Brewing up a storm…after a million years

Once upon a time…wait, it wasn’t THAT long ago, was it? Sigh, I’m afraid it’s been 17 years since I last brewed my own beer. What happened? Okay, I’ll bullet it:

Central Street Farmhouse

1. divorce (if there’s anything that can get in the way of a creative pursuit, it’s D-I-V-O-R-C-E;

2. raised 3 teenagers: This was the most worthwhile thing I’ve ever done, gray hair notwithstanding AND I made a conscious decision that having alcoholic beverages fermenting in the house while the kids were growing up was not a good idea…just my own personal opinion and not a mandate for other parents;

Right after signing the contract at Gritty's in Freeport

Right after signing the contract at Gritty’s in Freeport

3 moved at least a half-dozen times (single mother, low wage-earner syndrome, dependent on landlords too);

4 decided to not move the brewing equipment again and donated it to Goodwill;

5 my first beer book went out of print and my day job took all my energy

The first edition of What's Brewing. Will the title be the same? Stay tuned!

The first edition of What’s Brewing. Will the title be the same? Stay tuned!

Okay, now I can write a magazine article for Cosmo: “5 ways to screw up your homebrewing efforts and still be sexy when you get to be 60”

Sob story out of the way, and the new beer book into the editor, I figured out that my husband’s forlorn, no longer used dark room would be a perfect brewery. It has a sink, two nice, long counters and with a thorough cleaning and sanitizing will stand in quite nicely for that separate kitchen where I brewed my blue-ribbon-winning Irish Extra Stout (’96 Common Ground Fair).

Next: what do I want to brew? Summer was coming (well, that might still be true…48 degrees this morning, June 20). I went to Central Street Farmhouse in Bangor and James Reiss put together a kit for me based on my fervent desire to drink my own version of Funky Bow’s G-String Pale Ale. Funky Bow is in Lyman, Maine, at least 2 hours from where I live. I love this pale ale and James knew it right away. I drove up from Waterville yesterday and picked up my complete kit, including How to Brew by James Palmer and a bunch of accessories for a really reasonable price.

Next step, and I will take photos: cleaning the dark room. I spent 6 hours last week cleaning the basement outside the dark room, and it will only take 2 hours to do the final cleaning. I’ll read the first chapter to refresh my memory and rub my hands together to conjure some brewing mojo….

Stay tuned!

 

 

Kate Cone

About Kate Cone

Kate Cone has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, is a freelance writer and the author of "What's Brewing in New England: A Guide to Brewpubs and Microbreweries," published by Downeast Publications in 1997 and completely updated in 2016. She has been a foodie since age 8, when her dad taught her how to make coffee and an omelet, lifelong skills for happy eating.