Brewer_Bob
Well-Known Member
Hi all, I originally joined this board almost 1 ½ years ago when I was stationed in Cambodia. I havent been posting because I hadnt yet begun homebrewing. But I have been lurking
and learning. Learning a lot, actually.
During this time my beer palate has become much more refined. When I read in my intro post that my favorite beers were Shinerbock and Negra Modelo I chuckle. As far as mass market lagers go they are fine, but they are no longer even close to being my favorites anymore. Not even honorable mentions. It is interesting that at that at the time I wrote that I had never drank a craft brew, let alone a home brew.
Now I have become a hard core craft brew drinker. The evolution began when I stepped outside my comfort zone and purchased a six pack of Guinness Extra Stout when I left Cambodia and moved to DC for language training about a year ago. With that first sip I knew my Shinerbock days were numbered. It was so freaking good! So I decided to start trying more craft beers. The mistake I made was assuming that since I liked the Extra Stout more than the Shinerbock that meant I liked dark colored beers more than light colored beers. So I went crazy with bocks, stouts and porters. One day my brother brought over a bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale and I took just a sip and HATED it. It tasted so bitter to me. This reinforced in my mind that I was a stout liking kind of guy.
Now, for some reason I had in my head that I hated IPAs. Part of it is they tended to be very light colored beers, which I steered clear of. Also I read they were bitter, which didnt sound appetizing to me at all. But for whatever reason, one day while I was having lunch at a local bar & grill I saw a Dogfish Head 60 Min on the menu. I decided to be adventurous and ordered one, just knowing I would hate it. I LOVED it! I realized I had all these unfounded prejudices about which beer styles I would like and which ones I wouldnt.
A little while later I went back to Texas and found out my younger brother had brewed his first batch of home brew beer. It was a bock. He brought some over for me to try. I had really been refining my palate with all sorts of craft brews so I was ready to be all critical. Plus, I had never had home brew and while I was interested in giving it a go I was still a little skeptical on how it would compare to professionally made beer. Plus, it was his first batch, it could have been a disaster.
It was, hands down, the best beer I had ever had up to that point, and I had had some pretty damn good craft beers. I was gobsmacked. This was ambrosia. It then dawned on me the true potential that home brewing had. This was just my brothers first attempt and it was that good. What could be done with a little experience?
I went back to DC with my desire to homebrew renewed. Unfortunately I was living in a little one bedroom apartment with my wife, a four-year-old, and our newborn baby. It was just a temporary place to stay while I finished my Arabic training in preparation for our assignment to Libya. There just wasnt room to homebrew and nowhere safe to place the fermenter where it would be safe from little hands. I would have to wait until we moved into our house in Libya. But I kept trying new craft beers.
One day I decided my palate had changed enough that I would give the old Arrogant Bastard Ale another go. I ordered it on draft at a local bar that had a good selection of craft beers, looked at it, remembered the warning on the bottle you probably wont like it, remembered that the warning was right the last time, and took a sip. It is amazing how a little time, experience and knowledge can actually change your tastes. At this moment, Arrogant Bastard Ale remains my favorite commercial craft beer. It is followed closely by Stone IPA. But there are still plenty I havent tried.
Well, I have now been in Libya for a month and have just ordered everything I need to get started from Austin Home Brew. I purchased the Super Deluxe Home Brewing Kit. I went with an outdoor propane cooker and a 10 gallon pot, because while I plan to start off with extract, I want to leave room to grow into AG. My first batch will be an Arrogant Bastard clone. The kit comes with a secondary fermenter but after reading many discussion here on the subject, I am going to see what happens if I do the whole thing in the primary. I will keep the fermenter in my home office, which has its own air conditioner and can be locked so the kids cant get to it.
So now I just have to wait for the supplies to get here, which will take 2-3 weeks. And then around a month after that, I think, before I am drinking my brew. Such a wait would normally suck, but it does so even more here. Remember, I am in Libya. The sell of alcohol is outlawed.
But dont worry, as I mentioned in my intro thread, I am a diplomat and can drink all the alcohol I want if I can get my hands on it. At the embassy 4th of July party there were three open bars. But alas, the only beer was Bud Light.
