My wife got me the coolest Christmas present: a home brew kit. It came with everything I'd need to get started. Even a kool-ade type brew kit (check out American Brown Ale). So began the Black Locust Brewing Company, named after the 100 year old black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) that graces our front yard and scares little kids on Halloween.

That was back in 2007. Since then I've been making beer (or making plans to make beer) with all my friends. The kids and I even cooked up a homemade root beer.

Have you ever tried home brewing? It's not that hard and is really rewarding:

• You always feel proud when a brew comes out well.
• Your beer, made your way. For example, I love full-flavored beers with lots of hops flavor, but like to keep bitterness on the low end.
• Homebrew makes a great housewarming gift, which gets you lots of complements on a job well done.
• Getting two cases of beer out of the deal makes me feel even better.

Quite rewarding all around. So relax. Have a homebrew, and check out some of the brews I've cooked up so far.