in good shape. I bought a Big Mouth Bubbler to replace the bucket, got a new chiller, and restocked my consumables, and in November, I brewed my first extract batch in nearly ten years--NB's Brickwarmer Holiday Red. I finally cracked one open a couple of weeks ago, and it turned out really well. Last Sunday, I brewed a batch of NB's Dead Ringer IPA (which I ordered with the Brickwarmer to save shipping costs). I also made a starter with yeast harvested from bottles of Bell's Amber, just to see if it'd work. At first, I wasn't sure it would, so I bought a backup pack of Omega West Coast I, but then the starter took off, and I found myself with an orphaned pack of yeast. So, of course, I had to order ANOTHER kit, and I'm planning to brew NB's White House Honey Porter in a couple of weeks. I think it's fair to say I'm back into homebrewing.
I'm also hoping to switch over to all-grain brewing, maybe by this fall, by getting an Anvil Foundry system. I feel like I've gone about as far as I can with prepackaged extract kits, and because one of my favorite things about homebrewing is the detailed process, I think all-grain will appeal to me. I also like the idea of having a bit more freedom to tailor batch flavors and size.
I also planted some Cascade and Crystal hops in my back yard a couple of years ago, so I'm excited to finally have a use for them!
Anyway, before I start posting questions, I figured I should jump in and say hi. This forum has been super useful as I've gotten back into brewing, and I'm sort of amazed about how much has changed (or at least further developed) since I last brewed ten years ago. (For example, the Big Mouth Bubbler is so much easier to clean than my old Better Bottle fermenters!) I'm excited to be getting back into things, and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I get up to speed!
