A Pitch to Change the World

Our current education system is certainly flawed as it teaches little more than how to work hard. Sure you do acquire some new skills in your various classes and you get to hear about some interesting facts. But how much of that information would you be able to recall a month after classes let out for break? Maybe quite a bit; your memory may be better than mine. I do not mean to say that we should do away with the current system in its entirety. There are factors that we should definitely keep and in fact expand as far as we possibly can.

Too School for Cool is an organization that is striving to develop research programs for students at all institutions.  Many universities, especially those part of the Ivy League, have begun programs for research in many fields. Unfortunately they are few and far between.  A very minimal number of students get the chance to take part in these opportunities because of limited funding for research at a given university.  Our company plans to help develop these programs for not just college students but for those in high school as well. Some students discover their passions early and want to go head first into a program of their desired field. These students crave learning and want to start making a true difference as soon as possible.

Its not fair that the plans of society hinder these talented young minds from expanding their knowledge.  These students don't want to waste time learning European history. They want to discover the cure for diseases, become a neuroscientist, or maybe become a talent agent.  The point is though that if they spend all of their time caught in the rat race of a broken system they may never learn the things they want to learn. They may lose the passion for the field because they never got the chance to enter the field when they wanted. Congratulations society, you just stopped the cure for cancer from coming about.

A New Education Part II

My last article details many failures of the current education system. I also discuss the idea of learning by doing, which provides real world experience and better motivation for discovering individual passions.  Many universities have begun this style of education through research programs. This has been the most effective learning method thus far as it encourages healthy competition to learn while also fostering new discoveries. The minds of the young can be the most useful when utilized properly and we should encourage this type of learning for all students.

The unfortunate aspect of the research programs is that they are too expensive to offer to all students and therefore many growing minds are left out of the best opportunities for them. I advocate that these types of research opportunities should be the main focus of funding in universities. I also believe that many of these types of programs should be provided to students in K-12 who have discovered their passions and would like to begin focusing on work that will benefit them in the long run. Let us allow the next generation to shine as they should and let us not hinder advancements to humanity that could have been had.

A New Education

Dear "Bored of Education", so are we.  At what point in the lives we truly live will we have to sit in rows listening to lectures and then be tested on our ability to retain that information?  And at what point in human history did we decide that the most useful skills to teach were attendance and the regurgitation of what has already been said?  Why do we stress ourselves to complete pointless tasks to be given a piece of paper that says we are qualified to do a job that we don't enjoy? Dear "Bored of Education", so are we.

Our current education system fosters students to procrastinate and do what they deem necessary to complete their assignments. Only few students put forth the effort required to truly learn the material. Why? Because they are overwhelmed by the general course material that the current system decided everyone should learn. But an artist is never going to need to learn more than basic math and a physicist doesn't need to memorize the historical dates and people of various countries. Can we not Google when the Declaration of Independence was signed? Or who the ruler of England was in 1865? When students are blasted with the teachings of five entirely different courses, they have no room to discover their passions so that they might specialize towards their dream career. 

Remember back to when you first learned to drive; you were given two types of courses. The first a class setting where you were tested on rules of the road and what various signs implied to the drivers. Now think about this one for a minute and tell me something important you learned there. A significant rule of the freeways and highways is the maximum speed of 65 mph unless otherwise stated.  When you think about this consider how often you truly follow it. Do you always go 65 mph or less? If you're anything like me, probably not.  Actually driving on the roads gives you an entirely different perspective on safe driving however.  

When you see every other car moving 80-90 mph, are you going to hug the right side and cruise at 65 toward your destination? Fuck no! You're gonna have cars flying by you going anywhere from 10-30 mph faster.  Through this you learn by experience and gain a better understanding of truly how to drive. This is exactly why the second style of class pairs you with an experienced driver to guide you through the interactions you face. And you drive! You practice and research the required skills and one day they allow you to drive on your own. A student learns by doing, what a novel idea! 

The new education system will take the strengths of the previous, modifying the the downsides to foster better learning and specialization. We must allow our future generations to expand their creativity and become free thinkers, not force them into a structured and conformed way of thinking that will get learners trapped in the rat race of life.  So let our children be free to discover their true selves.  Let our children specialize in what they can excel in and what they enjoy most.  And once they have found their path, join them with a professional whom may best guide their learning on a more personal level.  

