Today was brew day.

Today was my day to brew. With the help of fellow Columbia Beer Enthusiast Jeff, I now have a carboy filled with my first ever batch, fermenting in the basement. Jeff not only shared his expertise, but he graciously allowed me to use his gear, eat his pizza, and drink some of his beer.

Here is what transpired through pictures...

This the pot in which I boiled my wort.

After reaching 170, we tossed in the specialty grain. This is the moment when I realized that I was actually going to brew some beer.

There was plenty of beer to be had this day. This is the Sam Adams Longshot winner. It's supposed to be a Pliny the Elder clone. I don't know about that, but it's really amazing. It's almost worth buying the Longshot variety pack to get two bottles, even if you have to drink the bock and the fruit beer. Anyway, this is where home-brewing can lead.

Wort warming.

This was a home-brew made by another CBE member. I pictured it because it is what all who brew at home aspire to create. This beer was ridiculously rich, dark, and delicious. Does that come in a kit?

So, I realized that I didn't take several pictures at this point. I think the beer consumed might have had something to do with this. Besides the two pictured, we enjoyed Mikkeller Simcoe, an excellent Arrogant Bastard clone, New Glarus Hearty Hop, Southern Tier Unearthly, Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre, an "experiment", and something I'm forgetting.

A little straining so that we won't have to chew the beer.

Here's the finished product. It will sit around for a week, fermenting. Then we'll move it to another carboy before bottling. I need some more bottles.