Finally. A free weekend. No racing home to see family. No driving down to Philly for a weekend with friends. Family, friends, it's not you, it's me. This weekend it was just me, my cozy apartment and a list of nothing to do. That and a snotty, evil cold. I holed myself up in my room with a tissue box and watched episodes of The Wire for the majority of the weekend. I'm still reeling from discovering they killed Stringer. Seriously?! But Saturday afternoon, I mustered up enough motivation to finally brew beer!

After brewing my first batch of beer (an IPA!), I was surprised to find how easy it was. I always imagined beer making as such a daunting project. But Brooklyn Brew Shop crafted a one-gallon formula perfect for my small apartment.

I don't know what impressed me more, the cardboard packaging the kit was shipped in or how engaged Brooklyn Brew Shop is with its customers. The company provides an easily navigable brew timeline detailing how to brew their beer on its website, quick videos for visual learners, voracious engagement onsocialmedia and creative blog posts including spent grain recipes.

Experiencing the process of brewing, made me better appreciate the yeast, water, grain, malted barley and hops that go into my beer. Maybe it sounds funny to you, but going through the brewing motions causes me to love beer more. Now to wait four weeks to see if I actually love the beer I made.