This will foster a new generation of thinkers who not only know their practice better but also be more excited to attend their work and cooperate with other experts.  This generations will be self-actualized to their work and will be committed to both excellence and innovation in their individual fields. The new generation of people will have the capacity to innovate as our forefathers did before the current system had been implemented.  Please, wake up America. Discover yourself and change the world. 

The Wim Hof Method

Have you ever wanted to increase your metabolism? How about your immune system? Your body temperature? Your heartbeat? All of these have to do with your autonomous body processes, which are the ones that are normally run automatically by your brain without you having to think about it. Unfortunately, these systems are inefficient to adaptation to new environments. Our bodies tend to respond slowly to stimuli and sometimes act too late. Wim Hof has developed a breathing method that allows us to take command over these autonomous systems and use them to our liking.

For a little bit of background, Wim Hof has earned himself the nickname "Iceman" through his 20 Guinness World Records for withstanding extreme temperature. He has climbed Mt. Everest and Kilimanjaro wearing nothing more than shorts and shoes, and he has run a full marathon without food and water through the hottest desert at an average 122 degrees. He has also recently been injected with a powerful virus that causes nausea and vomiting.  Throughout the duration of the effects, Wim experienced no more than a slight headache.

The method is very detailed and takes large amounts of training to complete. So below, I have added a link to an article detailing the extent of the method and providing additional information on Wim Hof. I have already applied some of his training to my own life and I hope to spread the uses of the great breathing method on his behalf.

High Existence - The Wim Hof Method Revealed
http://highexistence.com/the-wim-hof-method-revealed-how-to-consciously-control-your-immune-system/

Genius III - An Interview with Michael Spence

Michael Spence has an eye-opening theory on money and work. Like many people he sees that the money made by a business is forwarded straight to the owners of the organization. The people who work hard to make the products and provide services are merely just paid for their time. Industries have merely shifted away from true slavery to more of a paid slavery. We don't have control of our lives; we are told when we must work, eat, and go home; and we are told to do tasks at risk of punishment if not completed. Under this system we invest our time for a payment that never seems to be enough. If you truly wish to work hard and become rich, then a career working for someone else's organization will leave you greatly dissatisfied. Spend your time searching for worthwhile investments that provide you with steady income as an asset. Have your money work for you, otherwise you will spend your life slaving away for money. You can read more deeply about these types of ideas in Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki.

People Under The Stairs

Have you heard about the People Under The Stairs? Thes One and Double K have been performing for almost 20 years and selling out shows while being masters of the DIY ethic. Under this method, the pair have managed to remain independent of music labels while selling out venues all around the world. If you still haven't heard of them after all this time then I would highly recommend you listen to LA Song and check out their album "... Or Stay Tuned". These make up an excellent introductory selection to their funky and R&B style.

The main reason that this group produces such great quality music stems from their ability to remain free of music governments telling them what they can and cannot play. From the first song to playing their discography on shuffle I've been extremely pleased with all of the group's music. I hope they find themselves able to remain independent and performing to sold out concerts for as long as they live. For the day that The P decides to stop performing, the game of rap and hip hop will lose some of its greatest talents.

Genius of Money ~ Chapter 9

Faith, Hope, and Love

The chapter opens with a poem from T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. In her writings, she describes how we love and hope for the wrong things, but faith is always present. John Bloom goes on to relate each of these as 'Elements of an Appreciative Economy'. By slowing your inner processes down, you can control your decisions and curb your impulses to solve problems rather than reacting emotionally to them. 

Bloom believes that Faith "is built upon a complex of outer and inner inquiries and experiences over time." This relates to the idea of brand allegiance in the free market. The idea is that you test the waters with new brands, but after using multiple products from that brand you automatically make purchases of that brand over others for related products. While Faith focuses on assurances from the past, Hope looks more toward the future. Hope is the projection of your inner feelings and intentions and is the center of the moral and ethical part of you that can only be accessed by yourself. Love. What is Love? I really enjoyed how a few of Bloom's words discussed it. "The practice of love also generates an energetic field around me that unconsciously interacts and exchanges with others." So love is connected to being as opposed to doing. In the deepest sense, Love is described as "one way to bring healing through the consummation of purchase transactions. 

Each of these are qualities of the soul that can be powerful factors into your decision making. You should let them guide you, but only once you learn what to Hope for, what to Love, and where to place your Faith. The ideal goal to be reached here is to have the three qualities of the soul connect and align toward their proper goals. Only then can you use you full inner processes to make wise financial decisions and to not react emotionally. 

