Draft Kit, New Beer Kit, Birthday Party

As a present to myself I finally bought the draft system so instead of bottling my beer after fermenting I can now put it directly into my keg and force carbonate it. I'M EXCITED! This has been one of my brewing goals for awhile and everything is finally falling into place. This next beer I will be brewing will be a Plain American Ale, this should be a light, crisp, refreshing beer and something that can be enjoyed during anytime of the year. I kinda wanted this to take place a month ago so it would be ready for my birthday party but oh well. Anyway I plan on documenting my entire process and helping anyone who's interesting in getting into this hobby!

Birthday Weekend and Brewing

I turned 21 last Thursday and this weekend we had a pretty rowdy party. I had a great time with some great friends but I want to talk about my up coming project. I've never been a person that liked drinking cheap beer, I would rather have 1 fantastic beer than 10 watery, light beers. When my dad was younger he did some brewing and last weekend he gave me his brewing kit. Now that I have a kit I'm going to start brewing my own beer with my roommate and keep picture logs and give instructions on how to brew beer for people who might be interested. Within the next two weeks I plan on getting all the necessary ingredients and start my very first batch. Have a good week everyone, I'll keep you updated.

Freshman year away from home

Leaving home and being on your own can be very difficult especially if aren't very independent. Personally, I was very independent when I left for college so I had a very smooth transition but some of my friends found it problematic being away from home. One of my best friends knew exactly what he wanted to do after high school. He found the perfect school in the perfect town and was very confident with the choices he made. I told him that he should at least apply to other schools and think about having a backup plan if Zoology/Biology didn't work out for him, but he told me that was exactly what he wanted to do and there wouldn't be a point in looking into other schools. He ended his Freshman year with a 4.0 GPA and a severe case of depression. After the summer he returned for Sophomore and within a few months was having suicidal thoughts, in which the school placed him in one of their correctional programs, basically a prison for students. After coming back home, he went to the doctor and has been doing a lot better which I am grateful for but unfortunately, now that he has his head on straight has changed majors, changed colleges, and now has to basically start over because his new college won't accept the credits from his old college, mainly because it was a specialty institution(not having a wide variety of major). Just because you think you know exactly what you want doesn't mean you can't plan for the worst. Having a backup is very important in my opinion and it's something that everyone should at least consider. Also a good balance of school and fun is needed in order to now get too stressed.

My freshman year started with a change in relationship and a new understanding of independence. Most colleges "require" you to stay in a dorm freshman year unless you plan to be a commuter, but honestly if I could do it over I would have found an apartment from the beginning. The main reason they want you to stay in a dorm is so you can meet other people but if you are social at all you will meet plenty of people in your classes. Most dorms are extremely over priced so instead of going more in debt look into commuting or finding a cheap apartment. As I have said before in an older post, going into your Freshman year in a relationship can very problematic because you will meet a lot more people in which the opportunity to find someone more appealing is very likely. Going to parties and meeting people is all part of the game called college so it is important to have an open mind initially, but as time goes on you will start to hang out with specific people and friendships with develop, just like an adult version of high school.

College can very stressful at times but if you keep an open mind it can also be a lot of fun. Being responsible and making logical decisions in key for a successful college experience.