I was super excited to start my first home brew. I gleefully skipped across the street to Butler Winery- the go-to brewing supply shop in Bloomington and bombarded the lovely and knowledgeable staff with billions of questions. I left with the basic brewing equipment and supplies needed to make a witbier (a German style wheat beer). I assembled all the materials on my table and started reading the instructions.
The more I read the more unsure I became. I realized quickly that it would be a time consuming process and didn't have time to start the brew immediately. The same pattern continued to emerge throughout the rest of the weekend. Finally I got a surge of energy Monday night and went for it!
This turned out to be a terrible decision. I had only calculated the times given in the instruction book and hadn't considered how long the boiling and cooling processes between steps for 2.5 gallons of liquid would take.
Finished around 2am and fell into bed exhausted, but excited that the brewing process was under way. By morning the water in the air lock was bubbling as CO2 released and fermentation was under way!
For an extra aspect of my sustainable brewing project (other than saving bottles, transport, packaging costs etc) I had planned on baking with the spent grains left over from the brewing process. Unfortunately, I was slammed this week and never got around to it and had to thrown the grain out. Maybe complete sustainable brewing was a little too hectic for my first attempt at mastering a new skill.
Goal for the next batch: Start early, plan accordingly, and prepare to bake the spent grains immediately (and to save energy by baking multiple items at the same time.)
The more I read the more unsure I became. I realized quickly that it would be a time consuming process and didn't have time to start the brew immediately. The same pattern continued to emerge throughout the rest of the weekend. Finally I got a surge of energy Monday night and went for it!
This turned out to be a terrible decision. I had only calculated the times given in the instruction book and hadn't considered how long the boiling and cooling processes between steps for 2.5 gallons of liquid would take.
Finished around 2am and fell into bed exhausted, but excited that the brewing process was under way. By morning the water in the air lock was bubbling as CO2 released and fermentation was under way!
For an extra aspect of my sustainable brewing project (other than saving bottles, transport, packaging costs etc) I had planned on baking with the spent grains left over from the brewing process. Unfortunately, I was slammed this week and never got around to it and had to thrown the grain out. Maybe complete sustainable brewing was a little too hectic for my first attempt at mastering a new skill.
Goal for the next batch: Start early, plan accordingly, and prepare to bake the spent grains immediately (and to save energy by baking multiple items at the same time.)
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