When I first tried beer (at around the age of 16) I didn't really care for it. A big reason was that my first beers were all terrible American lagers. I thought that the beer with the least taste was the best. 
This all changed about 7 years ago when I tried my first microbrews. Following a move to Portland, OR I started to fall in love with beer - so much so I decided to go back to school to get a B.S. in fermentation science which I started working towards this summer.
My previous apartments in Portland, OR were pretty small and didn't have any temperature control and usually had water radiators. I had tried brewing with Mr. Beer Kits but the taste wasn't great and living in Portland there were so many better options. Since I had to move for school I was finally able to get a good apartment to brew in. This fall when things cooled off I decided to start homebrewing again. I've made quite a few batches in that short amount of time. With my modest equipment I do partial boil extract batches that are around 2.5 gallons each. Each batch I make seems to turn out a little better and the last few batches seemed to turn out pretty well.
Fast forward to New Years day. My wife and I were visiting our neighbors (another young couple) that lived across the hall whom we became good friends with. I saved a single beer from each of my previous few batches for them and brought them with me when we went to visit. Our old apartment building was very close to Belmont Station (a bottle shop / bar considered one of the best in the US) and our friends became regulars there. So much so that they were invited to a private "bring your own bottles" event. Since we were visiting they invited my wife and I to join them. Some of the best bottles of beer I have ever seen were there. Multiple vintage bottles of Cantillion beers dating back to 2007, Duck Rabbit Anarchy, bottles that I really just couldn't believe I was seeing. Everyone brought the best of their best. My friends brought 4 amazing bottles and also 2 of my home brews that I brought up.
When I saw the quality of the lineup I was honestly a little embarrassed that my home brews were going to be in there. Bottle after bottle was opened and placed at the bar for anyone to get a sample of. I sampled some of the best beers I've ever tried in my life. After a few hours had passed my home brews were pulled out of the fridge and cracked open. To my surprise everyone thought my beers tasted awesome! Everyone there was a beer enthusiast, some were even professional brewers from around Portland. I was blown away that people had such great things to say about my beers.
It was my first major triumph as a home brewer and really made me proud of what I had made. I have tried to put a lot of love into my beers and it finally felt like it had really paid off.
So that's my New Years Homebrew story. Hope everyone else had a good New Years too!
Cheers
This all changed about 7 years ago when I tried my first microbrews. Following a move to Portland, OR I started to fall in love with beer - so much so I decided to go back to school to get a B.S. in fermentation science which I started working towards this summer.My previous apartments in Portland, OR were pretty small and didn't have any temperature control and usually had water radiators. I had tried brewing with Mr. Beer Kits but the taste wasn't great and living in Portland there were so many better options. Since I had to move for school I was finally able to get a good apartment to brew in. This fall when things cooled off I decided to start homebrewing again. I've made quite a few batches in that short amount of time. With my modest equipment I do partial boil extract batches that are around 2.5 gallons each. Each batch I make seems to turn out a little better and the last few batches seemed to turn out pretty well.
Fast forward to New Years day. My wife and I were visiting our neighbors (another young couple) that lived across the hall whom we became good friends with. I saved a single beer from each of my previous few batches for them and brought them with me when we went to visit. Our old apartment building was very close to Belmont Station (a bottle shop / bar considered one of the best in the US) and our friends became regulars there. So much so that they were invited to a private "bring your own bottles" event. Since we were visiting they invited my wife and I to join them. Some of the best bottles of beer I have ever seen were there. Multiple vintage bottles of Cantillion beers dating back to 2007, Duck Rabbit Anarchy, bottles that I really just couldn't believe I was seeing. Everyone brought the best of their best. My friends brought 4 amazing bottles and also 2 of my home brews that I brought up.
When I saw the quality of the lineup I was honestly a little embarrassed that my home brews were going to be in there. Bottle after bottle was opened and placed at the bar for anyone to get a sample of. I sampled some of the best beers I've ever tried in my life. After a few hours had passed my home brews were pulled out of the fridge and cracked open. To my surprise everyone thought my beers tasted awesome! Everyone there was a beer enthusiast, some were even professional brewers from around Portland. I was blown away that people had such great things to say about my beers.
It was my first major triumph as a home brewer and really made me proud of what I had made. I have tried to put a lot of love into my beers and it finally felt like it had really paid off.
So that's my New Years Homebrew story. Hope everyone else had a good New Years too!
Cheers
