On the first Saturday in May, the American Homebrewers Association celebrates National Homebrew Day with Big Brew, a nationwide effort to get people out to brew beer together. To mark the day, I had the honor of brewing my first batch of beer with my friends from West Sound Brewers, a homebrewing and beer appreciation club in Kitsap County.

Despite the rain and chilly temperatures, six of us brewed beer on Saturday and it was a lot of fun. Everyone in the WSB was extremely friendly and made me feel at home. The day's hosts, Steve and Frances Shaw, were very gracious to let us all run wild in their backyard while we brewed (especially a stranger and first-timer like me). I had great conversations with a lot of people and the many bottles of homebrew and commercial craft beers we shared made the day even more enjoyable.

The beer I brewed was an American Pale Ale. Since it was my first time, I did things the easiest way possible, with a mix of malt extract and steeping grains. I would've loved to do an all-grain brew, but I needed to start simple, and anyway, if I take up brewing I'll only be able to do extract brewing in my tiny apartment. I used two kinds of hops (Galenas and Cascades) during the boil and pitched some yeast into the wort after boiling and cooling. I don't feel like I did much since I was assisted through every step in the process, but I learned a lot.

The two people who deserve the credit if my beer is drinkable are Brad Ginn and Matt Riggs. Matt got all the ingredients for me (and threw in a few extras like Irish moss) and Brad brought the equipment and is now babysitting the beer for me during fermentation. Both worked with me every step of the way, keeping me involved but making sure that I did things correctly. They also shuttled me to and from the ferry. Thanks a lot, guys.

In a couple weeks, I'll go back to bottle my beer and will return with two cases of it. Man, I hope it tastes good because two cases of crappy beer is a lot to drink. Even if it doesn't turn out well, it was still a great experience.

Will I end up brewing on my own? While I'm inclined to say yes (especially if the pale ale is good), it's something I need to think about. I'm a perfectionist, and If I started brewing beer, I'd most likely be driven to make the best tasting beer possible. It could become an expensive and time-consuming passion. I still haven't decided if that would be a good thing.

Now playing on YouTube--a soon-to-be-award-winning movie of my beer fermenting in Brad's bathroom: