September 28, 2008

And So It Begins

Yesterday my neighbor Nahum asked me if I'd be interested in going in on a home-brew kit. I'm not sure he even got the full sentence out of his mouth before I'd agreed.

Today we sat in front of a laptop, splitting a bottle of Old Speckled Hen and pricing out a starter kit for first-time brewers. Our initial concept of getting the cheap/small 3-gallon plastic starter was quickly torpedoed by Nahum's friend, an experienced home-brewer, who pointed us toward a 5-gallon glass rig.

Even more important was what he told us next: "You can brew beer in a boot, really, but you have got to have a cool spot with a constant temperature," adding, "preferably somewhere the wives and kids won't bother you for half a day." Since Nahum has already made cheese in a side-room of his basement, that immediately became home base for the two brewing Jews.

The kit is ordered. The spot in the basement is set. Now we wait for delivery. And then it begins.