Adventures in Brewing
Copyright© 2023 by Old Man with a Pen
Chapter 2
It’s simple, the book said. 2 row malted barley, some adjuncts, hops, water, yeast and time. Really ... the book said that.
‘Water, barley, hops, yeast and a couple three days and it’s beer.’
What the book didn’t mention was cost ... that came later. The book did mention where to get bottles ... the bar or tavern of your choice ... or buy new ones ... oh ... and lids ... and a capper ... and a cute plastic rod with a push in end ... so the beer doesn’t get contaminated with air.
And STAINLESS steel pots ... and a heatsource.
I got all that ... there went my savings for my new car ... oh yes ... bleach. Forgot bleach.
I put the 48 bottles in the bathtub ... cast iron bathtub ... and let them soak over night ... to remove the glued on labels off.
And those little mite carcasses stuck to the insides of the bottles ... off. That chore caused me to buy a bottle-brush.
There was a local Cooperative that carried sacks of malted barley, brewing sugar ... and gallon widemouth jars of ‘extract.’
Extract ... it’s like instant coffee. Just add hot water.
If you are a coffee aficionado ... instant is an anathema. No way is it ‘just as good.’
But, James, my brewing mentor, made pretty good beer using extract ... pretty good. He bottled.
Parker Auction put out an estate auction sale flier. Their auction house is within walking distance and their boss and my boss are buds ... so ... Parker Auction fliers were regularly posted on our community bulletin board. Some times ... if it’a an impressive sale ... they give me a stack of fliers to insert into shopping bags.
I dropped one.
As I was picking it off the floor, several things caught my eye... “Cornelius Beverage Dispensers & Parts.”
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