2008 Woodie Awards
Brew Your Own Dorm-Room Beer
American Spirits
Timothy Bleasdale
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Focus
In my four years here at UConn, there is a legend I've heard more than once. It seems that a couple of times a year someone will turn to me at a party and begin telling a story about a guy that lived on their floor last year who knew someone that brewed their own beer in their dorm room.
Most of the time, this amateur-brewmaster is an old high school friend that goes to another college, usually out of state. And if you're like me, you've probably always assumed it was nothing more than a story. But if I've learned anything in my senior year, it's that this legend is completely true - well, that and how to brew beer under my desk.
There's something about this legend that keeps it alive from semester to semester and decade to decade. I've come to the conclusion that there is a certain devilish-cool factor to dorm room brewing that keeps these stories, whether true or false, alive. In the end, it was the intriguing nature of these stories that made me give it a try.
Brewing your own beer really isn't as hard as most people assume. If you're able to wash dishes and read a thermometer, you can brew beer anywhere.
Brewing:
I used to assume that it would be impossible to brew beer in my dorm because I had no way to continually cook or heat the wort (beer pre-fermentation). Luckily, you really only need to be able to cook the wort for about 30 to 45 minutes, which is easy to do in a UConn dorm since most have kitchens in the basement or first floor. Once you've cooked the ingredients together, you simply have to find a dark place in your room to store the fermenting beer for two or three weeks. While it sits under your desk (or in your closet) the yeast will be hard at work converting the sugars in your wort into beer. For the first few days, you may hear the brew bubbling a bit as excess air escapes from the fermentation vessel.
My roommate's initial objection to my dorm-brewing project was a concern that the yeast might smell bad. But if your equipment is good, it will keep any funky smells in the fermentation vessel and out of the air in your room.
Most of the time, this amateur-brewmaster is an old high school friend that goes to another college, usually out of state. And if you're like me, you've probably always assumed it was nothing more than a story. But if I've learned anything in my senior year, it's that this legend is completely true - well, that and how to brew beer under my desk.
There's something about this legend that keeps it alive from semester to semester and decade to decade. I've come to the conclusion that there is a certain devilish-cool factor to dorm room brewing that keeps these stories, whether true or false, alive. In the end, it was the intriguing nature of these stories that made me give it a try.
Brewing your own beer really isn't as hard as most people assume. If you're able to wash dishes and read a thermometer, you can brew beer anywhere.
Brewing:
I used to assume that it would be impossible to brew beer in my dorm because I had no way to continually cook or heat the wort (beer pre-fermentation). Luckily, you really only need to be able to cook the wort for about 30 to 45 minutes, which is easy to do in a UConn dorm since most have kitchens in the basement or first floor. Once you've cooked the ingredients together, you simply have to find a dark place in your room to store the fermenting beer for two or three weeks. While it sits under your desk (or in your closet) the yeast will be hard at work converting the sugars in your wort into beer. For the first few days, you may hear the brew bubbling a bit as excess air escapes from the fermentation vessel.
My roommate's initial objection to my dorm-brewing project was a concern that the yeast might smell bad. But if your equipment is good, it will keep any funky smells in the fermentation vessel and out of the air in your room.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
jeff
posted 5/01/08 @ 4:09 PM EST
I can't wait to try this.
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