what a mess!

WooHoo! Yesterday the UPS man came and dropped off a 7.5 gallon brewpot. I have been doing partial boils since getting the kit, but have read so much about how much better a full boil batch tastes and have been wanting to try it ever since.

I found one online for about what I paid for the 5 gallon pot I already have. I wish I would've found that in the first place. Oh well, have it now so that is all that matters. 

Dad wanted to head over to pick up some more fish for his aquarium, so we spent the first part of the day running over to Knoxville and doing just that. On the way back we stopped and got some beer and ice. I made dinner, then set about cleaning up and prepping to brew.

We got some Rogue Dead Guy Ale to drink. I have had that before and they are good, just expensive, so it doesn't happen often. I am going to have to do some checking on the  ABV (wasn't listed on the label), though.

I had three of those, two Fat Tire beers, and five Icehouse before the night was done. I was pretty schnockered!

I wasn't planning to get that buzzed prior to brewing .... but I did.  It had to be the Dead Guy Ales!

Anyway, this batch was a clone kit of a Left Hand Milk Stout. I have had it before and it is pretty tasty. A few weeks back, I got Dad a six of Terrapin MooHoo Stout (which is a chocolate milk stout) that was excellent! So I ordered some extra chocolate malt to add to the grain bag.

With the 1/2 lb. chocolate malt i added, there was 5 pounds of grain to steep. This should be one excellent brew!

This was also the first batch I have done where it suggested steeping for a sustained period. Usually 20 minutes is sufficient, but this kit suggested a 45 minute steep. Like I said, this should be one excellent brew.

I added the rest of my water, my extract, Irish Moss, and the first hop addition and continued boiling and stirring for the next hour. Then one more hop addition for 10 minutes and then the ice bath.

I was wondering if I would be able to achieve a fast cold break since I was now doing a full 5 gallon batch. I am happy to report that I was able to do just that. It got down to 90* within 20 minutes and another 5 or so more it was at pitching temp.

I pitched the yeast and shook the hell out of the carboy and set it in the closet to let the yeasties do their thing. My OG was 1.060 and the kit suggested ~ 1.066 so I am definitely in the ballpark with that.

Of course, I tasted the wort sample. It was good, but too sweet to really gather any idea what the beer will be like. I can't wait to try it after it has fermented.

Then cleanup! Oy, damned sloppy drunk! I made a hell of a mess.

I didn't have any boilover issues, but was slippy while stirring. Also kind of missed the trash can when emptying out the grain bag. So today I get to clean off the side of the oven and the wall where I missed the can, as well as the brewing equipment I used.

not too hoppy ....

First thing I did after getting on the computer this morning was to check to see where my shipment of beer (two more kits) and hops to dry hop my IPA were. It had left Russellville at 7:30 AM. Sweet! it will be here *today*!!

All day long every single noise that resembled a big truck had me checking the window. Finally about 4 PM it showed up. Unpacked the box and everything was there. It's always good when you get what you ask for.   ; )

After cleaning up the counters a bit I went ahead and racked into the secondary. It looked fairly clear and I also set aside enough to take a sample for a gravity reading. The reading was 1.014, so within range of what the kit suggested.

The flavor …. meh! not so much. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great. I thought the hop schedule seemed light for an IPA when I brewed that kit, but figured it must just be me. 

Of course, the fact that I added lime juice (or at least the quantity of lime juice used) may have also killed what hop flavor there was. On the lighter side, I *was* encouraged that it seemed to either have some carbonation or else the lime juice just offered a bittering effect that mimicked it.  

I was only expecting to add 1 oz. of citra hops, but since it was lacking any noticeable hop flavor … and BEING an IPA, I went ahead and added the second ounce also. Hopefully that will make a difference. Time will tell. 

anxiety? ... impatience? .... hmmm

Okay, in need of bottles and a byproduct of a very rote curiosity, I popped the first two bottles of my second brew attempt .... a bock! I have been intrigued how it would turn out, but knew it was about a week too early for the carbonation to have taken effect on the bottle conditioning process.

So anyway, I popped off the first two, poured into two glasses, and was ... disappointed. The color looked good, the smell wasn't bad, but there was no, repeat NO, carbonation. Yes, I know I popped them early, but was still hoping.

Oh well, they have been uncapped now, nothing to do but drink them or dump 'em. Well, y'all KNOW i ain't gonna dump 'em.    ; )

So Dad and I sampled it. The color was a nice dark brown and the taste had nice hints of chocolate and malty flavors to indicate that this is going to be a good beer, once it carbonates. I can't wait!

