Me And The Homebrews: Part 2

Making beer is an ancient and time-honored art; beer provides sustenance for the fast and pleasure for the palette. Me and the Homebrews is a chronicle of a bunch of guys following in the footsteps of the great Abbey Monks and their brews. In their honor, we domestic monks chose a Belgian style Dubbel Ale; this potent brew weighs in at 8% ABV. After acquiring the necessary equipment, it was time to begin.

Brew Day dawned much hotter than normal, much more like July than April. Excitement was in the air; the Homebrews knew this would be an unique experience -- whether delight or disappointment only time would tell. The conditions and quantities called for outside brewing. The heat and an excess of interested bees necessitated a shady spot under a spreading tree.

How firm a foundation: Preparation is the foundation of success. Our foundation required a sheet of plywood, shims, a level, propane tank, and 3 burner propane stove.


Assembling the parts: The 8 gallon seamless Megapot brew kettle was outfitted with a glass faced Blichmann Weldless Brewmometer and ball valve spigot. The threads were lined with teflon tape to ensure a water-tight fit, and the kettle was leak tested.


Measure by measure: The 6 gallon carboy was pre-marked by filling it with ordinary tap water and marking off each gallon on a piece of blue painter's tape. The final product will result in 5 gallons of beer; the primary fermenter carboy is larger to accomodate foaming during the fermentation process among other things. The blue carboy drier stand is used to drain the carboy prior to sanitization.


Cleanliness is next to Godliness: Cleaning equipment is a repetitive, sometimes tiresome, chore that must be done several times for every batch of beer. Yet it is arguably the most important aspect of brewing; without sanitizing, it is impossible to make good beer. One Step contains no chlorine, which can leave a film on glassware and corrode stainless steel. One Step is an excellent oxygen based cleanser. Requires two minutes of contact time, no rinsing required!