Homegrown and Homebrewed

In our pre-packaged, pre-assembled western world it's easy to lose sight of true craft and art.  Technology has removed much of the mystery that surrounded the foods we eat and the beverages we drink for thousands of years.    Thousands of years of collective lore, experience and technology have evolved to give us our food and beverages of today.  How did it all begin?  Who first learned that fermented barley with some hops added would yield a tasty, relaxing beverage we know today as beer?  How did the ancients learn to preserve food for the winter with salt? 

As I ponder life's mysteries, I like to return to our roots, learn a little craftsmanship and marvel at God's world around me.  As you watch a seed sprout and grow to bear fruit and a homebrew come to life you can't help but marvel at the mysteries of life and universe.  It's far easier to see the mysteries in lGod's creation when watching your homebrew come to life instead of popping the top on a cold can from your refrigerator.

We have a small home garden.  This photo was taken on March 25.  You can see the spinach and onions in the foreground.  I've also planted lettuce, swiss chard, leeks, radishes and spring peas.  We'll harvest spinach on Monday night for a nice salad before we leave.  I'll admit that I enjoy watching the garden come to life and bear fruit.  It's very satisfying to walk out the kitchen door and pick your vegetables for dinner. 

Back in February I began a batch of homebrewed beer.  I had recently come to appreciate the Kolsch-style ale by the Schafly Brewing Company of St. Louis and wanted to replicate it's flavor.  The homebrew supply store was very helpful and pointed me to the ingredients I would need for my Kolsch.  It's an all-malt beer with a combination of cracked Vienna malt and two cans of malt extract and 2 ounces of Hallertauer hops.  It fermented about 4 weeks before I added the priming sugar and transferred to the 5 gallon keg pictured below.

  

About the time that I bought the ingredients, my daughter and son-in-law purchased homebrewing equipment on Craig's list.  We now have homebrewed Kolsch on tap.  This is the best batch I've brewed - good balance with the hops and smooth with no funky flavors.  Each year the yeast available for homebrewing get a little better.  You can

see the result in the cold, frosty mug.

Get back to basics and learn a little about God's mysteries around you.  Start a small garden from seed, start a batch of homebrew, make some homemade sausage or make some corned beef or sauerkraut.  Just take a few minutes to appreciate the gifts that God gave our ancestors and has passed along to us.

Happy Easter!!