Brew, Baby, Brew

Two of Ed's friends, Deron and Scott, decided to try their hand at brewing earlier this year, and they invited us for the big unveiling/tasting of their two newest attempts, an IPA and a porter, last night. So we went over to Scott's girlfriend's apartment, not sure what to expect. I've sampled a few home brews, but they were made by my younger brother David, and some of my other brother's friends, all of whom had a pretty good idea of what they were doing. These guys, I wasn't so sure about. Happily, it all turned out quite well. 

We started the evening with a few professionally-produced beers (Scott was eager for us to dull our palates) and stories about brewing, which were hilarious and involved things like emergency trips to Bed, Bath and Beyond for cheesecloth and extra-flat beer with nary a bubble when it was uncapped and poured. Apparently it is tough to find step-by-step instructions for brewing that are actually usable, though Deron and Scott have made friends with the guys in the home brewing department at Whole Foods where they get their supplies. Soon, the big moment arrived, and we cracked open their IPA. It smelled like and IPA, looked like a Belgian wheat, and tasted...well, it was a bit tough to decide what it tasted like. I can't stand IPA's, so I was pretty glad it didn't taste anything like one, though I'm not sure they were so pleased. They recorded our observations on a clipboard. It was deemed a successful beer, though not a successful IPA. Next on the agenda was the porter, which looked dark and syrupy. It actually tasted like a porter, though, and Scott and Deron seemed pleased with it. They were full of ideas about experimenting with other flavors in future porter batches, like chocolate. And both beers were carbonated, which apparently has been one of their biggest challenges, though we all agreed that more carbonation would be better.

Two minutes in a room with Scott is enough to persuade one that he is a character. Deron is more soft-spoken, but he's got some pretty interesting quirks too, if you talk to him for a while. He has made it his mission to visit as many bars in the New York area as possible, and he keeps a record of all the places he has been. Because Deron doesn't count the visit unless he has consumed at least three adult beverages there, these trips are nothing to sneeze at, especially when he decides to try to hit several in one night. He has been to several thousand bars during his years in the city, and recently started a blog, where you can read about his travels and his brewing experiences with Scott.

Much of our conversation, of course, circled around different kinds of beer, brewing beer, beer gardens, breweries, etc. Deron and Scott and their respective girlfriends (Meghan and Genevieve) have been to tons of breweries in this area that I've never visited or even heard of, so many that at one point I leaned over and whispered to Ed that I felt I'd been squandering my time in New York. The important thing, though, is that this problem has been identified. I look forward to amending it over the next few months.