The Genius of Money Ch. 6 & 14

Chapter 6

In Chapter 6 of The Genius of Money, the author displays an artwork by Quentin Metsys of The Money Lender and His Wife. Within the painting there are several symbols of the social and religious realm of the time. It is mentioned that the painting is from the renaissance era, and it perfectly portrays many different social features of its time. In the portrait, the man is seen folding the money and the woman is seen with a religious piece. This reflects the societal view of women’s incapability to control money and finances during this time. The reading then explains the lessons that are meant to be shown throughout the painting. This artwork symbolizes a common Christian man and his wife with a representation of their daily lives. The details in the painting, such as the crucifix window reflection, show both the author’s creativity and reason for the painting.

One vital lesson behind the painting is that each exchange of coin had a story to tell about the “issuer, provenance, and value system.” For the money lender and his wife, money represented judgment. Their devotions, however, fell to the church. The author uses this example to show how times have changed and people now see banks as the new high priesthood. The fact that the woman’s attention is with the man and not her religious book shows the lust for wealth and the material world over the desire for devotion and the holy. The painting seems like a warning that the society is in danger with such values in place. The chapter ends with the explanation of the old man and child in the background. This is a representation of wisdom and acculturation being passed on to the next generation. Overall, this chapter helps us think about our own values and morals as well as how we are the example to our younger generations.

Chapter 14

The Touchstone and the Labyrinth takes a step into understanding the mystery of money through spiritual and materialistic ideas coming together to form a larger picture. As John Bloom describes, money can be recognized “as a medium of expression, as a social technology, and one that makes the invisible visible by bringing together value with material goods.” We know that America abandoned the Gold Standard long ago under Nixon. Now what does this mean for money? Money is an abstract and non-material form that earns is value solely based on governmental decree (or more simply put, on faith). The touchstone and the labyrinth are two symbols that lead to the understanding of what we choose to give outer value, what provides us inner worth, and the alignment between the inner and outer.

The touchstone shows use some of the earliest stages of our materialistic ways. In using this you would mark the stone with gold of a known purity and compare that to the mark of a material of unknown contents. The material will be refined through acid testing to attain the likeness of the known marker. This shows how we compare what we have to the treasures of others and often become filled with desire to have the most of the best we can acquire. The labyrinth takes us on another journey entirely traversing a horizontal plane to arrive at a location of vertical enlightenment. This symbol represents the journey one takes to reflect upon their life’s path. Stones are the currency here; they represent the field of energy coursing through the veins of the labyrinth. This idea is akin to the way we see money as the provider of energy to the economy and the only thing that can form walls to an individual’s journey to a higher state. These ideas show the destruction of spirituality and connection we had with our money and materials. Now in the materialistic age we exist, the outer value of desires trumps the inner worth we see in our possessions and our lives.

Xcel Energy Memorandum

From: Alexander Grupp, Research and Development

To: Clark Hansen, CEO

Subject: Xcel Energy: Possible Investment Opportunity for AMDP

Date: March 6, 2016

In the last week, I have been closely following a few organizations for potential investments. The most exciting of which is a utility company known as Xcel Energy. After some time of research into Xcel, I found a few reasons as to why AMDP should invest with them:

1.    Xcel Energy has achieved the status of being Climate Registered

2.   Xcel is currently partnering with Panasonic in a project to turn Denver into a ‘smart city’

3.   They have worked to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 20% since 2005 (2)

Xcel’s latest project, involving the partnership with Panasonic and the city of Denver, describes the installation of a solar energy collection and battery storage carport system. According to Alice K. Jackson (a regional vice president at Xcel Energy), this will be “the most comprehensive project of this type in Colorado history and the first with actual customer participation in a real world environment.”(10)

Why is Xcel Energy so Exciting?

Founded in 1909 and developed in Minneapolis, Xcel Energy now serves over 3.5 million electricity and 2 million natural gas customers with one of the top portfolios relating to renewable resources. XE has been a very successful company for many years now with both a satisfied customer base and loyal employee force. In fact, “94 percent of customers surveyed are satisfied with Xcel Energy” (1). This along with the estimated 30 percent carbon footprint by 2020 fits the goals that Xcel strives for in their mission: “We provide our customers the safe, clean, reliable energy services they want and value at a competitive price” (1). XE goes even further than just making a profit and putting smaller levels of harm on the environment; they also make an effort to benefit the communities that they serve. They are also striving to one day (very long in the future) eliminate their carbon footprint entirely. For the last seven years the company has tracked and reported its emissions and environmental damage to The Climate Registry, which earned Xcel Energy the title of being Climate Registered.

