Anyone else using the Amazon Wish List this year? It's actually pretty cool. You can turn it into a "Universal Wish List" which means you can add stuff to it from any site, not just amazon.com. And they have plugins for both Firefox and Chrome, so you just go to a site, click the button on the plugin, and the popup lets you add the item.
I created one and made it public (view it here). My problem is I have no clue what I want. I got beer stuff, home stuff, and coffee stuff on there. None of it seems likely for xmas gifts, though. I dunno.
Looking for gift suggestions for myself. What are other people wanting?
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A year of beer
It's been 8 months since my last post...
It was a year ago that I brewed my first beer. It was a Belgian Ale from a kit I bought at a homebrew store in Lilburn. I had borrowed a friend of mine's equipment to brew the beer to see if I'd like it and six weeks later when I tasted the product of my efforts, I was hooked.
The first batch was good, but in the eight batches I've made since that first one, they've gotten a lot tastier and more fun to make.
The first beer I made on my own equipment was an ESB, brewed on Jan 2, 2010. I wanted something a bit hoppier and the ESB recipe I found on homebrewtalk.com (HBT) called for dry hopping (which is adding hops after fermentation). At first it was a hoppy punch in the face and I was afraid that I had screwed up, but the flavors melded over time and it turned into a fantastic beer. Melissa never much cared for it since she likes milder beers, but I liked it a lot.
Next I made up my own extract recipe. I really like Dunkel Hefeweizens, so I created one and brewed it on Jan 18, 2010. For lack of a better name, I just called it Josh's Dunkelweizen. I ended up racking it too soon which stopped fermentation, so it came out sweeter and less alcoholic than I was shooting for (5.2% ABV rather than 5.9%). However, this is one that everyone liked. It inspired a friend to try out homebrewing, it got my roofer to try new kinds of beer, coworkers talked how they liked that one the best out of all my early brews. That's one thing I've liked the most about homebrewing... even when you screw up, the product is still great.
From here I decided I was done with extract brewing and wanted to go all-grain (AG). That means instead of adding malted barley extract to boiling water as a base, I mash malted grains myself. My first attempt at this was another HBT recipe called Duncan's Malcontent, a Scotch Ale 70 shilling brewed on Feb 12, 2010. Doing an AG batch was a LOT more fun than before, and the per-beer cost dropped by ~40%. The beer was dark and mild, and went great with spicy food. It came out slightly less carbonated than I had intended, but still good.
I started to see a lot of talk about how easy this one cider recipe was to make, so I tried that next. The recipe came from HBT again, but it's a very infamous recipe by a brewer called Edwort. Apple juice (without preservatives) + dextrose (to increase ABV) + 1 packet of cheap wine yeast + 6 weeks = awesome cider. I didn't write down when I made the cider, but it was sometime in early March of 2010. The cider was so good, it did not last very long. It came out a bit over-carbonated, and that plus the previous brew's under-carbonation is what inspired me to do what came next: kegging.
My first kegged beer was a recipe from HBT user Edwort again. It was a Bavarian Hefeweizen that I brewed on May 8, 2010 and was so quick and simple, I was drinking it on May 25. This was probably my favorite beer I've brewed yet. Despite the simplicity, it tasted incredible. Easily just as good as any hefeweizen I've ever had. And the kegging made the whole process even easier. Not only could I carbonate a beer in 3 days vs. the 3 weeks it takes in a bottle, but if the carbonation is wrong, I can adjust it with no problem. The beer was so good, it didn't come close to lasting through the summer, and I actually ran out before I had planned out my next beer. Tragedy!
Not wanting to run out so quickly again, I brewed two back-to-back. The first was my own recipe for an Irish Red. Also, at this point I had come up with a personal brewery name, so the beer was called White Dog Slainte Red brewed on June 27, 2010. Slainte is an Irish toast. Great beer, a little darker than I had anticipated, so I'll dial back the Crystal malt next time.
The following week on July 3, 2010 I brewed a HBT recipe called SWMBO Slayer, a Belgian Blonde. SWMBO (pronounced swim-boe) is a brewer's acronym that is "She Who Must Be Obeyed." An obvious joke referencing the brewer's wife. Living up to its name, Melissa loved this beer, though due to being pregnant (at first) and breast feeding, she was unable to be fully slain by this one.
Having run out of the SWMBO Slayer the other day, I realized it was time to brew again. Last night I brewed another HBT recipe for a light American Pale Ale called Centennial Blond. It's in my bathroom currently fermenting away, and I'm sure it'll be good since I haven't made a bad batch yet.
So it was a good year of brewing. I've made some good beer, but that's just a testament to the craft, not to my personal abilities. I really do enjoy doing it .
If anyone ever wants to come hang out while I'm brewing, just let me know. Or if you just want to come sample the beers I have on tap, it's just as fun for me to share as it is to make them.
It was a year ago that I brewed my first beer. It was a Belgian Ale from a kit I bought at a homebrew store in Lilburn. I had borrowed a friend of mine's equipment to brew the beer to see if I'd like it and six weeks later when I tasted the product of my efforts, I was hooked.
The first batch was good, but in the eight batches I've made since that first one, they've gotten a lot tastier and more fun to make.
The first beer I made on my own equipment was an ESB, brewed on Jan 2, 2010. I wanted something a bit hoppier and the ESB recipe I found on homebrewtalk.com (HBT) called for dry hopping (which is adding hops after fermentation). At first it was a hoppy punch in the face and I was afraid that I had screwed up, but the flavors melded over time and it turned into a fantastic beer. Melissa never much cared for it since she likes milder beers, but I liked it a lot.
