Brewing Your Own: Barleycorn's Craft Brew

So a couple of weeks ago, I went with my parents to brew beer on a Saturday morning. I had to wake up at 7, so we could leave by 8 to be there at 9. If it had been anything else, I would have been extremely grumpy, but as we were BREWING OUR OWN FRIGGEN BEER, I was excited. You would have been excited too.

As a birthday present to my dad, my mom had gotten him a gift certificate to Barleycorn's Craft Brew. They have a whole list of beers you can choose to brew (according to their directions) or you can be adventurous and make your own. (However, unless you're experienced with homebrewing, this might not be the direction you'd want to take.) The only drawback is that it is rather expensive. The beers themselves cost around $165 - $210, and the bottling process is another $40, giving this a total of about $250. However, it does make a great gift, and the fact that you can brag about this to your friends later makes up for the dent it puts in your wallet. Well, at least the dent it would put in my wallet if I had to pay for this. But seriously, this place is great. You should try it.

Anyway. Onwards.

For a while, my dad was stuck between choosing an IPA or a stout that incorporated 2 lbs of Belgian chocolate. I was all for the chocolate, but since you get six cases, that seemed like a lot for a rather heavy beer. So we made the IPA, called "Lupulin Lu." We all had an inordinate amount of fun saying it.

So 9 AM on a Saturday morning, I found myself waiting outside Barleycorn's with my parents and two of their friends. When the doors finally opened, I walked into a place that wasn't exactly shiny and new, but what it lacked in dazzle it more than made up for in knowledge. These guys know their shit. They know how to make beer, and they know why it's made that way, and what each of the different ingredients does for the beer.

The first part actually reminded me a bit of science class. We had to measure out the malts on a little scale, and then mix them all together in a big bin, and then pour them through the grinder. The grinder was by far the best part. You pour the grains through and turn a giant handle. Because I have no upper body strength, the grinder defeated me.

Then we put the grains in sacks, and let them soak in the kettle for a bit. Meanwhile, we had to measure out extract, which is basically this thick goopy stuff that looks a lot like caramel. I'm not exactly sure what it does, but it was somehow satisfying to watch it pour out of the barrels. Then there's a whole lot of complicated stuff with turning up the heat on the kettle, adding the extract, bringing it to a boil, cooling it off, bringing it to a boil again (this was done 5 times), then adding the hops.

Adding the hops is something of an art. If you add too much in too quickly, the mixture starts to boil. A lot. And may possibly spill. So we had to add them carefully. It was great fun adding the hops because there's something satisfying about sprinkling little green pellets into a giant kettle. Maybe it's the whole secret potion thing.

Stirring beer with a giant paddle was extremely satisfying.

Also, let me just say that hops smell GOOD. Like great. Our beer called for four different kinds of hops, and they all smelled awesome.

After the hops are added, the brew simmers for a bit, and then one of the staff comes over and pours it into this large barrel. Then the yeast is added, and the barrels are ready to sit for three to four weeks. However, you do get to taste the wort, which is basically the beer before it's fermented. There's still a lot of sugar in it, so it does taste sweet, but it really bears little resemblance to beer as you know it. For one, it's not carbonated. Two, it's sweet, but bitter at the same time, if that makes any sense. It's not something I'd like to drink regularly, but it wasn't bad.

Today my mom and dad will be going back to bottle the beer with a label that my dad and I designed.



And yeah, I totally threw in free advertising on the labels.

Unfortunately, I will not be going with them as I'm going to visit a friend this weekend, but I will most definitely be reviewing the beer once I get back. I've also got another two lined up, so those should be posted some time soon.

In conclusion, brewing your own beer is great fun, and you should definitely check this place out. They will not disappoint.

Also, I think it's worth mentioning that this is one of the only things I will wake up at 7 am for.