 Xcel Energy and the Triple Bottom Line

When you hired me to bring you new investment opportunities, you encouraged me greatly to seek out those using a Triple Bottom Line as their accounting framework. This accounting style is very important to any organization trying to be socially and environmentally responsible as it goes beyond the traditional measures of profit, return on investment, and shareholder value to include considerations for the environment and community said company resides in. These organizations can be non-profit, for-profit, or government sectors. The TBL is rapidly becoming the top tool for businesses and organizations to evaluate their performance and sustainability. Now the question is, how does Xcel Energy compare in terms of the 3 P’s (people, planet, and profit)?

Every year, the Xcel Energy is making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint in the interest of protecting the planet from further environmental harm. An organization’s carbon footprint consists of measuring the amount of carbon—this will generally be measured in tonnes—and the level of demand that this impact places on the resources of our planet. Too much of this carbon will overrun Earth’s natural process rate of recycling carbon back into the environment from the CO₂ form. "Xcel Energy's VP for policy and strategy Frank Prager says the company has already scheduled certain coal plant retirements that it considered economic with or without carbon policy assumptions, but continues to utilize an internal price on carbon for proxy planning purposes to reduce future carbon risk faced by the company and its consumers" (8).  

Even though the calculated TBL allows for maintaining the use of coal plants and still being sustainable, XE decided that they would rather just eliminate them all together to move toward the use of renewable energies alone. From their actions, I believe that Xcel Ecergy is making an excellent effort towards having corporate social responsibility (CSR).

 What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

A company with CSR achieves and then will surpass the requirements set out by environmental protection groups or other regulators. These companies will also form “initiatives to assess and take responsibility for the company’s effects on environmental and social wellbeing” (4). Through their Xcel Energy Foundation, XE donates around $13 million each year back to the communities it serves. Over the next five years, XE also plans to invest $14.5 billion into their electric and natural gas businesses towards continually providing reliable and affordable energy to communities with a lessened environmental impact. Xcel Energy clearly strives to protect the planet and give back to the people who have supported them for their excellent service. This is a company that will show continuous growth for years to come and will support the community with jobs and safe, eco-friendly energy. I would definitely consider Xcel Energy to have corporate social responsibility as we search for here at AMDP.

You mentioned that you love Social Enterprise…

I remembered that you really enjoy company’s that can fit the description of a social enterprise. As you know, a social enterprise is an organization with two main goals:

1.    To achieve social, cultural, community economic and/or environmental outcomes

2.   To earn revenue

For these companies, the mission of the organization is the goal and focus of the business. Income generation plays a very important role in supporting these goals with a financial backing. “Xcel Energy contributed more than $45 million to communities in 2014 through a combination of foundation giving, volunteer contributions, energy assistance and support for economic development” (7). They also have over 11,000 full-time employees—many of which are military veterans. Xcel Energy feeds much of the profits the company earns back into the Xcel Energy Foundation that I mentioned earlier. This is a common strategy used by social enterprises to fulfill more of its social mission through entrepreneurial methods.

Xcel Energy has been more Profitable than ever for Investors

In addition to the company’s many successful years of growth, the last decade has seen rises in stock value to almost double what was seen in 2006. Xcel’s value is also the highest that it has ever been since being founded. With projections to remain on the rise in the coming years, Xcel Energy’s growth is showing benefits to the customers that switch to Xcel for their energy needs. Recently, the company has seen an increase of about 1,100 new customers that will be saving money on their monthly energy bills by switching. This customer acquisition projects an “increase [in] annual revenue by about $600,000” (1). This money will eventually go back into the businesses to improve services for customers while attracting new ones.

The following link will show you the stock history for Xcel Energy on Google Finance:

http://www.google.com/finance?cid=665164

The Verdict

Should AMDP invest in Xcel Energy Inc? Absolutely. They follow all of the ideas behind what we search for in companies and Xcel is one of the top competitors in the market with high levels of recent growth. In a 2014 Ceres report, we see that Xcel had 18.1% of 2012 retail electric sales—that’s #2 in the market! (9) They are also #5 in Cumulative Annual Energy Efficiency. Xcel Energy proves itself as an organization deserving of being in the top U.S. utilities for renewable energies and energy efficiency. In addition, the company has seen steady growth since this report (again, nearly doubling since 2006). AMDP should not pass up an opportunity like Xcel Energy, the only complaint that you will have is that you didn’t invest sooner and with more money.

