Homebrewed by Andrew - English Pale Ale & American Amber Ale

This last Christmas all Andrew wanted was a home brew kit. In support of his dream to brew his own beer I bought him a kit (this one) and had to prepare myself for what I just did. Our one bedroom loft will be turning into a small 5-gallon brewery every 3 weeks or so. I have to admit, I was not sold on the idea, it seems like a lot of work for that ice cold beer. You can buy some really good beer at the store with absolutely no work, but where is the fun in that?

Well, the brewing begins!

Andrew and I really like Firestone Double Barrel Ale (DBA), which is a favorite central coast brewery. I did some research in what type of beer it was, I learned it was very similar to an English Pale Ale. Included in his Christmas present was a kit for English Pale Ale. He decided to make this beer for his first attempt.  Note: The Brewing took place before the blog and taking pictures of everything.  I will have pictures and more for the next batch!

English Pale Ale

After the 3 week fermenting stage, then the week long bottling and carbonating stage were complete, we were finally able to enjoy his first home brew!  We reveled his first beer at a weekly dinner, Andrew was the first to taste and gave a nod after his sip.  It was passed around to everyone, finally someone said, "This is really good!"  We all agreed, we were pretty impressed with Andrew's Homebrew.  And it was really good, it wasn't quite DBA (I would say I am the most critical), but it was really close.  I think the hop flavor was more noticeable in the English Pale Ale than the DBA.  We just ordered the "DBA" kit, this will be brewed after our next batch.

American Amber Ale

Also included in his Christmas present was a kit for American Amber Ale.  This was his second batch, you can tell this one is a little richer in color, but I didn't think it was richer in taste.  I found this to be a little bit lighter and more refreshing.  It has become my favorite of the two and my drink of choice the last few weeks.

Next Batch: Mystery IPA