Howdy from Beer Church! Just this weekend we put Rhubarb Waves of Grain on tap, and it’s super tasty. Putting the India back in IPA is also quite great, but isn’t yet on tap.

This coming Sunday we plan to brew a simple ale or porter (to be determined!). Suggestions are welcome via our twitter @ps1beerchurch or on the Beer Church mailing list.

To start off, we’ll have a beer tasting featuring any homebrew you bring, both the Cardamom IPA & the Rhubarb mentioned above, and anything from the store you bring too! Tiny beer steins will be provided – please bring a bottle of something if you can.

Once we’ve had a taste, met each other, and talked over the basics of brewing in the process, we’ll move on to brewing a beer. This is just the first day of a weeks long journey that a beer takes from the boil kettle to your mouth, but it’s the most labor intensive and the most interesting to see, so we like to show people this step. Watching a bucket ferment isn’t as fun. Since we’re going for something simple, we’ll probably be done brewing in around 3.5 hours. The ingredients will have been purchased ahead of time, so we’ll get into the brew by around 3PM. The steps include mashing, sparging, boiling, chilling, and pitching. You can lend a hand with most of them, and learn a lot in the process.

Currently in the fermenter are Barely Barley Ale and A Horrible Missake which we’ll be taking a peek at to see if they’re ready to transfer to kegs.

Nitty Gritty

When: Sunday March 3rd, 2PM. We expect to be brewing until around 7 PM or so, but you don’t have to hang around the whole time if you don’t want to. People who help out until the end get a bottle of the beverages they helped with when it’s completed (approximately 1 month later).
Where: Pumping Station: One, 3519 N Elston, Chicago
What: Beer tasting and brewing hands-on
Who: Anyone 21 or over, Pumping Station: One members or not!
Why: Because beer is a worthy purpose for your Sunday afternoon
To Brew: TBD
Brewmaster: TBD