{"id":151,"date":"2021-08-29T16:08:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T16:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.russellstreethosting.com\/?page_id=151"},"modified":"2024-11-26T15:40:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T21:40:21","slug":"zymurgy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aaroncharlwood.com\/?page_id=151","title":{"rendered":"Homebrewing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been homebrewing beer, cider, mead, and wine for over 20 years, and gotten pretty damn good at it. These days I’m mostly brewing session pale ales, although I do make some darker beer (like the ESB pictured above) for the winter months. I also make an annual pilgrimage to Franklin County Cider Days<\/a> to pick up freshly pressed apple cider for hard cider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve made many meads, too; my favorite was an acer mead made with maple syrup that I’d also collected from sugar maple trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My concoctions have placed first, second, and third in the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013 Boston Homebrew, and the 2011 Spirit of Free Beer competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a short photo essay of my setup and the brewing process for a 10 gallon batch of beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After acquiring crushed malted barley from the local homebrew store<\/a>, I mix it with hot water in a 10 gallon water cooler<\/a> and let it sit for an hour or two. This process activates enzymes in the malted barley that turn starches in the grain into simple sugars that yeast can eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’ve outfitted the water cooler with a false bottom and a spigot. Next, I drain the barley tea (called “wort”) into a stainless steel keg that’s set on top of a high BTU propane burner. I add more hot water in batches to rinse more of the sugars out and into the keg until about 11 gallons of wort’s in the keg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next step is to boil the wort for an hour, adding hops at specific times for bitterness, flavor, and aroma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n