Okay, so no more of that for a couple weeks. I kind of knew that, but was still disappointed when my suspicion was proven true.

Oh well, it will be good ... in a couple weeks!

eruptive flair

No matter how hard I try

No matter what the consequence

The pressure builds and builds

Until it finally vents.

I don't enjoy these outbursts

Nor creating a scene

It happens automatically

I have to blow off steam.

I have tried to get a handle on it

Unsuccessfully to be sure

But once the flow starts

It purges straight from the core. 

There has to be a way

To reign in this ire

I need to understand

How to control this fire.

Life is a learning curve that has no plateau. Here I sit at 42 years on this rotating orb and am still fighting a problem that has plagued me most of my life, if not all of it. 

Patience and tolerance seem to be my Achilles heel. While I have gotten better over the years at being a little more patient (with certain things at least), the intolerance still lingers -- and without signs of progress. 

I have been really bothered lately by some personal things that have made me quite intolerable to be around. I have been  miserably struggling trying to put my finger on the root cause and have been largely unable to. This uncertainty only fuels the misery. 

The other day I decided I am going to cleanse myself from it and just go on. It doesn't matter what was bothering me, I am just going to forget about it and move on. I think I have done fairly well with that premise the past couple of days. 

Today, however, I vented. As usual it was a petty thing that set it off, but once started, the flow forces on. It is totally reactionary and not at all "premeditated". I have no idea I am going to "blow up" until it happens.

Why? Why can I not get a handle on this? I am a fairly intelligent, somewhat reasonable person. I have studied some of the basic mechanisms of psychological processes, yet I cannot control my own temper -- at least not for a sustained period.

It's almost as if I have become one of those people that ain't happy unless they are unhappy (read as bitching about something), but the problem with that is the venting gives me no sense of satisfaction. I don't feel relieved. If anything, I am more angry at myself than the target of the eruption. It makes no sense!

I realize everyone loses their temper on occasion, but the frequency with which I have been doing so is quite accelerated and unacceptable. It wears on me, eats at me; and I know it does on those around me whom have to put up with me. 

Lord give me the strength to overcome this! I pray every night for patience, tolerance and self-control. 

Please let it get here before the lava scorches the earth around me and leaves me in a lonely, desolate, barren wasteland of my own contempt!

another brewing session, another piece of equipment sacrificed

I brewed again last night. This round it was an IPA. I have been wanting to do an IPA since first getting my brewing kit.

IPAs tend to have a citrusy flavor due to its high hop content. To increase the effect, I decided to add a bottle of RealLime lime juice and the zest and peel of a lemon. I added the juice to the water that was brought to a boil and the peel and zest to the grain bag.

The "Learn to Brew" DVD that came with my brew kit suggested tasting the ingredients that you use to brew with to get an idea how each impact your beer. I have been doing that all along but this kit offered stronger, more prominent ingredients.

I have used the Caramel 40L  grain before so was familiar with that, but this kit also had a Victory malt. It had the taste and texture of grape nuts.

There also were Cascade and Columbus bittering hops. The Columbus bittering hops are the strongest I have tasted yet. Wow, it had me reaching for my beer almost immediately.

The brew process went rather smoothly. I think I am getting the hang of this.   LOL

I brought it up to steeping temperature and once it hit 160* I put my grain bag in and swirled around. The malt was then added, stirred, and stirred and stirred. Then add the hops and continue to stir. The bittering hops boiled for 55 minutes then I added the flavoring hops for the final 10 minutes of the boil.

Then set it in the ice bath, added a gallon of water and stirred it all around to achieve the cold break. Once down to 80*, I racked it into the primary fermenter. I was surprised of the color.

I have drank a few IPAs in my time, but never in a clear glass. I just always drank from the amber-colored bottle it came in.

The color resembled that of caramel or butterscotch. I would have thought it a more translucent yellow color. I realize it will clear up after fermentation, but I thought it would more resemble a lager than a dark beer. We shall see in a few weeks, I guess.

Once it was racked, I took a sample for an OG reading and found it to be a 1.080. HOLY CRAP! The highest I have had yet was 1.045, and the paper in the kit says it should be between 1.061 and 1.065. Hmmm!

Then we, of course, tasted the sample. Ummm, not so sure how good it was as by this time of night I was pretty tipsy from the beers I had been drinking.

