So anyways, with the Scraped Knee Wheat safely created (review coming soon, once Booty is available to taste. Possible video of two people who belong in radio!), it was time to turn our attention to something a little different.

Pale Ale is perhaps the "spaghetti and meat sauce" or "Michael Bay screenplay" of homebrew...anyone can do it. More specifically, when ever anyone starts out or (in our case) creates a recipe completely from scratch for the first time, they often go to something relatively simple. Why Pale Ale? Well, it starts with simple ingredients (no crazy adjuncts or speciality grains), the yeast allows it to ferment at a forgivable temperature (68-75 Fahrenheit; or "room temperature"), and if the yeast get hold of something funky in the beer and metabolize it, the off-flavors are often welcome (fruity and even "banana-y" flavors, created when the yeast metabolize stuff other than pure malt sugars, creating esters with such aromas rather than just alcohol and carbon dioxide).

And with that, feeling somewhat inspired by a love of either Crocodile Dundee films or perhaps even Kangaroos (the pocket shoes), Booty and I decided to name our beer the Raging 'Roo. Quiz time! Why do you think we named so awesomely?

C. The use of an Australian Ale Yeast to ferment and give character to the brew






While I can't say which answer is really correct, for the purpose of education, let's say it's C.

Yeast is incredibly important to the character of anything fermented. Even the winos reading this know the importance of particular strains of yeast; winemakers around the world so often rely on inoculated yeasts to mimic the character of legendary wild yeasts of Burgundy, Bordeaux, Tuscany, and other heralded wine regions. Otherwise, the local wild yeasts would produce who-knows-what (this is why they say you can only get "San Francisco" sourdough in San Francisco, or why obnoxious buffoons from Philadelphia say cheesesteaks everywhere else stink..."it's the bread!" they squawk).

So, it's bottled, and it's gotta sit there for a least a couple weeks. Come back and I'll fill you in on the brewing process, as well as a review (and I'll give you the recipe if it's not good enough to bury in a mason jar in my backyard).