Next I made up my own extract recipe. I really like Dunkel Hefeweizens, so I created one and brewed it on Jan 18, 2010. For lack of a better name, I just called it Josh's Dunkelweizen. I ended up racking it too soon which stopped fermentation, so it came out sweeter and less alcoholic than I was shooting for (5.2% ABV rather than 5.9%). However, this is one that everyone liked. It inspired a friend to try out homebrewing, it got my roofer to try new kinds of beer, coworkers talked how they liked that one the best out of all my early brews. That's one thing I've liked the most about homebrewing... even when you screw up, the product is still great.
From here I decided I was done with extract brewing and wanted to go all-grain (AG). That means instead of adding malted barley extract to boiling water as a base, I mash malted grains myself. My first attempt at this was another HBT recipe called Duncan's Malcontent, a Scotch Ale 70 shilling brewed on Feb 12, 2010. Doing an AG batch was a LOT more fun than before, and the per-beer cost dropped by ~40%. The beer was dark and mild, and went great with spicy food. It came out slightly less carbonated than I had intended, but still good.
I started to see a lot of talk about how easy this one cider recipe was to make, so I tried that next. The recipe came from HBT again, but it's a very infamous recipe by a brewer called Edwort. Apple juice (without preservatives) + dextrose (to increase ABV) + 1 packet of cheap wine yeast + 6 weeks = awesome cider. I didn't write down when I made the cider, but it was sometime in early March of 2010. The cider was so good, it did not last very long. It came out a bit over-carbonated, and that plus the previous brew's under-carbonation is what inspired me to do what came next: kegging.
My first kegged beer was a recipe from HBT user Edwort again. It was a Bavarian Hefeweizen that I brewed on May 8, 2010 and was so quick and simple, I was drinking it on May 25. This was probably my favorite beer I've brewed yet. Despite the simplicity, it tasted incredible. Easily just as good as any hefeweizen I've ever had. And the kegging made the whole process even easier. Not only could I carbonate a beer in 3 days vs. the 3 weeks it takes in a bottle, but if the carbonation is wrong, I can adjust it with no problem. The beer was so good, it didn't come close to lasting through the summer, and I actually ran out before I had planned out my next beer. Tragedy!
Not wanting to run out so quickly again, I brewed two back-to-back. The first was my own recipe for an Irish Red. Also, at this point I had come up with a personal brewery name, so the beer was called White Dog Slainte Red brewed on June 27, 2010. Slainte is an Irish toast. Great beer, a little darker than I had anticipated, so I'll dial back the Crystal malt next time.
The following week on July 3, 2010 I brewed a HBT recipe called SWMBO Slayer, a Belgian Blonde. SWMBO (pronounced swim-boe) is a brewer's acronym that is "She Who Must Be Obeyed." An obvious joke referencing the brewer's wife. Living up to its name, Melissa loved this beer, though due to being pregnant (at first) and breast feeding, she was unable to be fully slain by this one.
Having run out of the SWMBO Slayer the other day, I realized it was time to brew again. Last night I brewed another HBT recipe for a light American Pale Ale called Centennial Blond. It's in my bathroom currently fermenting away, and I'm sure it'll be good since I haven't made a bad batch yet.
So it was a good year of brewing. I've made some good beer, but that's just a testament to the craft, not to my personal abilities. I really do enjoy doing it .
If anyone ever wants to come hang out while I'm brewing, just let me know. Or if you just want to come sample the beers I have on tap, it's just as fun for me to share as it is to make them.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Gardening time again!
If you plan to start any plants from seed this year, it may be time to start them inside already (depending on what you're planting). Here's a link to the farmer's almanac's suggested starting time for seeds in Lawrenceville.
I started eight plants already (okra, cantaloupe, tomato, chamomile, borage, marigold, cilantro, and basil) and will start more in a week or two. I also have my mint from last year as well as a bunch of strawberries since I let some runners sprout at the end of last season. I'll also be doing lettuce, spinach, radish, and garlic at least. And I want to go pick up some broccoli seeds if I can get a chance... I ordered some last year, but I guess Burpee had run out because that part of my order was cancelled.
Despite being sick the past four days, today I moved my raised bed from where I put it last year to the back yard. Last year I made the mistake of choosing a sunny spot in February and not paying attention to nearby trees that filled out by April. It wasn't horrible, but it ended up not being as sunny as I'd have liked. I staked out the new location while building my fence last summer.
Anyhow, get those seeds started.
I started eight plants already (okra, cantaloupe, tomato, chamomile, borage, marigold, cilantro, and basil) and will start more in a week or two. I also have my mint from last year as well as a bunch of strawberries since I let some runners sprout at the end of last season. I'll also be doing lettuce, spinach, radish, and garlic at least. And I want to go pick up some broccoli seeds if I can get a chance... I ordered some last year, but I guess Burpee had run out because that part of my order was cancelled.
Despite being sick the past four days, today I moved my raised bed from where I put it last year to the back yard. Last year I made the mistake of choosing a sunny spot in February and not paying attention to nearby trees that filled out by April. It wasn't horrible, but it ended up not being as sunny as I'd have liked. I staked out the new location while building my fence last summer.
Anyhow, get those seeds started.
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