The last time I racked beer (my bock) I wound up breaking my hydrometer. It obviously has since been replaced. Last night when I was in cleanup mode, I accidentally dropped the thermostat and you guessed it ... broke it too! DAMMIT! I need to be more careful.

bottling it up ....

I spent half the night bottling beer. This was my second batch and it is a European bock this time.

The first batch was an easier process since it was bottles that were bought from the Homebrew store. All that had to be done with them was to sanitize them. I used the dishwasher on rinse cycle to accomplish that task.

This time however, I was using bottles from store-bought beer and had the fun of removing all the labels. That part was done last night. I had 60 bottles to remove labels from. It took forever!

Anyway, I got all them removed and cleaned and earlier today set them in the dishwasher to do a mock sanitization.

I made up the priming sugar (to assist in carbonation) and added it to the bottling bucket. *This* time I actually did it in order as I put it in first, instead of AFTER racking the beer to the bucket.

There was very little trub in the bottom of the secondary fermenter, which was good. So little, in fact, that it all was set in the recessed "ring" that borders the edge of the fermenter at the bottom and the raised center part was clear of everything.

The "beer" was clear and had a light brown, amber-ish color and I didn't notice any particulates flowing through the tube as it was racked into the bottling bucket.

I set aside enough to sample it and put the rest in the bucket. It tasted malty and even showed signs of carbonation already.

The rest of the process went pretty smoothly and I wound up with 50 12 oz. bottles of beer. Now I will have to wait two weeks to find out how it turns out.

Tomorrow I will attempt to brew my first IPA. I can't wait, should be good.

As an aside, and somewhat comical story, last night Dad and I were drinking some beers from the first batch I  brewed. It was an English brown ale.

It had a complexity and smoothness that left you wanting another sip before putting the glass down. It was really good. Anyway, I had only put 10 in the fridge and that meant 5 for each of us.

By the time I ran out I had to switch to Icehouse. Icehouse is a bold lager and one of few domestic non-craft brews I really like.

However, after sipping on those smoooooth brown ales all evening, that first sip of Icehouse seemed horrible! It wasn't really that the beer was that bad, because it isn't, but that the difference in styles of the two beers was rather drastic. It had my tastebuds "dancing".  ; )

Today, Dad wanted to go look at a car that was posted in the local Craigslist ads. I guess he has empty garage syndrome as he sold the Mustang a couple weeks ago and feels the need to fill that void.


The roads were mostly passable, especially once we got out onto the main roads. However, getting there was a little dicey. Nothing I couldn't handle, but a couple times the rear would spin. Let off gas, catch traction, hit gas, and so on.

Headed back home, I saw the following ....

The light on the right side is a "rainbow". It is poor quality because it was taken with my cheapie cell phone.

It was strange because there was no rain in the area. It had been sunny and cloudless all day long until now. We have snow predicted for the whole week, starting tonight so these clouds are snow  clouds.

Anyway, as we progressed down the road, I noticed a couple more of these "rainbow"s. I keep using quotes because as mentioned there was no rain.

The other (there were two of them) "rainbow"s were along the same radius as the one pictured above and just bordering the clouds which had now surrounded the sun. Basically it was the sunlight being diffracted through the clouds and the resulting light beam had "prismed" into a rainbow-effect.

I could see nearly 270* of the ring. It was as if the sun had it's own halo in rainbow color.

Pretty cool! Never seen anything like it. I wish my phone camera had a  wider field of view or that I had my camera on me to better represent it.

another one flies the coop

Time to spread your wings and fly
Set to the sky and soar
Ahead of you lies your destiny
Plot your course and explore!

Many obstacles lie ahead
Challenges yet to overcome
Apply yourself to meet them
But remember to also have fun.

Schedule your time wisely
For it passes too quick
Managing between work and play
Is the real trick.





Isaac left for college today. It's weird because even though Megan went "off to college" a couple years ago, it feels like this is the first time we are dealing with it.

Megan's college is only about 20 minutes away, and even though she lives on campus, we could see her everyday or meet up with her when wanted/needed or whatever. She usually comes home on the weekends, so even if she is gone off to school, it's kind of as if she is still here.

Isaac, on the other hand, went off to Indiana, on the Illinois border -- roughly about 7 hours away. He won't be home on weekends. We likely won't see him again until spring break, and that's only if he has the gas money.

