I started brewing beer over a year ago.
This started because of a combination of interests I have. I really enjoy great beer, I really enjoy cooking, and I also like having outlets for creativity... did I mention that I like great beer?
Shortly after I began brewing my first batch of delicious ale... my "Brawler IPA" (a west coast style IPA, dry-hopped for that extra kick) I began to think through the process of transforming the various ingredients, water, malt, grain, yeast, & hops in such a way that the end result is radically (and chemically) different than the beginning.
It is in the diversity of the ingredients that the end result is better than the beginning.
What is very interesting (to me, at least) is that I intentionally introduce an ingredient that will not happily coexist with another... when I pitch yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) into the brew, I am wanting for the yeast to physically attack and consume the sugars found in the malt, and as they consume sugar they also convert it into ethanol and carbon dioxide. By controlling sanitation, temperature, lighting, and movement... I try to create the perfect environment for yeast to thrive.
The yeast does several things by converting sugars. It balances the flavor by transforming sweetness of sugar and working with the hops to make the brew have a more well-rounded and balanced flavor. It will eventually be what I use to carbonate the beer during the bottling process. It also is the reason that your beer should be enjoyed responsibly.
I find it interesting that yeast works the way it does. It truly alters the environment it is placed in.
Christianity is also interesting.
In Matthew 13:33 Jesus describes that His Kingdom.. The Kingdom of Heaven, is like yeast, or leaven, that works its way through a great measure of flour until everything was transformed.
Right before this the, Kingdom of Heaven is described as a mustard seed, which is essentially a weed that overtakes an entire garden... it might as well be described as planting a dandelion in a wide open lush green field, but even more aggressive... but this all deserves an entirely different blog entry.
When I began brewing, part of my desire was to learn more about life... which for me must include learning more about faith, so now as I am able to sit back and enjoy pints of a rusty amber ale, exploding with hops, transformed by yeast, I am in some small way, also able to enjoy a taste of the Kingdom of Heaven at work... and it tastes great.
cheers.
