We are writing this story of our homebrew adventure in appreciation and thanks for the service you have provided for us. You have given us our most valued knowledge of the trade, not to mention fresh ingredients, quality equipment, and great service. Our adventure began in April of 2000. My neighbor, Ray, and myself, Dave, started the art of homebrewing in my driveway. We live on Lewis Ave in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. (About 50 miles north of Philadelphia) We purchased our first beginners kit and made an English Brown Ale out of prehopped extract. Of course, we thought our first batch of beer was awesome (our wives weren’t as impressed) and this drove us deeper into the beer making business. One of our first issues at hand, was to name our beloved ale. We sat in my driveway pondering the question (drinking our homebrew), when our wives were discussing how we looked like jack asses making our first batch. Thus, the name “Jack Ass Ale” came into existence. We graduated to our first, all-grain ale, on a hot summer day in July and almost cried when we used it to water the shrubs 3 weeks later. This set back did not stop us, through reading, research, and bugging the hell out of the HBA guys we finally got the process down with success. Our brewing process was improving and we were making new equipment all the time. My wife got us 3 half-barrel kegs. She would go to different beer distributors obtaining empty kegs on the notion she was making planters. By the time we got our brewing system up and running to full capability, the weather had turned cold and snowy. (As winters get in the Northeast). The weather was not going to stop our brewing and we moved all our equipment to Ray’s enclosed patio. (His wife loved us) As we made our brews, we froze until the wort started to boil, and had to break ice off of our equipment when cleaning. These problems led to a whole new adventure. Ray and myself decided that we needed to have our own brew room. We decided that the best suitable spot was the storage/dog room in the back of my garage. (My wife loved us…the dog didn’t care) In February of 2001 we started construction on Lewis Ave Brewing Co. (that another story) The room has since been completed and we are brewing some excellent beers. This has truly been an adventure and continues to be. We are now trying to master the web with our own web page. Check it out: www.enter.net/~mjald/ A note from HBA: Stay tuned... In the coming weeks, we'll be showing you how to build your own homebrewery. And for those of you scratching your heads and the term "All-Grain Brewing", don't worry, we'll be unravelling the mysteries of that process! Ray, Dave!! Thanks for sharing your Adventures in Homebrewing with us... Keep the production going, and remember, we always accept samples!