Come to Pappa

Well, a month or two ago I brewed my first batch of beer. It was a kit the Lovely Maggie got for me for Christmas and I finally got some time to create the brew. It was all together in a neat little kit. I boiled the water, stirred in the yeast and hops and then carefully transferred the wort to my keg and tightly sealed it. Thekeg sat atop my refrigerator for two weeks, mocking me. I could hear it every morning when I made my tea.."come onnn...just try me.." I would not give in. After two weeks it was ready to bottle. I carefully lowered the keg onto the counter and added the required sugar ( yes there is sugar in beer) and bottled it. Now it had to sit for a month, "conditioning". I put a few in the fridge to create a Lager ( lager is the German word for 'cold storage') and most of the brews sat tucked safely on the floor of our closet.
Finally, last night it was time. The moment of truth. I pulled a chilly bottle from the fridge and popped the top. I slowly poured my creation into a cold glass and lifted it gently to my lips. It really was pretty good, if I may be so modest. It was a California style Pale Ale. It was very light in color, I prefer the dark beers, but it had a really nice taste to it. I've given a few to my beer-loving neighbors and they all raved so I guess my first batch was a success! Once these are gone, I'm thinking I may try it again, this time maybe I'll try to make it a little darker. Maybe add some spices, do a little OcktoberFest type of beer. Yummy.