I am happy for him, though. One, that he got accepted to a college to start with, but additionally, that he will be on his own and will learn a lot that he wouldn't if he were here being coddled.

Time for you to spread your wings, Isaac ... SOAR!

mmm mmmm mmmmm mmmmmm mmm ... tasty!

I bottled my first batch of beer two weeks ago. From what I read the early end of when you want to sample your brew is about that time frame. So without further delay, I put two bottles in the fridge on Thursday evening, knowing that Dad and I would be able to taste it the next day.

He wanted to go over to Knoxville so we loaded up and were en route by 2:00 or so. I figured since we were over there, I would ask if we could grab another beer kit since my primary fermenter *is* empty and the secondary will be available within a week.   ; )    He agreed so long as we could do what was on his agenda.

First we hit Lowe's to look for some linoleum for the new addition. We had checked at the local store earlier in the week, but they didn't have anything to Dad's liking. The Knoxville store, however, had a bit more  selection and we found something he thought was okay and got out of there rather cheaply (considering our usual foray into Lowe's).

Next it was off to the brew supplier. I needed to get another hydrometer, since I had carelessly bumped the one I had onto the floor when I racked my bock into the secondary Thursday night. DOH! So I grabbed another hydrometer and another kit, an IPA this time, which hopefully will be my next to last kit. I intend to get a porter next time and then will go freestyle after that. Lord help me!   LOL

From there we headed to Woodcraft to see if they had gotten the stuff I wanted last time we were there but didn't have in stock, only to find they still didn't. So I placed an order for it and was told it is on backorder and I won't see it until Feb. 11th or so. Yippee!

The other stop we made was the impetus for Dad's yearning to go in the first place. He wanted to get more fish for the aquarium. He got five more fish for the tank, a suction pump (for cleaning) and some fish "treats" (basically bloodworms  and shrimp flakes) and I think he spent more here than at Lowe's.  

Among the fish he got was a black ghost. These are interesting fish -- they are like a spine with one long fin underneath that is moved side to side to propel them through the water.

These fish like to hide, though. However, a clear plastic tube is sufficient for these fish as they think they are hidden if inside it.

So Dad asks if they have any tubes. The guy waiting on us said they have some, but none as big as the ghost he just purchased. He said they could order one. I asked if we could just have the one in the tank the ghost was in -- since it's not being used anymore and they could take the one they ordered. He said "no".

I don't understand that at all and to say this irked me is putting it mildly. I mean, they are going to get a shipment of them in, and the one in their tank is no longer being used, WTF?!? So you're telling me that you want me to come back over here (a 40 mile one-way drive) to get one when it comes in because you won't sell me the one right now that you are no longer using? Fuggin' ridiculous!!

They better be glad it's Dad's money and not mine! I would've left the damn fish there and said something like "you won't see me back here again!"

Customer service is a big deal with me. I would pay more for an item if the service at a place is good. That was bad business in my opinion.


Finally! Finally we get to head homewards. I have been giddy all day -- anxious to get that first taste of my first batch of beer. I know it's just beer, but I was pretty psyched. I realize how silly this sounds, but oh well!

I started brewing this about a month ago. I have nursed it along through its stages, it was now time to taste the fruits of my labor.   ; )

However, once home, I had to unload the truck, get the fish settled in, and get dinner going. This only added to the antici- .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................pation!  (Rocky Horror reference   ;)       )

Okay, truck unloaded, fish swimming around and fed, dinner in oven. FINALLY! FINALLY, it's time!

Heh, I had to *force* myself to snap a picture of this before taking a sip. No easy task since I had been wanting to put this to my lips all day long. Okay picture taken -- TASTING time! YAAAAYYY!!  LOL

I was impressed. It was quite tasty. This is from an English brown ale kit that we got.

I added some roasted pecans and some mocha coffee beans (slightly crushed) to it as the grains seeped to try and add a little more complexity to the flavor. I'm not sure that was effective as I didn't notice any apparent mocha or nut flavor to it, subtle or otherwise.

It turned out more like an amber ale, much akin to Fat Tire, but just not as bold. It had a nice complex, caramelly flavor to it.

I was quite pleased, but it needs to sit in the bottle a bit longer as the carbonation was a little low. It shouldn't be long, though, maybe another week or two as it was pretty close. I intend to hold a six of this back and try it in two months to see how it changed/matured/aged.

Seeking (all "3" parts)

You are my beacon, my lighthouse,
And brightly your light has shone.
It was always helpful for me to find you
Whenever I was away from "home".

