Skotrat
Well here we are. How/Why I brew. Yikes! The mere thought of letting others know the foolishness that I procure when I brew is quite a scary thing indeed. I have to say that although I do enjoy the science of brewing I rarely let science into my brewing environment. I am aware of the science aspect for sure but to me brewing is an art. An empty canvas of barley, hops, adjuncts, water and yeast.
I am the true hack. There is nothing very special about the way I brew. The methods are tried and true. Methods that have been used by brewers for thousands of years. The one thing that I think sets me apart is that I make everything (or get Tony to do it while promising him things I buy but rarely get around to mailing).
My Grandfathers on both sides of my family were brewers. One was a bootlegger and the other was a nasty old Prussian guy that never used anything but the purest ingredients. I never met the bootlegger but the Prussian I knew until he died. I was around him often while I was a kid. He grew his own hops, malted his own grain, roasted his own barley and cultured his own yeast. He did this in the 60's when I was very young… No one was like him. He was a prick! He was also one of the coolest guys I have ever met. As a child I thought he was just plain crazy for making his own wine and beer. He was like a mad scientist working on it all the time. Always saying "get away from that airlock, you will ruin that". It wasn't until my 20's and I was spending $12-20 a six pack that I realized he may not be quite as nuts as I originally thought.
Extract brewing never really appealed to me and I have to say I know very little about it. I always thought that if I was going to brew good beer I would have to do it the way my Grandparents did it. The way of the grain. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. I bought everything available that I could get my hands on to read about brewing. There wasn't much. "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing", Dave Line's "Brewing Beers Like those you Buy" and "The Big Book of Brewing" were about all that was out there other than some technical books on brewing.
More to come soon!