Returning to the Kettle

A San Diego detour, an AleSmith clone, and five years away from the hobby.

While visiting San Diego earlier this year I had the time to swing by SoCal Brewing Supply in Vista. Located very close to Battemage Brewing Company and Belching Beaver Brewery Pub 980, two establishments my brother-in-law wanted to visit, I purchased brewing supplies to bring together an AleSmith IPA clone.

Home brewing became a passion of mine in 2018 and continuing through 2019. Let’s just say it wasn’t well received in my household. During that period I did brew five beers including a few pale ales, IPAs and a stout. For details on those beers visit Contributing Factor Brewing. Then COVID hit and brewing beer turned into a drinking fest the likes of never experienced. Remind me to discuss the FPL Beer Club in a future post.

Most of what I brewed was shared with friends and coworkers. I sent a few beers off to Europe and New York, where two guys on a podcast, calling themselves the Two Cheaters had a beer brewed exclusively for them. The beers I brewed were good, however being in California and having access to some great beer, it was an enjoyable process but definitely not a way to save money on beer.

Since moving to Paso Robles in 2021 all my home brew gear resides in my storage unit but I’ve got the grain, hops and yeast to get back into this hobby. While the hobby, has changed the basic brewing process hasn’t. A large cook pot, Coleman cooler and a 5-gallon bucket are the equipment that make up the basics. Looking into the hobby more closely, there are quite a few improvements I could make in my set up but for this next batch, it will be brewed with simple equipment and bottled.