In our effort to be frugal, self-sufficient, and stylish at Casa Petrie, Mr. Petrie has begun making his own beer.  This is his first foray into beer-making and we fully intend on using his skills to make all kinds of fancy ales in the future!

Hello, Casa Petrie fans. I’m Mr. Petrie. Mrs. Petrie has generously allowed me to interrupt her lovely words with my own on the concept of homebrewing. Just a little about me first. I’m a hobbiest. If you can think of the hobby, I’ve probably attempted it in some form or another. Some stick, some don’t. Homebrewing, I have a feeling, will definitely be sticking. Let’s get started!

So Mrs. Petrie and Miss Petrie surprised me with an early birthday gift of a homebrewing kit.  A best friend of mine from college, his wife and I had been talking about homebrewing for years and it has always been something I had been interested in tackling.  I really couldn’t say no to this incredibly sweet and generous offer my wife and daughter were giving me.

Hops image courtesy of Wikipedia

I am a beer fan.  Am I a beer snob?  On most occasions, yes.  I’m also a cheapskate when it comes to buying beer.  I know that seems paradoxical, but it is true.  I don’t like spending more than a dollar a bottle on beer when I buy it from the store (a brewpub is a different story).  This tends to mean that I move from beer style to beer style depending on what is on sale.  One week I’ll be drinking a dark Mexican ale, the next a pale ale.  I’m not drinking bad beer, I’m drinking good beer that is well priced.

The reason that homebrewing attracted me was that it provides the opportunity to study a craft that I admire.  And since I know so little about beer brewing, there is a great education in it as well.  Additionally, homebrewing has the benefit of allowing me to produce well priced beer that isn’t just good but great in quality.  Don’t get me wrong, it will take considerable time to get where I believe it is great beer.  However; after much reading and el googleing, I believe that getting well priced, good beer in my fridge through homebrewing isn’t all that far off.  It may even be fermenting right now!

I will attempt to keep with Mrs. Petrie’s theme and will use my space here to tell you about my novice attempt at brewing my own beer.  Make no mistake, this was a less than perfect endeavor and so you will likely have a good time laughing at my expense.  I will also report back here in a few weeks to let you know the results.  In the next installment I’ll give you a bit of breakdown of what I did for research.  Until then:  Relax.  Don’t worry.  Have a homebrew.