It’s been a few weeks now since the last time I actually did any homebrewing. It’s been the longest stretch in quite awhile that I’ve gone without brewing something, but for once I think it’s with a pretty good reason. Any day now we’re expecting the birth of our second child. Since our first came early I figured there might be a good chance the second one could as well. Since it wouldn’t be ideal to be in the middle of a brew when the wife comes downstairs to tell me she’s going in to labor I figured that I would put away the brew stuff until after the birth (and after we get adjusted to two little monsters in the house).
I’ve used the time to inventory my ingredients some (I have far more hops than I thought I did, a problem I enjoy having), took apart and cleaned out all the various parts and pieces of my brew setup, and picked up a few more books about brewing. In fact four of the last five books that I read have to do with brewing. I’m getting inspiration and looking at some new styles to try out in the new year. In the past a lot of my homebrewing has been pretty free-wheeling; waiting until the last moment to come up with a recipe or decide exactly what it is I want to brew. This year is going to be more about planning and perfecting a core of recipes. Of course there’s still going to be experimentation and some off the cuff stuff, but overall I really want to narrow my brewing focus a little.
Fortunately I’m still getting my brewing fix at work. We’ve been brewing about once a week at Rogues Harbor, and it’s nice to smell the aromas of the mash and the boiling wort! However it’s never quite the same as being in my own garage brewing something that is primarily just for me. With luck, by the end of the month I’ll be back on the homebrew path again!
Just a Man with a Mash Paddle 