Anyway, I am sure I will have plenty of questions. I will try to keep those posts much shorter than this one.
During this time my beer palate has become much more refined. When I read in my intro post that my favorite beers were Shinerbock and Negra Modelo I chuckle. As far as mass market lagers go they are fine, but they are no longer even close to being my favorites anymore. Not even honorable mentions. It is interesting that at that at the time I wrote that I had never drank a craft brew, let alone a home brew.
Now I have become a hard core craft brew drinker. The evolution began when I stepped outside my comfort zone and purchased a six pack of Guinness Extra Stout when I left Cambodia and moved to DC for language training about a year ago. With that first sip I knew my Shinerbock days were numbered. It was so freaking good! So I decided to start trying more craft beers. The mistake I made was assuming that since I liked the Extra Stout more than the Shinerbock that meant I liked dark colored beers more than light colored beers. So I went crazy with bocks, stouts and porters. One day my brother brought over a bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale and I took just a sip and HATED it. It tasted so bitter to me. This reinforced in my mind that I was a stout liking kind of guy.
Now, for some reason I had in my head that I hated IPAs. Part of it is they tended to be very light colored beers, which I steered clear of. Also I read they were bitter, which didnt sound appetizing to me at all. But for whatever reason, one day while I was having lunch at a local bar & grill I saw a Dogfish Head 60 Min on the menu. I decided to be adventurous and ordered one, just knowing I would hate it. I LOVED it! I realized I had all these unfounded prejudices about which beer styles I would like and which ones I wouldnt.
A little while later I went back to Texas and found out my younger brother had brewed his first batch of home brew beer. It was a bock. He brought some over for me to try. I had really been refining my palate with all sorts of craft brews so I was ready to be all critical. Plus, I had never had home brew and while I was interested in giving it a go I was still a little skeptical on how it would compare to professionally made beer. Plus, it was his first batch, it could have been a disaster.
It was, hands down, the best beer I had ever had up to that point, and I had had some pretty damn good craft beers. I was gobsmacked. This was ambrosia. It then dawned on me the true potential that home brewing had. This was just my brothers first attempt and it was that good. What could be done with a little experience?
I went back to DC with my desire to homebrew renewed. Unfortunately I was living in a little one bedroom apartment with my wife, a four-year-old, and our newborn baby. It was just a temporary place to stay while I finished my Arabic training in preparation for our assignment to Libya. There just wasnt room to homebrew and nowhere safe to place the fermenter where it would be safe from little hands. I would have to wait until we moved into our house in Libya. But I kept trying new craft beers.
One day I decided my palate had changed enough that I would give the old Arrogant Bastard Ale another go. I ordered it on draft at a local bar that had a good selection of craft beers, looked at it, remembered the warning on the bottle you probably wont like it, remembered that the warning was right the last time, and took a sip. It is amazing how a little time, experience and knowledge can actually change your tastes. At this moment, Arrogant Bastard Ale remains my favorite commercial craft beer. It is followed closely by Stone IPA. But there are still plenty I havent tried.
Well, I have now been in Libya for a month and have just ordered everything I need to get started from Austin Home Brew. I purchased the Super Deluxe Home Brewing Kit. I went with an outdoor propane cooker and a 10 gallon pot, because while I plan to start off with extract, I want to leave room to grow into AG. My first batch will be an Arrogant Bastard clone. The kit comes with a secondary fermenter but after reading many discussion here on the subject, I am going to see what happens if I do the whole thing in the primary. I will keep the fermenter in my home office, which has its own air conditioner and can be locked so the kids cant get to it.
So now I just have to wait for the supplies to get here, which will take 2-3 weeks. And then around a month after that, I think, before I am drinking my brew. Such a wait would normally suck, but it does so even more here. Remember, I am in Libya. The sell of alcohol is outlawed.
But dont worry, as I mentioned in my intro thread, I am a diplomat and can drink all the alcohol I want if I can get my hands on it. At the embassy 4th of July party there were three open bars. But alas, the only beer was Bud Light.
Anyway, I am sure I will have plenty of questions. I will try to keep those posts much shorter than this one.
