Stress out. Worry. Have a homebrew?

I drink too much beer. I suppose it was inevitable that, one day, I would find myself trying to brew beer, as well. For economics alone, homebrewing is hard to beat. Spending just a few dollars, the homebrewer can concoct about 55 beers in a single batch. All it takes is a few hours of effort. There's nothing to it. Or is there?

That's what I intended to find out. This past Christmas, I received a homebrewing kit. Along with all the equipment -- siphon, fermenting bucket, bottle capper -- was a copy of Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Papazian is a homebrewing guru, basically the Dalai Lama of hopheads. His mantra, which he repeats over and over throughout the book, is:

Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew.

Sensible advice, which I completely failed to heed. In the days leading up to my first attempt at homebrewing, I was stressing out. No joke -- I had a nightmare in which my wort boiled over, my bottles exploded, and, worst of all, my beer was awful.

Even before I started, I had to wonder. Is homebrewing worth it? Why bother spending hours brewing beer, and then waiting weeks for it to be ready, when I can head to any corner store, drop a ten-spot, and come home with a six-pack and a decent night ahead of myself?

Hell, if you could explain what drives human beings to achieve anything, then you'd be the first person in history to do it. I had never thought about brewing my own beer until somebody gave me a push in that direction. Suddenly, I could think of nothing else. I imagined what new and unique recipes I'd want to try. I spent too much time thinking of a name for my "brewery." And I envisioned having a cellar full of spectacular brews, which I could hand to friends with a grin and say, "Yeah, I made this."

Off I went into the great unknown. Only one thing remained: to chronicle my first batch of homebrew for all the world to see. I may be stressing, and worrying, but one way or another, I will have a homebrew. Welcome to Second Draft Brewing.