I have to go to an AA meeting

This post was written by Peter Stetina on December 8, 2008

A long time ago (4 months ago to be exact) I was given a home brewing kit for my 21st birthday. A short time later, the name Altitude Ales (AA) was born in the Colorado high country while ripping up some sick single track and combating the lack of oxygen in my lungs. It’s a great name, showing I’m local, and giving birth to an unlimited amount of ironic jokes (I can see the t-shirts now). Patent Pending here, don’t steal it!

As a cyclist, one needs to find a hobby for the much welcomed but all to brief off-season. Something to fill-in the time normally reserved for training the rest of the year. Something fun when friends and loved ones are off at school or working during the weekdays. For some it’s cooking, home remodeling, other sports, or just lounging. For me it was building a table with Ju, traveling, and brewing beer.

Home brewing is the perfect hobby, you don’t think of anything else whilst doing it. All you need is patience. In the long run you save money (works out to about a dollar a beer after startup costs), enjoy great microbrews, and have a whole new arsenal of conversation topics.

Brewing is hard to perfect but easy to do. I mean, my first beer was a pumpkin spice, just now ready in time for the holidays. I can see things to work on next time, but as is, tastes like any decent micro brew. I didn’t use quite enough pumpkin, but the spice is there, and it’s 9%. It’ll knock your block off after one bottle!

Now meow I’m in the process of fermenting a honey brown ale. It’ll be about 5.5%, brewed with 2lbs. of fresh raw honey! I call it the Beehive Brown.