AbsolutBlog

Well, we are almost done with the Oktoberfest Amber I started a few weeks back (http://io.icmb.utexas.edu/brhall/?p=38).  Last evening Scott, Gabe and I bottled my beer.  When we added the yeast three weeks ago, the wort had a specific gravity of 1.082.  A week later while I was in Indiana, Gabe carried it into the secondary fermentation.  Now the fermented wort is at a final specific gravity of 1.017 (about 7.1% alcohol by weight or 9 % alcohol by volume )  We added the priming surgar before bottling to carbonate the beer.  We now have to wait six weeks for final carbonation and mellowing.  Although flat and 60 deg F, the beer tasted pretty damn good!

I kept a case and a six pack, gave Gabe a half a case (beer tax you know), and Scott kept three bottles for a lazy day.  I put $25 into the beer and got 5 six packs out so I am looking at only about $5.00/pack for a nice hand crafted Oktoberfest amber.  We could have had a yield of nearly 55 bottles, but there was loss due to rights of passage (Gabe burning himself with boiling wort). So, it was not only fun, but cost effective (since the beer tax pays for pots, gas, water, caps, bottles, carboys, and other equipment).

We also brewed up a two row pale Sunday and hope to turn it into some Rasberry brew.  This time we had hose clamps for safety and Gabe only burned himself on hot metal pan handles.  Scott transfered his barley wine into a third carboy for further settling and plans to bottle in a few weeks.

Moving is always an interesting scenario.  If it is you, you hope that a few friends can be coaxed by beer and pizza to come help you lift the heavy stuff.  You tell them there will be stairs involved…typically up.  But since the lure of FREE food and BEER are involved…they help with the dirty work.

On the flip side, you typically only help others move who have a.) helped you with above task, b.) will be indebted to you for said task, or c.) have cool shit they don’t want and you make it easy for them to pawn it off.

This weekend I was in class A.  I helped my long time buddy David move into a new apartment up one flight of stairs.  I can’t take all the credit however…actually I can hardly take any credit as he had spent the two previous nights moving many boxes himself.  His brothers’-in-law moved most of the HEAVY furniture up the stairs before I arrived (from Austin to Dallas), so I only had to move a desk, table, and couch.  I also helped clean.  I figure I owe him about 3 more solid moves before my debt is paid.  What’s worse, I am on the South Beach Diet (see below) and couldn’t enjoy the freebies as I would have liked.  The girls spent the afternoon resting from our Indy trip and didn’t join me.

-Brad

P.S. The SBD we’ve been on the past week is going okay.  Hungry since we aren’t accustomed or even like most of the recommended food.  But the weight is coming off and we only have a week left on phase 1.

No body does the state fair like Indiana. Therefore, we had to go back after a 7 year hiatus of missing it. What’s the same? Most everything…animals, exhibits, tractor tram, wooden yard sticks, food, large wood cutting devices, DNR tent, midway. What was new? Deep fried everything. Last time I was there, you could get deep fried dough and call it elephant ears or funnel cakes. Now they have deep fried moon pies, snickers, Oreos, Twinkies, Recess Peanut Butter Cups, etc. Now I remember back to a certain deep fried Forth of July Party in Austin where the fryer oil was only a few degrees above ambient air temperature. We deep fried everything we could get our hands on including turkeys, donuts, chicken wings, and angel food cake which soaked up about half our oil. But deep fried recess cups? Too fattening for me. I decided that two elephant ears would be enough for me. HHMMMMM…elephant ears. I would be much fatter if I knew how to make those delicacies.

Well, we didn’t just go to the fair, but Maddy rode the fair train from Fishers to Indy for the first time. And lest I forget, Maddy got some new pink cowboy boots. We also frequented the Zoo which had a polar bear bent on eating Maddy. Then there was the Children’s Museum with a wonderful exhibit focusing on Norman Rockwell art and the Dinosphere. We also enjoyed ourselves at a number of parties including one at Ben’s and another at my mom’s. We got to meet Dan’s new girlfriend Emily, Ben’s new girlfriend Meredith and see my sister’s new house. I took some memorable photos too. Here is one of us on Day 2 at the State Fair looking into a garden gazing ball. And here is one of some old farmers over by the saw mill.Click on the links for pictures of these blessed events.

School starts next Thursday September 1st and I am TAing BIO 301L Molecules to Organisms (for non majors) how fun. We are back in Austin for 3 weeks till our Indy trip for Krysten’s wedding (mid September). The 23-25th of September is the Austin City Limits Fest where we were lucky enough to get tickets 2 days before they sold out. Then comes Maddy’s birthday on the 27th. Alisha’s dad moves down in the beginning of October and TAing really kicks into gear. Alisha’s mom moves down some time in November. Thanksgiving comes, and then Christmas and the New Year celebrations…we are over half way done with this decade!

We have bubbles.  Yeast are not dead.  They were just resting.  Hello yeast.

This weekend was busy. Saturday I became an official Brewmaster apprentice. I brewed my first (of many) 5 gallons of beer. It was an Oktoberfest Amber cloned from the great to be ready in, you guessed it, October. Gabe, Scott and I spent nearly 12 hours on Saturday boiling water, mashing, separating the wort, boiling the wort, boiling water, burning ourselves on boiling wort and hot metal, filtering, concocting, smelling, and tasting the hops, grains, malt syrup, etc. Pictures to be up soon. The event started with a *long* trip to Austin Homebrew where we picked out ingredients for some very difficult high alcohol recipes.  I was brewing a Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Amber Marzen and Scott brewed a Barley Wine.

We then came back to Gabe’s house and set up his equipment. The toughest part for an impatient man like myself was boiling water. A watched pot never boils unless you have a lid and plenty of hops. Then it boils over and makes a crusted sugary mess of everything. I guess i shouldn’t say tough, but rather tiresome carrying 24 quart pots full of water then waiting 45 mins before it comes to a boil. The other time consuming part (besides waiting) was making sure everything was sterile. And we have yet to see if our efforts in this department were wasted.

Was it as difficult as my preconceived notions led me to believe? Yes. Was my yeast dead on arrival? Yes. Did I have fun? Yes. Will I do it again? Yes. Will I make something less difficult? Probably, till I get the hang of it. Will I let Gabe burn himself when a tube breaks loose and spurts boiling hot water everywhere? Nope…once is enough.  Luckily, Gabe had a shirt on or the damage may have been worse, but he still suffered serious burn on his left upper chest that blistered within a few mins.  While traumatic, the experience privided a good name for my craftsmanship: Brad’s Oktoburnfest Amber.

–"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza". -Dave Barry. But instead of pizza we went to Ave B grocery for some fine crafted sandwiches, chips and drinks.