I first started brewing beer in 2000. Watching TV one day my neighbor called and told me to change the channel. There was in infomercial for "The Beer Machine". That got me interested. I bought it and ended up making 4 batches with it. The first batch, an American Ale, came out very good. They second batch came out drinkable. The last 2 never had a chance. I had a problem getting the keg to seal and during fermentation it leaked like crazy. So after 4 batches, I stopped trying.
A few months later I started doing some research on the internet about beer. I wanted to learn more, what different type of styles, why some are dark and some are light. Ales and Lagers. Thinks like that. During this time I came across a few homebrewing web sites. This peaked my interesting in making my own beer again. For months I looked at different online homebrew shops. I found a homebrew shop about 35 miles away. Made a visit and bought Papazzan's book. A few months later I found another place closer that sold basic equipment packages. A few weeks after Thanksgiving 2001 I bought a starter kit that included a 6.5 gallon plastic fermentor, 5 gallon glass carboy, racking cane with tubing and bottle filler, carboy and bottle brush, hydrometer, airlock & stopper, B-Bright sanatizer and a True Blue Pale Ale kit, all for $85. I then picked up a 5 gallon stock pot at Ames Department store for $8. It was on sale from $24 and I had an additional 15% off coupon. I was in business.
My first beer was brewed on December 29, 2001. Unfortunately it came out barely drinkable, it was infected. I cooled the wort in the kitchen sink with the pot surrounded by cold water and ice. I used a spoon to gently stir the wort to help in the cooling process. Looking back at my process, I realized that I never sanatized that spoon.
That one setback didn't stop me though. My next 3 batches I ordered kits from www.midwestsupplies.com. A Porter, Octane IPA and Ordinary Bitter. All came out fantastic. I still have a few bottles of Porter left, and it tastes better now than it did then.
In the fall of 2002, I upgraded to partial mash brewing. I brewed 2 batches using this method and realized that I might as well just move to all grain. The process takes just about the same amount of time, but I needed more equipment. When I moved to partial mash, I purchased a 7.5 gallon stainless steel stock pot from Kitchen Collection for $40. I was now able to do full boils. But for the bigger mash, I purchased a 10 gallon drink cooler from www.dudco.com. $41 with shiipping. I added a ss false bottom and bottling spigot.
To help save more money so my wife and I could buy a house, we moved into her parents basement at the end of 2002. Because of this my wife gave me permission to make a few purchases that I normally would not have been able to make. So in addition to a new digital receiver for my home entertainment system I got a universal kettle from SABCO and a Convoluted Counter Flow Chiller from St. Patricks of Texas. I also picked up a few more fermentors and carboys.
I do plan on making a few 10 gallon batches once we get out own house and I have room for a kegerator. Until then I brew 5 gallon all grain batches. I brew mostly Ales. I have one lager, a Munich Dunkel, under my belt, but do plan on a few more.
For the Summer of 2003, I plan on have 2 kegs filled at all times. I have a nice American Pale Ale as my house recipe, I'll have a B52 and a Summer Ale as well. During the fall I'll have a British Pale Ale, a Porter and a Stout.
There's nothing better than having beer on tap. Especially when its your own.
Why Seeing Eye's Brewery?
In February of 1978 I had to start wearing eye glasses. Over the next few year my eye sight got a little worse. Worse to the point that it was affecting my ability to read. So some time around 1982 I had to get bifocals. Now that doesn't sound all that bad, that is unless you are a 12 year old just about to hit puberty! After about 8 years my eye sight had finally started to even out and I had very few prescription changes. In June of 1986 I was able to get contact lenses. No more coke bottle glasses for me!!. Contact lenses served me fine for many many years. Over the years my prescription didn't change much at all. However, my eye sight was very bad with out the use of contacts or glasses. 2 different times I asked my doctor how bad my eyes were without corrective lenses. Once time he told me I had 4 options. I can 1) wear glasses, 2) wear contacts or 3) Get a white cane or 4) get a seeing eye dog!! Another time he told me that normal vision is 20/20, Legally blind is 20/200 with the use of corrective lenses. My eyes, without corrective lenses, if they were to measure this high, would be something to the effect of 20/2000.
Well, now I'm an adult. I'm married and have a son. I have a steady full time job as does my wife. At the end of 2002, we decided that in order to save enough money for a down payment on a house we would move into her parents basement for 6-9 months. The plan, thus far, has worked well. About 2 months into the new living arrangements, my contact lenses really started bothering me. To the point where I didn't want to wear them all day. When I got home from work, out they came. For some reason I put off calling the eye doctor for a new pair. Then one Sunday there was an add in the Boston Globe for Lasik Surgery. The prices had started coming down. I went on their web site and signed up for a free surgery. 2 days later I got a call. I didn't win a free surgery, but I was elligable for a free pre operation exam worth $200. So I went. They said I could have the surgery. I talked to my wife and she talked to her parents. We figured if we stayed with them for an additional 2-3 months that would more than cover the cost for me to have the laser surgery.
On Saturday, March 29, 2003 I went in at 3:30 to have the Lasik surgery. Less than 2 hours later I came out being able to see without the use of corrective lenses for the first time in over 26 years. The surgery process itself was painless and quick. It took less than 2 minutes for each eye, including the prep work. The laser part lasted 34 seconds for each eye. It was a little weird having my eye lids kept open, but it was well worth it.
I now have "Seeing Eye's".