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I had been doing 5-liter batches from when I started to homebrew early last year. Not so long ago after Louis and I’s move into a bigger apartment with gas burners (the simple things in life), I decided to bump it up to 20-liter batches. I’ve still got my 5-liter carboy so I can do small batches whenever (clonebrews, here I come), but I wanted to get used to a more classic quantity referenced in books I have. I’m pretty thrilled to say that said, I’m learning from every single batch: best practices, figuring out what when wrong in my brewing process, why for example this batch photographed above was so damn bitter. It’s quite exciting to understand what is actually happening during the brewing process… I was always horrible at science when in High School, and chemistry god forbid… I was nulle. Anyways.

I have some new goals this year now, one of which being to disconnect from work when I’m home, which is directly linked to the fact that I want to take advantage of hobbies where I’m not glued to my phone. Ha! Things like riding my bike to work, homebrewing… giving my eyes a break from screens. I want to take advantage of the long summer days. I plan to brew 2 times per month. One recipe. A Pale Ale. Until I get it the way I want it to be. Let the games begin. To my Paris friends reading, your tasting expertise will be very much appreciated.

HOMEBREW DELIGHT

The first month of summer is flying by and I haven’t even had a moment to share a few shots from my first batch of homebrew a couple of months ago. My bad. As you can see, it actually looked like beer! I was quite pleased, as I had no idea what to expect from my first batch.

My first ever batch was a blanche beer, which when first tasted, obviously needed some improvement (to say it was a bit sour is an understatement). My second homebrew batch, a Bière d’Abbaye proved to be a clear improvement as it was quite tasty, and I had corrected mistakes made with the batch numero uno…

For now brewing my own beer seems to be a little break from the computer screen, which has been doing me some good. Stay tuned for more brew stories here on the blog.

5-LITER HOMEBREW #1

I’ve started a new hobby: homebrewing.

If you’ve been following my blog for a little while you probably know I grew up in a beer loving state, and in a family that just loves beer. If you know me at all you know that with work and keeping this blog up, most of what I do involves a computer screen. I knew it was time to start brewing when I needed something to do that was off a computer screen. Sounds silly, but it’s true! After fantasizing about learning to make my own beer – in a city where homebrew stores down the street don’t exist – I made the order for my own little 5-liter carboy and brew kit. I am finding it really exciting to learn how to make something I really enjoy/am kind of obsessed with.

In the states there is a thing called “Gallon Brewing”, so I feel like 5-liter brewing must be a similar in that it’s about brewing in smaller batches, which in return makes it quicker to brew and wonderful for small spaces (getting 5 gallons or more of water to boil and change temperatures on a hotplate and then cool it down when one doesn’t have a bathtub in her little Parisian apartment? ….No thank you). Maybe someday. An awesome women who does 1 gallon brewing, just sayin’.

Making beer really isn’t complicated, but you’ve just got to get the gist of the brewing process before getting too creative. I am anxious to get the main recipes down successfully to then be able to explore with random flavors a bit. My first batch of homebrew that is pictured above is a blanche (witbier) which is bottled up and just about ready to enjoy. Yes, I left the hops in their while it fermented. Why not. I love me some hoppy beer.

Stay tuned here on the blog for more stories about homebrewing in Paris. This is the beginning of a beautiful adventure.