This time, I have drifted off
Into uncharted waters, as it would seem.
There is no more sight of land,
Nor your bright beam.

I  know the tide shall turn again,
Although I'm unsure when.
I just hope that once it does
Your Light will still be on then.


Constantly circling,
About your own gerth
Your light reaches out
Beyond rock and earth.

Alone you stand,
Solid and true
Yet, all my actions
make you blue.

You're the reliable one.
Always there, always ready
In hope that someday you'll see
The return of your "eddy".

Fighting through the fog and dark waters
While I am out at sea
Painstakingly searching through the depths
That make up me.

It is unclear
What caused me to reach this state
I just hope it's resolved
Before it's too late.

I long to be bathed again
Deep in your Light
and can only imagine the inner peace
I will experience when it comes into sight.

seeking (pt. 2)

Constantly circling,
About your own gerth
Your light reaches out
Beyond rock and earth.

Alone you stand,
Solid and true
Yet, all my actions
make you blue.

You're the reliable one.
Always there, always ready
In hope that someday you'll see
The return of your "eddy".

seeking ...

You are my beacon, my lighthouse,
And brightly your light has shone.
It was always helpful for me to find you
Whenever I was away from "home".

This time, I have drifted off
Into uncharted waters, as it would seem.
There is no more sight of land,
Nor your bright beam.

I  know the tide shall turn again,
Although I'm not sure when.
I just hope that once it does
Your Light will still be on then.

Bock to brewing ...

I made my second attempt at brewing last night. This batch was a European Bock and from another kit. This time, however, I didn't add anything.

I am not yet setup for a traditional bock as it needs to be kept constantly ~ 50*F during fermentation. I intend at some point to pick up a "junk" refrigerator from somewhere and build my own temperature regulator. Besides bocks typically ferment on the order of months and I would need another glass carboy so that I could still brew other beer in the meantime.

This kit, however, used a lager yeast and wouldn't require such a cool environment. I am leary of using dry yeast and the guy behind the counter was cool enough to exchange out a liquid yeast (a California Ale Yeast) for the dry packet so long as I paid the difference.

I set about to cleaning up the area where I was brewing and sterilizing my equipment. Finally, brew time.

Instead of using the two and a half gallon standard for the boil, I used 3 gallons. The paper in the kit mentioned that a higher boil quantity will increase hop IBUs (a measure of the strength of the hops), so I figured I would try it.

I tell ya, that extra half a gallon must've added about 20 extra minutes to the time it took to boil the water to the steeping grain temperature (150*-165* F). It finally hit 160* and I added the grain bag and swirled it around in the water for 20 minutes.

Then it was time to add the malt extracts which requires constant stirring to prevent it from sticking to the pot and burning. Also at this point, it  is time to exercise some caution as it is prone to boiling over -- especially since the pot now is holding a 1/2 gallon more than usual.

I did spill a little while stirring, but not too bad. I also noticed that a little of the extract had stuck to the bottom, but I was able to dislodge it through some stirring.

I added the bittering hops and continued stirring for 40 more minutes, followed by adding the flavoring hops and stirring yet another 15 minutes. This time I did remember to add the Irish Moss (which is supposed to bind all the particulates), which I had forgotten the previous batch.

I immediately set it in an ice bath and vigorously stirred the wort in the pan trying to cool it down. It took about 25 minutes to get it down to 80*. This time I caught it before allowing it to drop past that point (unlike my first effort).

I now racked it into the carboy and even  remembered to take an Original Gravity reading this time  (which I had forgotten to on the first batch). This meant I also got to take a sample. The OG came in at 1.035.

The sample had a sweet taste to it. You could certainly taste the caramel and chocolate malt which were part of the grain pack as well as the sugars which the yeast will feed upon. It had a light brown color and had some clarity to it as it flowed into the carboy.

I then pitched the yeast, gave the carboy a good, vigorous shake and set the bung and airlock in the top, and took it to the closet where it will live for the next couple weeks. I checked it this morning and it hadn't started fermenting yet, so I gave it another couple good shakes and wrapped the blankets back around it.

The temperature in the closet was 80* so I expect it should start soon. Besides, the bottle said it should begin fermenting in 5-15 hours so it should be taking off at some point this evening. It's funny, though, the waiting is a bit agonizing as you are wondering if it's going to take and hopeful to have not wasted beer.