Tasty Tuesday!

Beer!
   
     I've mentioned before that even though this blog is called "A Beer with Brad" there is very little beer talk. I've had a few beer posts here and there but it was never the main subject. When I started the blog I was trying to think of a name and I may have been drinking a beer at the time so I settled on the current title with no intention of making this a blog about beer or about anything in particular really.

     I'm a beer fanatic at heart and have been for quite a while. In the past I was surrounded by other like minded individuals who loved visiting breweries, festivals, talking beer, and collecting those hard to find bottles. I stay in contact with those people but I haven't found a similar group in Baltimore and with all the graduate student duties I may not have the time anyway.

     But, in the meantime, I wanted to include my weekend beer brewing adventure as this week's Tasty Tuesday blog post. I've been brewing my own beer for a few years now and lately I've used it as a tool to get others interested in brewing and craft brews in general. This post will be a little different than most Tasty Tuesday posts. I'm not going to include a recipe but I will instead tell you where to go if you are interested in brewing your own. It's a hobby I really enjoy and I know you will too!

     I always buy my ingredients and recipe kits from Northern Brewer but there are so many great sites and businesses out there. I like the selection and prices at Northern Brewer but I've used other companies as well. Brewing takes an initial investment of brewing equipment (which you can also find at Northern Brewer) but it more than pays for itself. You can easily make 50 bottles of beer for about 0.30 to 0.50 cents a bottle. Not too bad. Got any beer brewing stories? What's your favorite beers?

     This weekend I brewed an American Pale Ale. I'm guessing it will be similar to a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale with a similar amount of hops. Summer is coming fast so I wanted a light beer that could be enjoyed in the hot weather. The brewing process is simple enough but it takes time. This beer will take about 6 weeks before it is ready to drink but other recipes could require much longer times. The beer is currently in the primary fermenter and will remain there for the rest of the week. I'll keep you posted on the progress. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from this weekend.

I always recommend bringing friends over to help

Keep stirring the malt!

The beer is in the primary fermenter...we'll see how it turns out!

Take care of yourself and each other...