Spreading the Craft Brew Love

Even the hardest days of brewing are still better than any day at the office. Like most hobbies, we seem to be willing to work longer, perform menial laborious tasks, and put up with conditions that we wouldn't normally be willing to endure. Brewing is no different. Summertime brewing in Florida is hot, scrubbing labels and bottles is monotonous, and cleaning the gunk out of carboys and kettles is about like cleaning a dirty diaper. The perks are of course sipping on good beer, smelling the beautiful aroma of barley and hops, and enjoying the satisfaction of a successful brew.


This past Saturday, the OCBC had a long afternoon of bottling 2 batches and brewing a new one. We bottled the Amazingly Apricot and the Brunette Blonde, and we brewed one of the IPAs we are exploring. We were using the Northern Brewer, Dead Ringer Extract Kit with Specialty Grains. It is touted to be a copy of the Bell's Two Hearted, so we will see in 6 weeks how it tastes.

Luckily we had 7 of the 8 club members present to give a hand, so we were able to multitask. We had to clean and sterile the 100+ bottles, rack and bottle, and keep an eye on the kettle to watch for boil over and all the brewing steps. We also had several friends over to experience the brewing process, and hopefully have inspired a few out of town folks to take up brewing. I guess the saying could be

"Give a man a beer and he has one beer, teach him to brew and he'll never be thirsty". 

We shall see if the OCBC will have a few branches sprout up.