Works Cited

1.             “CRR2014: Our Company”. XcelEnergy. 2015. <xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/ xe/Corporate/CRR2014/company/index.html>

2.            Hardcastle, Jessica Lyons. “Xcel Energy ‘On Track’ to 30% Carbon Footprint reduction by 2020”. Environmental Leader. 2015. <environmentalleader.com/2015/08/28/xcel-energy-on-track-to-30-carbon-footprint-reduction-by-2020/>

3.            Hall, Tanya J. and Timothy F. Slaper, Ph.D. “The Triple Bottom Line: What Is It and How Does It Work?”. Indiana Business Review. 2011.<ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2011/ spring/article2.html>

4.            “Corporate Social Responsibility”.  Investopedia. 2016. <investopedia.com/ terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp>

5.             “What is Social Enterprise?”. BC Center for Social Enterprise. 2016. <centreforsocialenterprise.com/what-is-social-enterprise/>

6.            “Carbon Footprint”.  Global Footprint Network. 2015.  <footprintnetwork.org/ en/index.php/GFN/page/carbon_footprint/>

7.            “CRR2014: Providing Community Value”. XcelEnergy. 2015. <xcelenergy.com/ staticfiles/xe/Corporate/CRR2014/community/index.html>

8.            Hardcastle, Jessica Lyons. “How Carbon Pricing Can Boost the Bottom Line”. Environmental Leader. 2014. <environmentalleader.com/2014/06/27/how-carbon-pricing-can-boost-the-bottom-line/>

9.            Fleming, Peyton and Meg Wilcox. “First-of-its-Kind Report Ranks U.S. Utility Companies’ Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency Performance”. Ceres. 2014.  http://www.ceres.org/press/press-releases/first-of-its-kind-report-ranks-u.s.-electric-utility-companies2019-renewable-energy-energy-efficiency-performance>

10.         Hardcastle, Jessica Lyons. “How Carbon Pricing Can Boost the Bottom Line”. Environmental Leader. 2016. <environmentalleader.com/2016/01/05/panasonic-provides-smart-city-technologies-to-denver/>

Growing a Farmer 2.0

How the Land Taught the Farmer to Live

A look at the considerations of how our actions shape the world around us versus how the world shapes and defines our decisions.

Kurt Timmermeister's attitude throughout Growing a Farmer is defined by change, risk, and acceptance of results. In nearly every chapter, Kurt is faced with a new challenge toward the future of his farm as well as himself. The author uses this book as an expanded metaphor showing how growing yourself as a person is much like that of growing crops on a farm, changes will be made as they are needed. This is shown in the decisions our farmer made with every life experience. Kurt spent a large portion of time both managing and working in a restaurant. Little by little, the process and quality of the foods pushed him to supply himself with more natural and traditional alternatives for his own meals. So, Kurt started a farm to produce his meats and vegetables more naturally. After enough of those meals, he decided to share his love of higher quality and homemade foods with as many loved ones (and eventually customers) as he could. We must refine ourselves as people to grow into the greatest yield possible--just as day to day decisions are made to crops, such as the amount of water to give them.

Nothing is consistent and each product differs week by week on a farm. Therefor, Timmermeister is required to make risky decisions in order to maintain his farm and livelihood. When a product turns out differently than expected, the farmer is forced to accept the fruits of his labor. Kurt would never see his products as any better or worse than store bought ones. Rather, he noted that each set of bacon and every tub of butter was different, spotlighting the unique characteristics. I really enjoyed the "Butchering" chapter for this reason. He talks about how "we all want to create industrial butter, industrial bacon, industrial pork. That is our reality." But true bacon will not always be 7x1 inch slices with alternating stripes of fats and lean meats. And butter will not have the perfect consistency to spread over toast. The farmer matures and grows in his love for the exciting uniqueness of each week's supply. He finds motivation to get out of bed every morning to take on a new challenge and to care for the flora and fauna of his farm. I believe that this is what allowed Kurt to understand the difference of how the farm grows the farmer when the farmer believes he is the one growing the farm. I believe this love and motivation is what led to the sharing of his experience in this book.

