alemaking

I'm trying a go at beer making today. I made mead once and cider twice (almost, the 2nd batch of cider is still fermenting) with good, although maybe not predicable outcomes (all three of those were started with wild yeasts).

This time I'm trying an IPA style ale: the whole house smells like hops. I hadn't realized that the hop flower would smell exactly like you'd expect: it's exactly like the hop aroma you get in th finished beer. I'm using two hops -- Northern Brewer with Cascade for finishing -- as well as crystal and toasted malted barley. We'll see how it goes. It's from Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing (3rd ed.), which seems to be a good starting point save it's trite maxims and platitudes throughout.