Backyard Brewing Association: The 2010 Season
After brewing most of 2009, it is hard to believe it has been 3 months since we brewed. With 10 inches of snow on the ground, it was the joint feeling of everyone involved that nothing would screw up our day.
Obviously this brew session was more garage than backyard. In the end, the weather proved to more of an annoyance than a hindrance. Even though I planned ahead by thawing out all of the garden hoses, I still managed to blow an outside faucet. Whoops. I think I'll fix it when it gets warmer outside.
We were excited that Brian made the homebrew leap and chose this weekend for his maiden brew. Nothing brings a tear to my eye more than watching someone assemble their propane burner and brew supplies for the first time. Well, maybe Eric brings a tear to my eye after he eats a bunch of chicken wings all day, but that's a different story.
Today marked some pretty ambitious brews too. Drew worked on his massive barley wine, while Dave and I both brewed Double IPAs. When mine is done, it will have used about a pound of hops. I can't wait.
The brewing went really well. The cold temperature coupled with the hot boils provided an erie ambiance as steam rolled throughout the garage. The only thing missing were our monk robes and a cave.
I had some auxiliary propane heat running and thanks to Eric, had a CO detector nearby too. I believe it was Mike who said if he showed up and found us all dead, he was going to pretend he didn't know any of us.
On the food side of things, the weather threw a small wrench into my plans. I could not afford to babysit the brisket on the kettle, so I opted for the...ahem, Summit. Yes, I know the purists will hang me for this, but I had to do it, or we would have never eaten. Fortunately, it turned out quite good. Not as good as the kettle, but still tasty after a long day of brewing.
Mike fulfilled his roll as lead fryer whipping us up an onion loaf and chicken wings. I know of no better brew day meal. Between having a successful brew, enjoying great homebrew, and gorging on brisket and wings, there is no better way to spend a cold February day. Although by the end of the night, a warm weather brew day did begin to sound appealing.
