as some of you know i am a great lover of beer. so much so that i began brewing beer in my garage about a year ago. as it turns out, i seem to have a natural talent at brewing. ive managed to combine sweet or fruity flavors with a high alcohol content in many beers ive affectionately called my 'panty droppers'. ive made cream ales, berry beers, belgian whites, and hefenweisen. i made a cream soda beer and even a vanilla cookie beer. ive even ventured into wine. not because i like it mind you, rather it was an attempt to give my girlfriend something of her own so shed stop drinking all my beer.

ive also gotten into making mead. you know, the stuff the vikings used to drink? if done correctly you get a sweet tasting wine like drink with an extremely high alcohol content, guaranteed to get you smashed. i guess that explains all the raping and pillaging of yore, huh? i have a mead brewing right now for 4th of july. unfortunately the stuff takes half a year or longer to ferment and age so i started it last winter. its gonna be my baby, i sing to it, read bedtime stories, well, not really but you get the picture. i tasted it this week and im really proud of the result. now im gonna age it with slices of honeydew and cantalope to take off the bite while maintaining the 18 percent alcohol content.

another beer im working on perfecting is a blueberry cream ale. ive heard of blueberry beers before and they generally never end well. im hoping to change that. my first run is gonna be done in about 2 weeks and if im lucky, ill get it right the first time. we'll see.

i originally got into brewing as a joke but now im thinking i may eventually try to open a microbrewery. theres a building in the city where i live right near all the bars downtown. it has to be from the mid 1800s with the antique looking brick, cobblestone entryway, and big old rounded oak doors. id like to redo the inside with the big copper vats to give that old time feel to it and decorate the inside similar to an old wine cellar.

my idea is to host beer tasting events and open houses. similar to wine tasting and maintain that high class fancy feel. id also do custom beers for special occasions, and even seasonals and maybe even a small kitchen (makes it easier to get your liquor license). maybe with special dishes that complement particular beers.

what do you think? any ideas? would you go to sindicates microbrewery? enjoy a fine dining experience and sample some fine exclusive brews? maybe even put in an order for a custom beer of your own?

feedback please...