First time trying the Fermentation Friday but I hope to make it more regularly.

My tale of homebrew horror is a rather simple one, I tell it working at homebrew shops often. But in it conveys the most important rule of working with another person while homebrewing.

It was about 14-15 years ago and we were in my friend Brian's apartment brewing our first Hefeweizen. We had both visited Germany in the past and loved the beer, but in those days finding a good Hefeweizen was a tough challenge in Flagstaff.

So we decided to brew our own. We found a local store selling us our ingredients and equipment. We had two cans of German Wheat malt extract but no grain, because it was still another year at least until Flagstaff had a proper homebrew supply shop.

All went well until I noticed the pot wasn't boiling enough so I turned up the heat. I turned back to my beer and homebrewing information which I was probably rereading for the sixth time at this point, to be sure I didn't miss some vital point.

Meanwhile Brian noticed that the pot wasn't boiling enough so he decided to put on the lid.

Two minutes later a shout and the stove-oven was covered in a thick pool of sweet malt extract and we learned the first rule of homebrewing.

If sanitation is the first rule of homebrewing, then communication is the key to group brewing.

It's a rule I need subtle reminder of from time to time, even this weekend in fact. I was doing a public homebrewing demonstration with another person. We hit strike temperature on our steeping grains and I shut off the burner. A few minutes later I looked up to see my coworker trying to turn on the burner I had intentionally shut off. I remembered the rule.

As an afternote even for our best efforts to mess the beer up, the Hefeweizen was great and a great hobby was found, one that continues today.