Brew #32 Rye Not So Pale Ale

Brew Date: 10/5/2013

Went to the brew store on a whim. When I arrived I could smell the sweet scent of whole Amarillo hops. I said give 'me two oz', before I even knew what I was gonna get.

So today it's Rye Not So Pale Ale.

Notes

Today I screwed up royally. I started mashing without the false bottom and so I had to transfer the mash tun contents to the boiling pot. What I discovered is that I'm not using nearly enough water to mash with and will have to adjust my ratios accordingly.

I am also mashing this one at 140deg F because batch #31 had a tanginess that I believe to be from mashing too hot. I read somewhere the tannins from the husks will become prevalent. Well that's the story, and I'm sticking to it. 

Yeast is doing well. 

Regarding the whole hops. I ran into a snag while siphoning. Three quarters of they way into transferring the wort into the primary, the flow stopped because the hop buds plugged up the hose. So I resorted to scooping the remainder of wort with a sauce pan an poured it through a strainer that rested in a large funnel. Then I had to press the oily residue out of the hop buds with my stirring spoon. 

Most of the pellitized hops made it through so I hop this batch has a nice bite to it. 

Typical for ales, I let the hops go along for the ride in the primary. 

Ginger Beer

Brew date: Sept 13th

Recipe 

1 gallon water

12 oz ginger root chopped in food processor

1.5 cups sugar

1 lemon juiced and zested

1 lime juiced and zested. 

Add ginger and sugar to water. 

Boil for 30 minutes. 

Remove from heat, add lemon and lime zest, grated rind. 

After on hour, add lemon and lime juice 

Continue to cool unit below 120 deg F. 

Strain into fermentor. 

Pitch yeast later when room temp. 

Ferment till yeast fizzles out in about a week. 

Boil 1/8 cup sugar water for bottling fizz. 

Bottle condition for one week. 

Refrigerate. 

Enjoy. 

This is our first effort in making ginger beer. Next run will include several pounds of two row barley and some rye instead of the sugar. 

Will let you know how it turns out.

Update: The lemon is too heavy and the ginger is too faint. Probably boiled too long, and fermented too long. Adding simple sugar helps but the verdict is that wifey will purchase her Crabby's when she whats a bottle.

Update 2: The other day I poured equal parts simple syrup and ginger beer over a couple of ice cubes, added a lemon wedge and had a taste. It really is kind of refreshing.  I think I'll try it again.

Which Criminal Approved This?

I'm in Raleigh NC helping my SIL reside his garage. 

I want to know the criminals in Georgia Pacific who foisted cardboard sheathing and siding on the American public. 

I would ask them how much money did they need to bribe the ASTM in order to get this siding approved. 

Here is a load of siding that is headed to the dump. How can banks give 30 year notes on homes that are only designed to last 20 years?

This is a disgrace to all things decent and proper. The architects who specified this and the contractors who installed this garbage aught be publicly humiliated.

End rant. 

Fair Exchange

A couple of weeks ago I helped a friend of mine with some electrical work. He returned the favor by giving me this. 

He turned it on a potters wheel then cut the grooves with a knife. The quality is outstanding by my simple judgement. 

On the Road Show they are always looking at the artist's trade mark. After we are gone, this mark is likely to be if high value, not for this ash tray, but for his other work. 

Last night I set out to Christen it but I just couldn't do it. Will do it, later. 

This Settles It

Not flying through Atlanta anymore.

When the trains go down, people end up getted mobbed in the tunnel that runs between the concourses.

Probably going to miss my connection. 

Update: I made the connection but if I had been 5 minutes later in arriving to the gate, I might have been waiting for the next flight. 

Traveling is no longer enjoyable. I got up at 6:00AM to give myself plenty of time to navigate the crazy roads in Tampa. I get on the plane for an on-time departure at 9:45. The plane starts taxiing when an electrical problem sends us back to the gate. The part had to be flown in from Atlanta, so 3 1/2 hours later we board the plane. 

When I landed in Atlanta, the trains were out of service. I arrived at the Terminal and had to get to concouse D. The pics above are at the mid way point. 

Here is the annoying part about humanity: people starting running down the moving sidewalks in the wrong direction only to be pushed back by waves of oncoming foot traffic. 

People are too stupid to allow room for the counter flow of traffic. 

As I closed in on my destination, I experienced the same scenario where I had to push trough waves of on-coming traffic. Fortunately, only at a fraction of the volume. 

What are we teaching people in our schools and in our media? Can't people be civil and learn to stay right and to allow room for oncoming traffic. 

Today I was thinking, this is what the first hour of the apocalypse will be like. Total mob hysteria. 

Batch #31 sTevo's Porter #17

Brew date: 8/2/14

I am involved in another corporate sponsored head shrinking seminar designed to foster trust between the ranks in the organization. I need to get feed back in one of those 360 degree anonymous surveys, so I opened the statistical pool by inviting a couple of buddies. It seems all my peers have moved on, and I don't have anyone left to play with. In order to bribe my buddies properly I offered booze or money as a payment, to help foster their participation.

So Randy asked for some #17, and me being true to my word, I brewed a batch of #17. 

Now we just have to wait a month or so and we will drinking some#17.

Brew notes.

Later on, I will post my 360 review and see if two groups emerge in the report, after my head is properly shrunken, again. I am expecting to see a bi-modal distribution.

Sunday August 10th update

Added the remainder of Kent hops then tried something new. Using an air mattress inflater with my siphon hose not shown, and battery charger, I aerated the wort. Let's see if the yeast picks up some steam. Will keep you posted.

Usually the beer is aerated while being transferred to the secondary. I have been in th habit of letting the beer slosh around  by holding the siphon hose at the top of the in-flowing Carboy. 

I didn't want the yeast to get all asthmatic the way I do after a brisk start of some aerobic activity. 

Regarding head shrinking truth or dare customer feedback questionnaires; I let the cat out of the bag about widening the gene pool by adding outside participants, so now my coworkers are demanding payments. I can see this isn't going to end well. 

Update: Devoured most of the batch one evening during Pool Night. Every one enjoyed it and thought it was great. I knew of the structure problems, but none of the others are beer snobs, so they couldn't tell. Or, they are too generous and couldn't bite the hand that feeds them. So, you think my beer sucks... we'll, see if you ever have a taste of it again... There, I'm sure they don't want to go.

 

Cigar Paraphenalia

Regarding lighters:

Someone in China heard my wish to make an inexpensive torch lighter with a large reservoir. 

When I'm at a convenient store, I will grab a low budget torch like this:

Who hasn't picked up a lighter during checkout, flicked it a few times, said cool, and picked one up? The problem with this unit, and others like it, is that they run out of fuel so fast. It's to the point that I have given up on them.  

Then, imagine having a triple burner like this:

I am lucky to get a half a dozen lights out of it. This guy even has a bottle opener and a mini LED flashlight built into the end of it. Just another example of a multifunction tool that doesn't do anything well. I have figured out that you can use the bottom of a Bic to open a bottle quite efficiently, and the phone has a light so I'm good without this guy too. 

We'll today I found the answer to my wish. The low budget jumbo torch:

He stands head and shoulders above all the little toy lighters that I have in my humi-drawer. And, it only cost $4.99 at the local emporium. I could have a four burner Rocky Patel lighter, but then I would have to drop $80. Who knows, I may just do that some day, if ever I have the oportunity to invite one of the executive VP's over for dinner. But for now, I'll be using the jumbo.