Brewing at Home

Ever since visiting the Sam Adams Brewery a month ago, Devin and I have wanted to brew our own beer.
Yah, Home-Brew!
Well, this would be my first time in doing so, and I was a bit nervous.
I bought a few books to catch myself up to my beer partner who has been brewing since his college days.

Charlie Papazian's, "Joy of Home Brewing" is pretty much recommended by every single person I spoke to about home brewing.
This book took me from start to finish in a day and gave me the confidence to attempt this noble cause.
The other is Michael Jackson's, "Beer". More of a reference point to what experts consider a great beer.

So once we were determined to brew our own beer, we got in my car and sought to buy our goods the following week
We officially kicked off the 5 week project last Wednesday.

Ingredients and Equipment:
Malt (extracts)
Hops
Yeast
Glass Carboy
Stock Pot - to cook the wort
Thermometer
Tube/Hose





















We decided to try our luck with an Imperial Stout style of beer.
I happened to have premium Belgium Chocolate and Tahitian Vanilla Bean pods at home so we played around with a recipe to make a dark imperial stout with a dark brown head, and chocolate and vanilla finish.

Here is what we ambitiously aim to achieve:
Estimated Alcohol by Volume (ABV) - 7.4%
Estimated Color - 47 SRM
Bitterness - 72 IBU
Bright Malts and Citric Hops through initial sip, with slight Chocolate and Vanilla undertones with a smooth coating finish.
Keywords we are looking for : Alive, Smooth, Rich, Full, Hoppy, Smooth Malts, Coats Mouth, Noble, Medium Complexity.

Man, is this exciting. Only time will tell...





















here are just some pictures we took while brewing the beer.
stay tuned... there's more to follow.....