These bottles are clean.

So these are the bottles that we are going to use. They are all at least 20 years old, possibly even 25 years old. Most are definitely older than I am. They are disgusting, all are covered in dust and some even have dead bugs in them. We still use them because they are "good bottles" according to my father. I threatened to throw them out but he said we had to use them because they are thicker than other bottles. I don't understand why thickness is important, as other professional breweries seem to do fine with the thinner ones, but I thought it best not to argue. One Grolsch bottle still had some Kahlua in it that my dad either made or stored a long time ago and forgot about. I did not drink any of the Kahlua because I was afraid it was too old, but apparently Kahlua never ages. Oh well.



We will try to begin bottling on Wednesday if I can sanitize the bottles on time, it will be difficult though because my father is away on business now and leaves again for Chicago a day after he returns.

After a few weeks

This is the beer after a few weeks, notice the foam has fallen and the color has gotten a tad bit darker. My father and I are going to start sanitizing bottles this weekend and hopefully start bottling next Wednesday.

Pictures! and notes about process

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These are some of the pictures of the process. Despite the ale's title most of the work actually occurred in more reputable places besides a toilet, and as a matter of fact the secondary fermentation process is currently taking place inside of a closet.















The picture here is my father and brother constructing the propane burner used to boil the wort which consists of malt (and in our case actually a syrup made of malt to save time and lots of it), the hops (which we didn't include a lot of really) and eventually the yeast. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the actual boiling process, or the primary fermenting process so let me break it down for you. (I'm sure I'm missing a few steps, stop by your local brewery for more info on the brewing process, it's actually very interesting!)


You boil some water, malt and hops together to create a wort. After this has boiled for a while (and hopefully not exploded) you let it cool down. Once the wort has cooled to a reasonable temperature you add the yeast, but be careful if the water is too hot you'll kill the yeast and then you'll just have a really foul smelling liquid that's too hot to drink and too toxic to just dump down your drain or over your grass. Because we are making an ale our yeast ferments at the top of the beer which gives it a sweeter and more full bodied taste, which is what I like. For reference, yeast in lagers ferments at the bottom and tend to be lighter in color (except for bocks which are pretty dark and strong)

Once the yeast has settled sufficiently you pour it into its primary fermenting container, making sure it's air tight. It sits there for a day while the yeast works its magic. Because we are making an ale and this is my father's first brew in about 20 years (no kidding) we had a lot of foam at the top which can apparently affect the taste. The foam can be removed with a sterilized cup (by sterilized I mean there is a special powder you can buy from a beer store and dissolve and use) and the beer can continue its primary fermentation.




After about a day or so the process of fermentation slows down tremendously and it is necessary to transfer the beer to a secondary fermentation jar. In this case we used a giant water tank my dad saved from Hurricane Ike for water storage. Notice the amber coloration, this dark color is due to the amount of malt we used. The foam at the top serves as a barrier between oxygen and the beer.




Moving the beer to a secondary fermentation spot is mainly for hygienic reasons, as the first stage of fermentation produces a lot of side products that you don't want to end up in your beer.


Well that sums up the first part, I'll post another picture of the beer from a couple of weeks later (the process of fermentation takes about three weeks for ales, at least in our case) in the next post.

So my family really likes beer

I just turned 21 and among the myriad of ways I have decided to celebrate this final milestone in my life (getting a job, getting married, having kids, retiring after a long and distinguished career?) I have decided to brew beer with my father. This is an account of the first batch, which as the the title of this blog indicates was in large part fermented in a bathtub, though not directly in the bathtub! I inadvertently took a bunch of poops in the bathroom during the primary fermentation and have since continued this practice. I like to think that my stench has in some way hygienically flavored the beer with a nice earthy scent but the beer itself has yet to be tasted as of this entry so I cannot for sure say that my musk affected its bouquet. However I hold out the hope that further brews will indeed reflect my flavorful contributions to the brewing arts.


I have not discussed this title with my father nor do I actually endorse shitting in your brewing equipment. It's unsanitary and more than likely a severe biohazard so please don't do it.