The Gruppster’s Brew

A Guide on Creating an Enjoyable Beer that Defines Your Style

"Image courtesy of VisitMontgomery.com"

I didn’t care much for beer when I was younger. In fact, I didn’t enjoy a “cold brew” until my late teen years when I tasted my first craft beer. But what really peaked my interest in craft beer, a holy grail of drinks, was the discovery of microbrews. Now, some people might say that alcoholism and science cannot coexist. Home-brewing not only disproves this idea, but it also shows how the two enhance one another to produce a beverage of such quality enjoyment. Like any practice, the brewing process gets easier and results in a better product with each subsequent trial. Now if you read this guide and your first brew doesn’t reach the standards that you were expecting, you just need to remember the encouraging words of our 39^th President’s brother, Billy Carter: “There is no such thing as a bad beer. It’s that some taste better than others.”

Engineering Your Beer

Step one in producing your delicious creation is to determine the type of beer you would like. First off, you will decide whether to brew an ale or a lager. While there are many different variations of these two categories such as bocks, IPAs, stouts and barley wines, there are far too many to define and describe here without writing a short novel. The idea is to pick a general style you want to try out and then research the specifics of your choice. Ales are great to begin with, as they have been the style that has been getting our ancestors hammered for centuries in the past. Lagers, on the other hand, are considered a much younger species of beers since we have had less experience with them (only the last few centuries or so), but there is no wrong choice.

Once you have made your initial decision, the real fun of the creation process begins. Now we can decide upon the numerous appearances and tastes that will fashion your wort and, in turn, your beer. Wort is what we like to call our liquid before the fermentation process, when all of the human effort (besides bottling and drinking) has been completed. I will go into more detail about how this gets turned into beer later on in this guide.

"Image courtesy of SmithsonianMag.com"

As you will experience, the malts and hops you choose will define the taste of your beer throughout the creation process. Certain malts will develop into sweeter flavors than others. The right combination of malts with the hops can complement each other to give you a good, balanced brew. Similar to many other types of pairings, the general rule applies - opposites attract. You can also create a “hoppy” beer by choosing an especially strong set of hops to add earthy, herbal, spicy, or even citrus-like flavors and aromas to the beer. Hops are also what give the beer its bitter taste, which you can later quantify in what has come to be known as International Bittering Units (IBUs). For example, “an American Light Lager may have 5 to 8 IBUs, while an Imperial India Pale Ale (IPA) may have 100 or more IBUs” (Nachel 1). Along with bitterness, the color and gravity—the general viscosity or thickness of the liquid—of the beer can largely impact the overall enjoyment of a beer.

Color begins with the grains you choose to make the beer. “All beers have color, whether it’s light, dark, or somewhere in between… Light-colored grains results in a pale-colored beer; conversely, darker-roaster grains produce darker beers” (Nachel 1). Some of my favorite breweries manage to even create red colorings in their beers. Gravity on the other hand comes from the level of maltose dissolved in your wort. With higher levels of maltose per unit of volume, the beer will gain a more “full-bodied” feeling. This is similar to the idea of wine having “legs” when swirled in the glass. All of these factors will come to define the greatness of your drinks.

Alter the Process, Define the Taste

So how do we begin the process of brewing our well-thought creation? You will have to gather all of the required equipment and ingredients. You will need:

-       5+ gallon boiling pot

-       A fermentor of equivalent size,

-       Sterilizer

-       Thermometer

-       Hydrometer

-       Scales (optional)

-       Straining bag (for your grains)

-       A barrel or bottles depending how you would like to ferment your beer

-       Bottle caps and a bottle capper (if you choose to use bottles)

-       A syphon tube

-       The ingredients of your chosen beer

Since I don’t want to bore you with all the specifics and many steps that are subject to change with each brew, I will include a link to a YouTube video created by WNCBikeRider that can describe the basic process with some visual demonstrations. The man may seem a bit dry in his tutorial, but the dryness only added to the humor in my opinion.

After a few trials, you may begin to embrace your inner artistic self by changing your temperatures, heating times, or the volumes of ingredients to enhance your brew to better fit your liking; I personally like to add in multiple varieties of hops and in greater quantities to produce exotic flavors that transform the brew into a novel creation. I have used Simcoe hops, for example, which provide a pleasant pine flavor that I highly recommend trying. Adding extra hops can turn your IPA into a Double IPA or even an Imperial IPA. The endless possibilities of manipulating your beer allow you to explore your creative side in the art of brewing.

