Back in action

Well, maybe not so back in action actually- being in the catering and special event industry in Phoenix means Fall is where the money is.  So I'm working more than brewing these days.  I even had a week stretch where there was only ONE carboy on my fermentation cooler!

I didn't brew for 2 weeks straight- SHOCKING!

In the meantime, I did win a couple of medals at a homebrew competition.  It was sponsored by Miller Coors, and they gave out certificates instead of medals.  Really? Couldn't spring for the medals, eh?  Well, it WAS free to enter and a BJCP certified comp, so... that's cool.

Honestly, I just want Best of Show from now on.  I don't even really care about medals any more.

What a jerk ;)

So anyways- Jeremy came over and brewed ALL BY HIMSELF on my system on Saturday.  Jeremy has brewed (and made cider, mead, and kombucha, along with sauerkraut  for a while, but he's cobbling his all-grain system together and he NEEDED to brew on Saturday for the Christmas Collboration.

I was in the process of completely gutting my garage and making a nicer area for everyone in the family (brewery included)

It was so cool to see how a basis in brewing theory can translate to any system.  I answered suprisingly few questions about the system's processes- I think because Jeremy is an experienced brewer and avid learner, and because the system is so straightforward and gravity fed.

Also because Jeremy was not afraid to "make a mistake". To many homebrewers make things much more difficult by worrying about making a mistake, that they don't do anything.  Jeremy knows that even if the mash goes too long, or the sparge is off by 10 degrees, or there is too much wort at the end of the boil, as long as you record what you did, you can learn from each batch and in the end, you will still end up with good beer!

Garage pictures will be available eventually. Most likely :)