OnTap Magazine

T he highs and lows of my first brew were massively highlighted during the second phase of my first homebrew. After cleaning nearly 100 bottles over two days like an absolute madman, I was ready. I had the plan played out in my head for weeks to get ready for the bottling of my beer. I did one final gravity check to ensure that my yeast had done its magic (I believe its magic okay?) and I was off to the races. The homebrewers WhatsApp group I belong to had amazing insights into getting the carbonation right without using carbonation tablets and for that, I am eternally grateful, however, it turns out that was the absolute least of my worries. My confidant, Martin Venter, joined me again as we headed into uncharted waters. We drained the beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket, sanitized the living daylights out of everything, and got the bottles lined up. The filling wand was ready and my excitement at this point was bubbling over. And then, the biggest low hit after the very first bottle we filled: the capper did not work on the bottle. How, why, what?! I learned in that very moment that there are a variety of bottles out there and I had not taken note of the notches around the top of the bottles. As it turns out, they were incorrect for my hand capper and the caps I had bought. Remember now that I had just washed, sanitized, and prepared almost 100 bottles! Back to the WhatsApp group I went. I had lost all hope at this point as I had no other bottles to use. According to the group, what we needed was “pressure!” This changed our simple bottling process into a mission of blood, sweat– and a lot of applied downward pressure. After a few hours of painstaking bottling and perseverance, we did it! We capped nearly 60 bottles, all the while breaking too many to mention. Despite this set back, the overwhelming joy of seeing my beer bottled and boxed was truly an amazing feeling of accomplishment. I was so pumped I thought, why not enter the Fools and Fans (F&F) Homebrewers Individual Competition coming up in April? I mean what's the worst that could happen? Ironically, the bottling of the bottles for F&F was easier as I used 440ml bottles. So after four days of conditioning – yes, four days – I dropped the bottles off at Beerworks and said a little prayer. It was now in the hands of the judges. At this point I had not even tried my own brew yet! When I did finally feel that my Saison was ready to drink after 10 days of conditioning and a few more in the fridge, I was ready. Following the first few sips, I felt a strong sense of pride and excitement; I was over the moon with the first beer I had ever brewed by myself! I was no longer even concerned about the outcome of the competition – I was happy with what I had produced! And in the end, the results were way better than I had ever expected! I was placed 35th out of 143 entries nationally and 13th place in my region. The feedback from the judges was very positive and gave me a good indication that I'm on the right track going forward. I had achieved my goal of brewing my first beer successfully and not walking away with the wooden spoon at the competition (aka coming in dead last). There was so much I learned about brewing during this process and I want to do this again and again and again. The art of brewing is something I have found truly profound and I am filled with a sense of pride that I could change water, malt, hops, and yeast into something so enjoyable. It is indescribable. So if you are reading this, go out and join in on a brew day with someone and learn this craft because it’s something I will be doing until the day I die. ontapmag.co.za | Winter 2024 | 49