The Story So Far...

For X-Mas 2010, my wife gave me a Mr. Beer home brewery kit. That was her first mistake.

On January 6, 2011, I brewed my first beer. I brewed my first beer. It was a Classic American Blonde recipe, and it took about 30 minutes, start to finish. It was a weak, 3.7% ABV, overcarbonated, cidery mess, and I loved it.

Craving more, I brewed up Mr. Beer's Cowboy Honey Wheat recipe on February 5. This (relatively) beefy beer clocked in at 5.8% ABV. It had some fans, but tasted too much like honey for my taste. It sure did get you drunk, though.

Looking for something of higher quality, I picked up several Mr. Beer premium kits via a 4-for-3 promotion on Amazon: Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout, American Devil IPA, Pilothouse Pilsner and Witty Monk Witbier. I also decided to do away with the garbage Mr. Beer mystery yeast and see what I could do to pump up these recipes. The Mr. Beer forums in particular were invaluable for learning new brewing techniques.

I brewed up the Sticky Wicket with espresso and half a pound of Crystal 15 malt and the Fermentis S-04 English Ale Yeast on February 24. It was tart and chocolate-y and rich, and gets better every day it sits in the bottle.

I brewed up the American Devil IPA with some extra DME, booster, Crystal 15 malt and Fermentis US-05. It turned out to be a rich, caramel-y and bitter treat, thicker and milder than a typical West Coast IPA. It was delicious, and is nearly gone.

The Pilothouse Pilsner and Witty Monk were brewed up nearly the same way, with just a bit of CaraPils, DME and booster. The Pilothouse was made with Danstar Nottingham yeast and the Witty Monk was made with Fermentis T-58. They're still aging, so I can't comment on them.

This is about when I outgrew Mr. Beer.