Suits me to a tea

Fork and Hay Brewing is turning over a new leaf, so to speak.

I've spent the better part of the last year trying to learn the art of brewing beer, with mixed success. As the time has worn on I have found that I derive less and less satisfaction from the effort - the thrill is gone. I certainly didn't expect that outcome. The effort I've put into this hobby just hasn't given me beer that is different enough from what I can get at the convenience store to make it worthwhile.

As I sat here this morning wondering what I could do to recapture the spark that pushed me into this whole exercise, I started to realize that the solution was in my very hand - a bottle of green tea.

When I started Fork and Hay I didn't know the first thing about how beer was made, what ingredients were required, what processes were followed...and now I do. It struck me that on the whole lately I've consumed a lot more green tea than beer due to annoyances like company bans on alcohol in the workplace and the fact that Breakfast Stout isn't on tap next to the cinnamon rolls at the Holiday Inn Express, and I don't know the first thing about it. I did a little Topeka-ing
and found that there was a vibrant, if small, home tea-ing community just beginning to explore the boundaries of the green tea revolution.

I've grown weary of the limited taste opportunities afforded by the BNL (Bigelow-Nestle-Lipton) megabrewer varieties I can get at the grocery store. I want to have new citrus flavor options - try new concentrations and blends - maybe even process my own decaf. There's a lot of effort going into fusions like "Earl Green" too - tea blends that cross the boundaries of the traditional styles. I want in on the ground floor.

The upshot of all this is that I'm dumping the beer when I get home and starting a basic Sencha. It's been a great ride but it's time to move on to the Next Big Thing.