Ten Years In

[JimRausch]

It all started with a homebrew kit on Christmas 2011. I believe my wife kind of regrets that gift.
Yesterday brewed Batch 185, so decided to look at a few statistics:
First batch was a Truebrew extract 'Mocktoberfest'. Moved on to real lagers later that year and have done a total of 10 Marzens
1 Winter Spice (not a real fan of the style)
2 Ginger beers (also not a big fan)
12 Irish Reds
10 IPAs of various types- some RyeIPA, some NEIPA, 1 Cascadian Dark
8 Stouts
3 Cream ales
7 Browns
16 Altbier/StickeAltbiers- yeah, probably my favorite. And an Alt was my first competition win.
11 Porters
4 Bitters/Milds
14 American Wheats- usually add fruit to the base
9 Pale Ales
3 Scottish Wee Heavies
8 Grafs. Usually use an altbier as the base
10 Vienna Lagers
1 Belgian Triple
3 Americam Ambers
9 Bocks/Dopplebocks
2 Pilsners
2 Kolsches
2 Barleywines
3 Kvass
2 Braggots
7 Ciders
9 fruit wines of various sorts
17 Meads

 

[3 Dawg Night]

When you started out, did you expect to become a mead guy?

 

[mashpaddled]

I hit ten years of brewing in 2019 which still seems crazy to say. I'd be curious how my beers would break out over styles but I'm pretty sure the top options would be sour beer, saison and Belgian blond. I am all over the map with styles--especially early on.

My first brew was a True Brew Belgian blonde extract kit. I bought the recipe kit and the usual bucket starter kit, then rolled down the street and bought a large tamale steamer as a kettle. I still have the kettle which is rarely used but the bucket and bottle capper are still in circulation in my brewery. I was so excited to brew that first batch that I started brewing at like midnight after being out all day celebrating my then girlfriend/now wife's birthday. She fell asleep and I finished at like three in the morning. Every so often I brew a Belgian blonde in honor of my original brew.

As much as I enjoy the knowledge and quality of beer after a decade of brewing I also miss that insatiable excitement of learning and brewing at every opportunity of those early days. I remember trying to brew every weekend and reading every scrap of brewing knowledge over and over.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I hit ten years of brewing in 2019 which still seems crazy to say. I'd be curious how my beers would break out over styles but I'm pretty sure the top options would be sour beer, saison and Belgian blond. I am all over the map with styles--especially early on.

My first brew was a True Brew Belgian blonde extract kit. I bought the recipe kit and the usual bucket starter kit, then rolled down the street and bought a large tamale steamer as a kettle. I still have the kettle which is rarely used but the bucket and bottle capper are still in circulation in my brewery. I was so excited to brew that first batch that I started brewing at like midnight after being out all day celebrating my then girlfriend/now wife's birthday. She fell asleep and I finished at like three in the morning. Every so often I brew a Belgian blonde in honor of my original brew.

As much as I enjoy the knowledge and quality of beer after a decade of brewing I also miss that insatiable excitement of learning and brewing at every opportunity of those early days. I remember trying to brew every weekend and reading every scrap of brewing knowledge over and over.

I love stories like this.

I've only been brewing for 21 months, but I wish I had started 10 (or 20) years ago. My brewing is a COVID hobby. I had been working from home for a couple of weeks, when my wife, out of nowhere, said: "Have you ever thought about brewing your own beer?" I had a starter kit from Northern Brewer by that weekend.

This weekend, I'm planning to brew my 25th batch, an Irish dry stout to have on hand in time for St. Patrick's Day. I've jumped around quite a bit, but APA and American amber are my two most-brewed styles.

 

[JimRausch]

When you started out, did you expect to become a mead guy?

Nope. To be honest, I don't know why I started with the meads, except it has opened a whole other spectrum of flavors to explore.