Yesterday I took a half day off at work (personal emergency...right).
I came home and spent the afternoon brewing my first AG. A beautiful Kolsch. My wife was happy that the kitchen didn't smell like brew / hops. I was happy that she was happy. I loved sitting in my garage on a Friday at 4:30 - 6:00 watching all the neighbors drive home, wondering what the heck I'm doing with this big boiling pot...a copper coil...flex tubing...a scale and all the other items that look like a cross between an herb sale and a meth lab.
My Kolsch is churning in the basement as we speak and other than a ton of cold-break trub, it couldn't have gone better.
Even better news, I have 12lbs of grist downstairs to do a Porter. I just need to find 4-6 free hours...and 4 oz of lactose (having been told this will lend a nice sweet tone).
Life is good.