Oh the waiting game...

I did it, I bottled my first batch of beer. I brewed a Pale Ale, and so far I've got to say I am impressed with the way it is turning out. Warm and flat, it tastes great, I can't wait to try it when it is chilled and bubbly, the thought is just too much. I have to thank my girlfriend Carol, and my good friend and neighbor, Brian, for all there help with the bottling process.



Brewing my first batch was much easier than I thought that it might be. It was great watching my beers progress in my carboy. Watching it go from a sweet brown liquid, to a bubbling and kind of gross disorganized mess, to its nearly final stage of a reddish-brown, hoppy, delicious beer. 10 days to go...



I would say the most difficult part for me was making sure that everything was clean and sanitized. I reused bottles that I had purchased from the store and got some from friends, so I had to get the labels off of them. That took some time, but well worth the price of free. Clean up isn't to much fun either, but it is a necessary part of the process. But in the end it will all be worth the effort. Man, I can't wait!



So the other thing that I did today was make the baked macaroni and cheese with Porter that I wrote about yesterday. I used the recipe exactly as I wrote it, and it turned out great. I used Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter for the recipe, and as an accompaniment to the dish. As with wine if you are going to cook with it, you should want to drink it as well. Don't use cheap beer or you'll run the risk of getting poor results. Give this recipe a try, if you like your baked macaroni and cheese to be a little looser (runny) when it is done, try adding a bit more milk and beer, this should do the trick. Like I've said before, the only way to find out how it will turn out is to try it. Best of luck, and keep the beer flowing.