A Baptism of Beer

Over the last few years I’ve done a couple of home brews. It’s a lot of standing around and waiting and at the end you’ll only get about four litres. But, like cooking or baking, it’s a welcome distraction and a good way to spend an afternoon with friends.

This was the the first time in our new home. Our friends Benedikt, Claas and Kristin came round, with Bene being both sommelier and assistant. So there was plenty to talk about while the beer did it thing.

Everybody brought some beer and nibbles with them, including some beer from Claas’ brother. It was also the first time I’ve ever drunk any barley wine, which I quite enjoyed, erasing memories of the slightly treacly Harvest Gold.

For those who are interested there is plenty of practical chemistry in how the starch is converted automatically into sugar by the enymes present in the barley.

Otherwise it’s just a question of following the instructions! You’ll need really big pans and sieves and thermometers, I normally use a sugar thermometer in the pan and a digital one for spot checks. The induction hob made it easy to maintain the right temperature  and is, of course, easy to clean.

The yeast will hopefully do its work over the next week and then it’s time to bottle the beer and plan the tasting party! In fact, it will actually time to go wassailing!

Cheers! 🍻