"Image courtesy of BigCommerce.com"

John Palmer summarizes the process in 5 easy steps:

“1. Malted barley is soaked in hot water to release the malt sugars.

2. The malt sugar solution is boiled with Hops for seasoning.

3. The solution is cooled and yeast is added to begin fermentation.

4. The yeast ferments the sugars, releasing the CO₂ and ethyl alcohol.

5. When the main fermentation is complete, the beer is bottled with a little bit of added sugar to provide the carbonation,” (Palmer).

Palmer has links on his page that will describe a few alternative methods like brewing with extract and steeped grain, but this guide is meant to explain the more creative aspects behind the process. You begin with a large (preferably 5 or more gallons) pot of boiling water in which you place the grains contained in a bag, similar to a tea bag diffusing in water. When the water is at a boil and the grains have seeped into the water, you should add the packets of malt that you have selected. At particular intervals after pouring in and stirring the malt, additions of hops must be added to the mixture. The choices you have made at the start of the brewing process come in to play here and will express their colors in the final product. In addition, the timing of adding the yeast to the mixture can make an enormous difference in your beer. I also told a small white lie when I said you need to decide at the start whether the brew should be an ale or lager. It is in fact the type of yeast you use that actually determines the category of your beer. While top-fermenting yeast will float on the surface of your beer during fermentation and produce an ale, bottom-fermenting yeast, in which “the yeasts sink to the bottom of the beer during fermentation” (Nachel 2) will produce a lager. I bet you always thought that yeast infections could only be a bad thing, but without them, alcohol would not exist.

Unleashing Your Inner Beer Snob

Once your yeast has turned your wort to beer and you bottle your brews, you need to continue to keep your beers in a temperature-controlled environment. After a few weeks, your beers are ready to be tasted. If this is your first brew then you should probably try the first opening with a sample group to make sure the taste is at least close to par (I said the process was fun, but not always easy). When you’re willing to share the beer on a larger scale, I recommend having a beer tasting party. My brothers and I would invite all of our friends whom appreciate a good beer and everyone would bring a large bottle of a craft brew made by their favorite brewery. Give everyone a tasting cup (preferably a clean glass each time) and a small sample from each bottle. Now is the time to unleash your inner beer snob. 

"Image courtesy of TheCraftyBastards.com"

To earn the title of a beer snob, you will be required to have experience with many of the various craft brews—you can’t trust someone who only drinks Shock Top and Coors—and a certain vocabulary to show off your beer smarts.  I mentioned earlier how you can shoot for a well-balanced beer, but describing a beer goes way beyond saying that one has an even level of flavors. Beers can be hoppy or malty, floral or roasty, or perhaps even complex and aggressive. The more you experience tasting, the better you will learn these terms along with many more. No one becomes an expert after the first IPA.

At some point in your beer tasting party, you should bring out your creation to allow your friends a sample. You will know immediately by their faces if your beer should be put into a competition or poured into the toilet. Take everything you hear into consideration and try again with your next beer. Perhaps you added way too much malt or didn’t leave your grains in long enough. On the other hand, you may have brewed an amazing beer. If so, you should do your best to replicate your work and enjoy the fruits of your labor long into retirement.

The Bottom of the Glass

Your first attempt at home brewing may be full of mistakes and your efforts may result in a liquid so bitter that you wouldn’t let your dog drink it. I encourage you to not let a single failure stop you. Brewing is a fun and exciting experience when you finally get the hang of it. I highly recommend that you brew with your best friends and drink from start to finish. One last piece of advice I will give you is that the better your hops smell, the better the taste they will add to your finished product. Good luck and happy brewing!

Works Cited 

Ettlinger, Steve, and Marty Nachel. “The Basic Styles of Beer”. Beer for Dummies, 2^nd Edition. <http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-basic-styles-of-beer.html>

Ettlinger, Steve, and Marty Nachel. “Traits of Taste in Different Beers”. Beer for Dummies, 2^nd Edition. <http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/traits-of-taste-in-different-beers.html>

“How to home Brew Beer in Your Kitchen”. Web. <http://drinkcraftbeer.com/home-brewing/how-to/how-to-home-brew-beer-in-your-kitchen.html>

Palmer, John. “Introduction.” How To Brew. 2015. Web. <howtobrew.com/book/introduction>