100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall...

It took me about four hours of brewing time (and at least eight Tecates), two weeks of anticipation while it fermented, about 16 ounces of beer on my sneakers while I bottled it, another week of waiting while it carbonated, and, finally, a beautiful golden brown ale. A professional brewmaster may criticize this amateur glass of beer, but I think its gorgeous.

I'll have to fess up... this is my third batch of homebrewed beer and the first one that I'd actually let my family and friends try (let's just say my first batch of beer tasted like a Bell's Hop Slam if it was brewed from sewer water and the second batch, while a bit better, tasted like a Leine's Red mixed with a shot of Hawkeye vodka). So, needless to say, I was very happy when I was finally able to pry off the first cap of this American-style ale to find that it was, well, pretty good.

If you've ever wanted to make your own beers, don't think twice. If for no other reason than to have a fridge full of shady looking unlabeled bottles. If you do go for it, check out Brew and Grow on Chicago's north side. If you have ever visited their older location, you may have expected Tommy Chong to walk out of the back room; however, their new location is huge, clean, bright, and their staff is knowledgeable and excited to teach you how to go about opening your own microbrewery. They have everything for beginners to the advanced, and, if you're nice, they'll let you taste one of their several homebrews on tap... which always taste a heck of alot better than my sewer-vodka infused batches...

Happy brewing - cheers!