Homebrewing boom

In the past two months, I found out that three good friends have begun making their own beer. I had a chance to try an IPA my buddy Mike made at a Super Bowl party and I was really impressed. I'm not a big hop person, but it was a very smooth beer, and I had a twinge of jealousy when I drank it that I didn't make it! My beers of late haven't turned out how I have planned and that's a really a set back because I don't like to finish them off with the same gusto, leaving me undersupplied for bottles.

I think my enthusiasm for making beer, and the early good results I had, encouraged some of them to get into it. Though, I really don't know for sure what motivated them. After the equipment purchase, it's a really good deal. You can make two cases of quality beer for $30 or less. Eventually, I probably will get or make equipment to make all-grain beers. The problem I am running into is that I don't drink enough to justify all the beer making and some of my more recent batches aren't that great, so I don't want to give them away. I will plow through the bottles eventually.

I bottled the golden ale I made last weekend and was disappointed to find the final gravity was around 1.022, way above the intended range, meaning the beer is sweeter and lower in alcohol than I intended. I tasted the beer, pre-bottled, and found it to be pretty solid. Certainly, I should be able to drink it. It's also a nice light color and I left it in the fermenter for more than three weeks, so it cleared out well. I'm hoping the wheat I used will help it with head creation. I have had the best luck brewing with English ale yeasts. They produce fruitier flavors in the beer, but the beer tastes good and I am getting good attenuation - or alcohol creation.