Henderbagels!: Dr. Homebrew

My mad scientist husband has taken on a new research project - in the comfort of his own home laboratory. His hypothesis: What is the mechanism by which one can create the best beer ever?

Welcome to Fleet Street (nano)Brewery, owned and operated by Brewmaster Biz. You'd almost never know it wasn't a real lab if not for a few minor would-be citations (taste-testing the solutions, eating in the workspace, open-toe shoes ... or lack thereof). Here, the reagents include malt extract, specialty grains, candi sugar, and hops. As the assistant brewer, I've had to learn beer jargon (wort, trub, carboy, IBU = international bitterness units) and assist with some specialized skills such as siphoning and measuring specific gravity using a hydrometer. Ryleigh and Caoimhe assist with quality control.

Beer stuff!

Pellet hops

Beer-making is very much a science, and I can see why Mark enjoys doing it (beyond the the final product!) He is disciplined in methodology - following protocols, careful notetaking (there's brewing software for this, believe it or not!), analytical measurement of volumes, times, and temperatures, and using aseptic techniques (e.g. sanitizing all apparatus and vessels). He gets to observe chemical reactions: fermentation = yeast breaking down carbohydrates (sugars & grains) to produce ethanol (alcohol), carbon dioxide (bubbles), and heat. He is also free to exercise his experimental creativity. For now he has been starting with brew kits, but eventually the scientist plans to experiment. There are many variables that can be manipulated to generate unique and tasty potions... yeast strain? Bottle condition or forced carbonation? All grain, partial mash, or extract? Pellet vs. leaf hops?

The Brewmaster at work

It's only been within the past year or two that I myself have acquired a taste for the barley pop. All that house-party lite beer in college just never quite did it for me. Then I discovered that some beers (the ones that college kids can't afford) have flavor. To accommodate my fussiness, Mark selected a Belgian dubbel for Batch #1. Thanks be to the monks for this delectable abbey style ale! The nameless entity turned out brilliantly, with aromas plums, raisins, rum, and toffee. Definitely worth the two-month wait!

Batch #2 is bottled, but still aging. This Belgian-style blonde ale even has a (humorous) name and everything:

While I am not particularly fond of having our kitchen overtaken by beer-making equipment, it's been fun to watch Mark experiment with his new hobby (and drink the products) - especially since he's been pretty bored not being able to play hockey the past 5 months.