DrankTank : The Beverage Blog

On Jan 5, 2006 I posted this post on my pre-dranktank blog.  That was my first batch of homebrew.

What a great year of beer making it has been.

For some reason, I decided to keep 2 bottles of that first batch.  They have been sitting on my bookshelf at room temperature since January.  Last night I cracked one open, expecting the worst (assuming I have gotten better at brewing).  WRONG.  It was clear, smooth, and altogether a wonderful wheat beer.  Sure it was from my pre-kegging, extract kit days, but I’m here to tell you, ANYBODY can make great beer the very first time if I can.

Maybe I should take this as a lesson in patience.  Beer does get better with time if it is brewed right.  I expect January to be a big brew month… maybe I can get a little ahead of my drinking and actually have some aged beers in mid-late 2007.

Last week was the slowest week for DrankTank posts since it’s birth. I have no excuse or explanation other than I was too hung over from the TIKI PARTY. But there were plenty of potable treats that made appearances at the TIKI PARTY that should at least be mentioned.

There were 3 beers on tap at the “SHULARBRAU TIKI BAR”

First, and most popular was the Wheaty Hawaii. A simple Wheat Ale with just a touch of banana flavor (no intentional banana flavor, but sometimes you get that with wheat beers… totally appropriate for a TIKI PARTY).

Second, and certainly the most elaborate and hearty beer, was the “Irish Red” guest brew from Rusty Cutlass brewery in High Point. It’s nice to have a friend who shows up at your party not with a 24 pack of Miller Light, but with his own keg of homebrew.

Finally, there was the “ShularBrau Red Ukulele” which didn’t get it’s fair share of tap-time, and I realized AFTER the party is a really excellent batch of brew. Not a bad thing at all to have 4 gallons of this left over for personal use.

In addition to the bottomless kegerator of beer, there was the sarsaparilla for the kids, flaming buttery nipple shots, the infamous aquarium drink:

And of course, this doesn’t even touch the surface of all the mixed drinks produced in the blender. Pina Colada’s drank from hollowed out pineapples, frozen buckets of tequila lemonade and margaritas, the very popular “rum slush” that got gone before sundown, and I saw somebody drinking the classic Rum & Coke.

Good Party. Good Drinks.

I purchaced a $20, 24 pack “SUMMER BEER” variety pack of Sam Adams that included Sam Adams, Sam Adams Light,  Summer Ale, Cherry Wheat, Hefweizen, and Pale Ale.  I got it from COSTCO.

Never in my long beer drinking life have I had a commercial beer that was actually NASTY!!!  But the first Sam Adam’s Cherry Wheat I opened was actually infected.  Now, in the homebrew world of beer, “infected” beer isn’t all that uncommon.  It simply means that you didn’t complety sanitize something that came into contact with the beer.   Infected beer dosn’t hurt you, but it tastes like a skunk farted into your beer.  And the CHERRY WHEAT in this mixed box was totally infected!! Holy crap… you would think that SAM ADAMS, which is probably my favorite “commercial” brewery, would have the quality control to catch this, but I swear, I have drank 3 of the 4 CHERRY WHEATS that came in this box and everyone of them were totally nasty and infected.

When I sober up, I plan on calling or Emailing Sam Adams and informing them of the bad batch.   Maybe they’ll send me a free 6-pack, maybe they’ll tell me it’s impossible that there beer is infected.  Either way, you read it here… Sam Adam’s brewery does let beer out of their factory that is totally infected, nasty, and even I brew better beer!

I popped the top on my first homebrew beer about 2 weeks ago. It’s a hobby I’ve been wanting to try for the past few years and have always made excuses for one reason or another. I was given all the equipment for Christmas ‘05.  Considering that, my excellent “aging garage” and a newly renovated kitchen… there really were no more excuses.

First brew: Light American-Style Wheat Ale. I purchased a True Brew ingredient kit from Triad Homebrew Supply in Greensboro (whose website sucks right now, but whose store and staff are wonderful). After cooking a bunch of ingredients (barley & hops) I did a 1-step fermentation (photo). About 10 days later, add some priming sugar and put it into bottles. 4 weeks later, I was drinking. 50 bottles.  Surprisingly Easy and, to my delight, surprisingly good. I’ve proudly given away most of the first batch with many compliments, no complaints, and only a couple of no-responses (jerks).

After just one batch, I’ve been converted.  Homebrew is cheap, fun, and good.  And I know my friends and coworkers are glad I have chosen this as a hobby.  As for the beverage blog, the jury is still out.