Boundary Waters wheat beer

I just haven't been inspired lately. I don't know what it is. I haven't made something really yummy and fun for awhile and therefore I haven't done a lot of blogging. There. I'm done apologizing for not blogging and hope I will start being inspired and blogging more.

I decided to make beer this afternoon, Kevin was gone and there wasn't much to do because it was raining and I was on-call for work. This was the second batch of beer I have ever made. I took a class with Paulie and Will this spring and we made a batch of Irish Stout that tasted very similar to Guiness. Kevin loved it and slurped it down pretty quickly. So I decided to try some on my own, bought a fish fryer and spent most of the morning trying to put it together and mangling my fingers. Putting things together is not one of my strong points. But I finally got it all assembled and out to the garage and spent an extemely pleasant Saturday afternoon all by myself brewing beer.

The reason you want to do this outside is because there is a good chance you will boil the beer over. This can be super messy to clean up so a garage is ideal.
I hooked up the propane tank and opened the garage door. Miss Chocoholic was snuggled down in the house with a couple of movies. I pulled a chair over to watch the boiling process, watch the rain come down and think about life.

I made this from a kit I bought online. I have been sticking with kits until I feel super comfortable with what I am doing. Here is the bag of grain steeping in the hot water.The aroma of the beer mixed with the smell of the rain makes my soul happy. Miss Chocoholic came out once to check on me and said, "That smells like hot chocolate!" I think it smells more like homey, comforting oatmeal.

It was time to mix in the barley malt. I had to stick my finger in it and eat a little. It's a wonderful, sticky syrup. I could eat it on ice cream. Hmmm, maybe I will save some next time and try that.After the malt comes the hops. I love the smell of hops. They smell like fresh cut grass or a lawn after a rainstorm. These came in little pellets. There were two bags of hops; one bag boiled with the mixture, the second bag was called finishing hops and was added two minutes before the boil was done. The second bag had more of a fruity smell, kind of like an apple or pear mixed with hay. And then it was just time to boil and relax. I made a mojito and sat there stirring. The neighbors were having a graduation party and I am sure they probably thought I was some weird, modern-day witch with my steaming cauldron but I was happy and for one rainy afternoon, the world was a perfect, peaceful place.