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    Wednesday 14 November 2007

    I Don't Brew


    As much as I love drinking beer, talking about beer, reading about beer and writing about beer, one thing I've never done, always citing lack of interest, is brewing beer.

    I'm not sure I've ever had the room to do it in any of my previous homes, but since July of last year I am living in a house where there is doubtless enough room. Having said that I'm not sure my wife would be too happy about the room it would take up let alone the smell and the time this new hobby might take up. So although I really do fancy it now, I don't think it's going to happen.

    However I really feel I'm missing out by not brewing. I've spoke to professional brewers and serious home brewers, as well as having dialogue via this and other blogs with people who brew, and the one thing that strikes me about them all is the undoubted knowledge they have about beer and the brewing process. I also reckon their palates are pretty refined as well which could be due to all the practising they get trying their own products.

    There is a definite science to brewing and I am pretty ignorant of that. I know which beers I like and I know which flavours I like in a beer but I don't necessarily know why I like them or how they get there, but I reckon brewers do.

    So although I trust my love of beer comes out in this blog, I am sure there are inadequacies in my knowledge and my abilities to describe accurately what I am experiencing.

    I think the only way I am going to keep learning is to read others' work, but, and this may be more fun: DRINK MORE BEER.

    3 comments:

    wasted said...

    Check out Jim's Homebrew forum.
    http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php

    Kieran Haslett-Moore said...

    Brewing is abit like the first time you learn to work a mixing desk in a recording studio, , you go home and never hear your records the same again. brewing is similar, you start to taste the componants like hearing the bass, drums and guitars rather than just hearing the tune.

    Anonymous said...

    Kieran -- great analogy. Frankly, almost all of mine and Boak's home brew is foul, but it's been fun, and it has helped us understand what actually goes into making a beer.