Rob: The Brewmaster

At first, I was not sure what to think of the whole process of brewing, bottling and drinking homemade beer. It seemed more like a laboratory experiment, one that required a degree in chemistry, which neither he nor I possessed. When I thought of bottling beer I had envisioned my Grandmother canning everything from peaches to pickled asparagus. Suffice to say the process of brewing beer was not what I had expected. I remember clearly his first batch….FIVE gallons....if it was going to go wrong… it was going to go wrong on a large scale. We both read and reread the instructional sheet several times….. he read it while doing it; I reread it to him just for verification. I was a stickler that we follow the instructions… Exactamente! I knew that Rob would be partaking but it was also likely he’d be sharing this beverage…and I had fears of bacteria…really I was thinking listeria, salmonella or something just as bad. From start to finish, or drink…however you look at it… this took WEEKS. I personally need more instant gratification… like eating the cookie dough before the cookies are done. (Which apparently is more risky then getting sick from a homebrewed beer) At the end of almost a month’s time…Rob was ready to sample his beverage made from malt, sugar, hops, and water and fermented with yeast. Almost disappointed he said “it’s not the best beer I’ve ever had.” Then, he grabbed his gut and bent over like he was in pain…my first thought was he was going to be sick...Laughing at me, he straightened up and informed me the beer really was good. A success! Rob has really fine tuned the art of home brewing. First, he sanitizes everything with a special product, then he inspects everything, crushes his grains and boils them in a muslin bag to 155 degrees for 30 minutes, after adding malt and hops and boiling for 60 minutes he cools the wort [pronounced “WERT” why not just spell it wert then…] to below 80 degrees before adding the yeast. After this, and its really more technical then I am making it sound… he puts it in the primary fermenter for about a week, then into a glass carboy for two weeks. At bottling time, he heats water and corn sugar then adds it to the bottling bucket. When all this is done he fills the bottles using a bottle filler. The bottled beer is stored in dark place for 2 to 4 weeks (not on a cool basement floor in the winter). He swirls the bottles every week because that’s what you’re suppose to do… I think it’s just for good measure. Then, the beer is done, ready for drinking and/or sharing. I know Rob must be getting pretty accomplished at brewing because everyone really seems to like his beer. I am not sure, as I don’t prefer beer…but I have had a batch named after me…”Broken Leg Ale” the batch you see in the pictures above have been coined “Kyler’s Krawlin Red.” Nary a soul has gotten sick off Rob’s beer…that is unless they had too much of it and my friends I am not taking responsibility for illness due to excessive consumption. There is rumor on the street that Rob will be bottling beer on a much grander scale someday…but for now, this, along with Notre Dame Football and the New York Yankees remain his only bad habits... I mean hobbies.