Hmmmm Beer!

My home brew is progressing, having completed it's bottle fermentation the weekend before last. Technically, it was supposed to age for another 3 weeks, but I felt it would be important to try a sample at the start of the aging process so that I would have some basis for comparison.

So, the verdict? Well, I'm not quite sure. It definitely tasted like some manner of ale. Denise seems to think it is very good, but she hasn't really tried that much and doesn't have the breadth of experience that I've acquired through many years applying myself to the study of beer. The kit was a recipe for an Imperial Blonde Ale, according to the literature ideal for those who like big blondes. Unfortunately, for all my vast experience I can't recall that I've ever had an Imperial Blonde Ale, so for all I know my batch could be a perfect rendition.

I tried another sample yesterday, after the first week of aging. It was good enough that I decided I'd better sample another today, just to make sure everything is still progressing appropriately. Alright, I made chili for dinner and who can eat chili without a beer. If I continue to find excuses to sample the stuff I may exhaust the supply before the aging is finished.

Since my first attempt doesn't appear as though it will turn out to be a complete failure I've decided to forge ahead and start a second batch. I found a brewer's supply in Riverside that seemed to have a little bit of everything and spent a little while chatting with one of the employees, a guy who didn't look old enough to be drinking beer, let alone offering advice on home brewing. He was pretty helpful though and I ended up leaving with ingredients for an Extra Special Bitter.

While browsing the shop I noticed a couple of different versions of brewing software. So, arriving at home I fired up the laptop, Googled 'home brewing software' and a few minutes later was running a trial version of "BeerSmith."

It turns out that after a few minutes of playing with the software I realized I haven't got much of a clue about what goes into making beer. Yeast flocculation values? Decoction mash profiles? Strike/infusion temperature? International Bitterness Units? Brewhouse Efficiency? I have much to learn grasshopper.

Ignorant or not, I fired up the stove and boiled up the ESB this afternoon. It is now quietly fermenting in Nick's closet. I think I made fewer mistakes with this batch and I also think I used better ingredients. I'm optimistic, which is never a good sign. Hope for the best and expect the worst is usually the wiser course.

I think that after two batches I have realized that I need better equipment. (A man should never really admit that he has inadequate equipment, but there you go.) Sometime before my next batch I need a bigger brew kettle and a wort chiller.

In other news, Halloween has come and gone. One trick-or-treater was all we could muster and that was Donovan from next door. I guess technically I could claim 2 trick-or-treaters, since I took the opportunity to serve Donovan's dad a little tequila while everyone else was busy admiring Dono's costume.

Of course, trick-or-treaters or not, all the candy will be eaten. Unfortunately by Denise and me.

Halloween is not the holiday that it used to be, actually hasn't been for quite a while. The boys were past trick-or-treating years ago and we've never had many visitors. There are no sidewalks or streetlights in our neighborhood and the houses are too far apart to afford a reasonable candy to distance ratio.

I didn't even bother to carve a pumpkin this year, having gotten all pumpkined-out when our pumpkins matured earlier this summer. After so many pumpkins from the garden I wasn't particularly motivated to by a pumpkin from the supermarket. This is not to say that I did not carve a Jack-o-Lantern. I improvised...

...with a leftover spaghetti squash. OK, it's non-traditional, but I wasn't going to eat this squash anyway. Might as well put him to good use.