I’m not sure which was more exciting – cutting the seaweed ‘ribbon’ on our newly built boatshed…
…or pouring the beer we brewed for the occasion.
At any rate it was a great party, a perfect night in early January, and the culmination of many months of hard work – the building I mean, not the brewing. We invited about forty guests – anyone we knew within sailing distance of our bay in the Marlborough Sounds – and we welcomed them with ice cold beer and punchy margaritas.
The evening rocked on with an opening ceremony, speeches, a Mexican feast and a concert from the hastily assembled Marlborough Sounds Ukelele Orchestra.
James, Jimmy and Dan Tait-Jamieson
The food was a labour of love. Four of us had spent the previous day hand-pressing 125 tortillas which we presented with bowls of spicy pork, chicken, beef, chilli, avocado, coriander, tomatillos and anything else we could rustle up. I’m now sold on tortillas as a way of feeding the troops. (The proper maize flour and the requisite cast iron tortilla press can be bought from Ontrays in Wellington).
Tortillas toasting on the barbecue
I’m also sold on our Boatshed Brew as the perfect drinking partner for a chilli-based meal.
My son Jimmy and I brewed it back in October (see previous posts), an IPA with an extra dose of cascade hops. I think it was the hops that gave it such a fabulous nose – refreshingly citrus with a touch of blackberry. To be honest, it under-delivered on the taste. I found it a bit lean and short but Jimmy reckons it’s a great ‘session beer’ so we’ve tweaked the recipe and made another batch for late summer drinking.
The label, by the way, was designed and drawn by daughter Maddie. The black blob at the end of the jetty is a fair rendition of Jeb, the dog.
I felt the same way about my first brew too, which was an extract (I think the same as yours) it lacked body.
I’ve cracked open my second batch which was all grain and seriously hopped up and it’s a totally different experience, that and I’ve tried it at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks etc, and the taste develops significantly over time, for example my first brew was good at 2 weeks after bottling undrinkable at 3 weeks but 5 weeks very pleasant (nice but boring like a Heineken or similar).
The other thing I have learned from probably reading too much is that 7-14 days fermenting isn’t enough, should really be looking at 4 weeks.
I am a total amateur and the above is just my observations over 5 brews.
PS love the label, check the bottom of my latest post for my label http://crapkitchen.blogspot.co.nz/2013/01/beef-cheek-new-years.html
Great label on yours! Interesting about the development times, I’ll test it out on brew #2 – Jimmy has tried it ahead of time and says it’s more rounded but I suspect that’s because we put less hops in. I want to try a really malty ale next time. I’m a bit over the big hop style – I think it ruins the balance. I’m also still waiting on the small size brew kit that I keep hearing about from the people at the brewshop. It sounds affordable and should give me the confidence to move away from the kits. Happy brewing!
Bravo all round.
I see an empire growing.
I did too … until Jimmy told me he’s taking the brew kit down to Otago. Not sure if those scarfies can keep up the quality!