Homebrew and NFL= Awesome Combo

There's a good many NFL fans in my area that are feeling worried.  Tonight one of the biggest games of the season is happening.  In this area of southeastern Ohio where I live, no game other than the Stuperbowl tops Steelers V Ravens.  Both teams had weird weeks last Sunday, so tonight they both have something to prove.  For all of the Steelers and Ravens fans around here there is a simple phrase I would like to impart to all of you.  RDWHAHB.  In the brew community this stands for Relax, Don't Worry.  Have A Home Brew.  Over the past 5 years making my own beer and wine has become a big hobby for me and other than my first batch, which tasted like someone filtered a beer through week old dirty gym socks soaked in the worst possible cough medicine you've ever tasted, I've produced good results.  In light of the fact that I never watch football without a beer, I've decided to share my passion with you guys.

This is my Graff. 

A Graff is a style of beer where amounts of apple juice and or whole apples are added to the brew.  This is one of my favorite summer recipes.  It's crisp, and has a nice bite in the finish especially if you finish it with the right hops and spices.  This particular Graff was made with Bavarian Wheat malt, English Maris Otter Barley malt, Honey Malt, Australian Hallertau hops, Belgian candy sugar, The juice and pulp of Honey Crisp and Jazz apples, and lemon zest.

Needless to say, a metric fuck-ton of work went into making this batch of beer, but the end result was well worth the wait.  Why would I do this?  Why would I devote the time and energy involved in home brewing when I could go down the street and pick up something that is, in the end, cheaper and ready to drink when bought.  Two reasons, one for the sheer joy of enjoying something that I crafted with my own two hands, and two because what I brew beats the crap out of the piss water most brewer try to pass off as beer with a brick.

As you can see, I'm a fan of dark beers,

I think they have a bit more character than their lighter brothers, but I've brewed lighter ales that have all come out delicious.  Not to mention, check out the head on that mug.  Tell me that anything you get from the store short of Guinness gets that kind of nice thick lasting head.  I know the picture can be a bit misleading, but this brew is not actually as dark as it looks. 

Take a look at it with a little bit of light behind it.

This ale is more the color of good honey.  Needless to say I'll be knocking back more than one of these while I watch the game to see if my prediction comes true.  Baltimre -5.78.  I'll have the rest of my week 2 picks up in a few days, so for now just RDWHAHB, or whatever you have in the fridge.