If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that my husband is a homebrewer who is rather prolific - and, I think, AMAZING! He began brewing in January of this year and has only had one batch of beer which didn't turn out. Those are some good odds. To be quite honest, I'd rather drink his beer than most of which I can buy at the store...but I'm biased. I am his brewing assistant, which means I keep him company, hold hoses, problem solve when things go awry, and - my favorite task - taste test!
We decided to try our hand at a holiday ale to gift to our friends this year, and it became a somewhat collaborative effort: Tyler developed the recipe, and I helped figure out the best way to infuse cherries based on what we had available to us at the time (i.e., the recipe called for dried cherries, which we couldn't seem to locate in our neck of the woods, so I suggested we try using frozen cherries). I dubbed the beer "Jolly Boots of Doom" in homage to Invader Zim's Most Horrible Xmas Ever (the song from which our beer derives its name is embedded below).
While Tyler tends to the bigger details (you know, actually brewing the beer and whatnot), I am able to pay attention to the finer details. For example, when we were at the local brewing supply store, I suggested we get red bottle caps, and I also printed these special labels for our brew:
We managed to save a few bottles for ourselves to drink over the holidays and will be brewing another batch soon since it turned out so well. Cheers!
We decided to try our hand at a holiday ale to gift to our friends this year, and it became a somewhat collaborative effort: Tyler developed the recipe, and I helped figure out the best way to infuse cherries based on what we had available to us at the time (i.e., the recipe called for dried cherries, which we couldn't seem to locate in our neck of the woods, so I suggested we try using frozen cherries). I dubbed the beer "Jolly Boots of Doom" in homage to Invader Zim's Most Horrible Xmas Ever (the song from which our beer derives its name is embedded below).
While Tyler tends to the bigger details (you know, actually brewing the beer and whatnot), I am able to pay attention to the finer details. For example, when we were at the local brewing supply store, I suggested we get red bottle caps, and I also printed these special labels for our brew:
We managed to save a few bottles for ourselves to drink over the holidays and will be brewing another batch soon since it turned out so well. Cheers!
I think I might look into home brewing as a Christmas present for my hubs next year.
ReplyDeleteThere are some really awesome starter kits you can order from Northern Brewer, which is fast becoming one of our favorite sources for homebrew gear and ingredients. It's a lot like knitting - an expensive hobby, but one that is very enjoyable from start to finish!
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