deep pow pale ale

Right after we bottled our Cecret Chardonnay and freed up the equipment, H started a batch of homebrew, using the kit I'd gotten him for his birthday.  He's made beer before but not for years, and not out here in the west, so we had stopped by the Beer Nut to see if there were any tips or tricks to high altitude brewing.  The folks at the Beer Nut are friendly and more than happy to talk at length about home brewing.  We learned that the only thing that would be different out here is the water: it's really hard in SLC and full of minerals, so you either have to boil all the water and let the minerals settle out if you're using tap water, or buy spring (not distilled) water and use that instead.  Other than that, brew away!

1200 So. State St., SLC

A basic difference between making beer and making wine at home is that wine (from a kit) is easy - basically mix juice and water and a few additives, and then wait for 6-8 weeks - whereas beer is labor-intensive at the start but you get the end product pretty quickly.  The pale ale kit H had used whole grains which had to be steeped in hot water for 45 minutes, then discarded (we tried a spoonful of the warm grains afterwards: would have been tasty with milk and sugar), then the malt added and boiled for 45 minutes; then the hops added and the wort cooled.  The recipe had four different hops: Amarillo, Glacier, Warrior and Columbus.  We like hoppy beers.

After the yeast was added and everything cooled enough, the beer went into the primary fermenter for four days, and then the secondary fermenter for another ten until the final specific gravity was reached, and then bottled.

Good-lookin' and good-tastin'

After bottling, you're supposed to let the beer age for a month or so.  We could only wait for a couple of weeks, however, and opened some last night: nice carbonation, very little sediment, gorgeous color, fairly strong hoppy flavor with no bitter aftertaste ... we deemed H's Deep Pow Pale Ale a rousing success!  We do have to exercise restraint, however, and ration out this new beer - two cases won't last long otherwise, not with a home brew this tasty.