The Grass is Always Greener

The grass is always greener on the other side….or is it?

Hi, I’m Colby, occasionally referred to as Jacob’s “beer goddess”, and I’m married to a brewer.  I love my husband, and I love beer (let’s be honest the two kind of go hand in hand am I right!?  Yes, I’m right).  I love that we have so many things in common.  But, in all honesty, I sometimes resent the fact that we have so much in common.  I am my own person and have my own hobbies…they just happen to be more or less the hobbies that he enjoys as well.

I was never the kind of girly girl that many of my friends are.  I sometimes wish I had those loves, but I just never did.  I would rather spend a day on the trail than in a mall shopping or getting my nails done.  To this day my mom pretty much has to drag me out to shop together and I’m 28 years old…yikes.

I love to be outdoors and I love to be with people.  I love giving to people, especially when it comes to hosting.  I love having an “open house” policy with our friends in Fredericksburg where anyone is welcome to stop by and share conversation and perhaps a few brewskis.  Yes I said brewskis.  Those are my gifts and my hobbies, which is one of the great things about being married to a homebrewer—there’s usually beer to share!

The overlap in our interests makes it incredibly easy to live with each other day in and day out and really enjoy life together, which I think it so important in a marriage.  I look at us and find myself thinking “man, we are seriously best friends…and we get to be married…this is wonderful!”  

Despite that, as a woman, I feel the need to stand out and be admired for who I am and what makes me unique.  I have some friends that feel the opposite, wishing they could find more in common with their spouse or significant other.  We always seem to want what we don’t have.  After all, finding contentment is hard.  From the very start of Jacob’s brewing obsession hobby I have been thinking about how I struggle with contentment.  I want to be content with who I am but equally joyful that I get to share the same passions and joys of life with my awesome husband.  So, a while back in a move to reconcile this disconnect, I decided to lean in to the similarities and brew my own beer, but one with my own unique twist.

It was January 12, 2013.  I had just finished a cold winter run with the pup and decided to jump right in.  I had settled on a Belgian Wit Bier, maybe not your go-to winter beer, but the spices make it work, and it wouldn’t be that out of place in the summer either.  Since it was the dead of winter and puns are fun, I named it “wit as snow”…cheesy I know but it works right?!

I remember this day so clearly, I was so excited to brew my very own beer.  Jacob was dutifully on hand to explain details and processes like how long to steep the grains, when to add the hops, how to cool it down, etc.  It was the perfect combination of my own individually inspired creation and a shared experience of crafting that beer together.  This day ended up being a great exercise in that elusive contentment.  I am proud of the person that I am and the beer I created, and it was great to simultaneously experience shared interests with my husband.  I suppose if the grass is greener on the other side, maybe you should just rip the fence down.

The beer itself turned out great.  It was a sweet, smooth, easy drinking beer and true to style it contained a good amount of banana and clove notes imparted by the Belgian yeast.  It reminded me of a heavy hefeweizen (can I say that? Is that allowed fellow beer snobs?!) And for that reason I thought it fit well with all seasons and the theme of this post. 

I have come to realize that yes, Jacob has had his share in shaping my preferences on beer.  For example, I now enjoy and prefer IPAs and will try pretty much anything, unlike my previous strictly wheat menu (nothing wrong with wheat beer…Bell’s Oberon is one of my go-tos).  But regardless of his influence I would still like beer, and for that I am glad.  I, Colby Wright Hall, really love beer.  It is ridiculously simple and yet incredibly complex.  You can do so little and so much with it and you are free to enjoy whichever combination you prefer.  It brings people together, breaks down barriers, and encourages community and sharing life…and that is why I love it.  Beer is good and worth enjoying.

Wit As Snow Belgian Wit

3.3 lb Wheat LME

3.3lb Light LME

0.5 lb Crystal 20

1lb Pilsen

1 oz Mt. Hood (60)

1 oz Hallertau (20)

1 tbsp. coriander (5)

1 tbsp. cloves (5)

WL Trappist Ale Yeast

Procedure:  Partial mashed grains for 30 minutes around 154 deg. F.  Added wheat LME, brought to boil, added hops, added light LME with 20 minutes left in boil.  Added remainder of hops and spices, cooled, and pitched yeast.