Homebrew

Finally, a batch of homebrew. I used to do this a lot, but not for maybe 7 or 8 years now. I decided to get back in with an extract batch, and I found we have an excellent homebrew store right here in Hilo --Brew Hawaii.

Not liking the flat Macbook keyboard.

I started getting stuff out about 9:00am. I bought a new 10gal alum pot yesterday so that's today's brewpot.

Here's my recipe:
Beginning of boil--3gal water (flame on at 9:50am, boiling at 10:10am--big propane burner):
2 cans of Cooper Amber malt syrup (1.5kg ea)
0.5 oz Columbus hops 16.8 alpha
note: don't add the syrup to very hot water. or make sure to stir like crazy while adding. The syrup sank and burned on the bottom while I was scraping out the can. I can tell because the bottom of the pot feels 'crusty' while stirring.

Later in boil (at 45 minutes):
4 oz fresh thinly sliced ginger
2oz Cascade hops
chiller in pot

Flame off and chiller started at about 11am
by 11:15 the pot is touchable.
A plate chiller might be nice.

Transferred the wort to the 6gal carboy, and brought to what looks like the 5gal level with tap water.
Added yeast--Fermentis Safale s-04, which is English Ale Yeast. I mixed it up, and took the gravity.
1.047. Not bad, but I was hoping for over 1.050.
It turns out I could have (and should have) predicted this OG, using this simple calculation (lifted from the Homebrew Zone):

"dry malt extract also contributes more points per gallon (ppg). DME has about 44 ppg (this will vary between manufacturers), while LME has about 37 (again will vary with manufacturer). For example, one pound of dry malt extract in one gallon of water will yield an approximate original gravity of 1.044. Therefore, a 5 gallon recipe with 6 pounds of DME will yield an original gravity of approximately 1.052 (6 lbs. DME X 44 ppg=264 points, 264 points/5 gallons=52=1.052)." Plugging my numbers in, I used 6.6 lb LME, which times 37 and divided by 5 gives 48.

I put an airlock on it, brought it in the house, and covered it with a black plastic bag (real thick contractor's grade).

Done with everything including cleanup by 12:30. Nice.
On to coloring eggs with the kids

Campaign contribution

I sent in a campaign contribution last night. While I've always voted, I wasn't an 'involved' voter until the 2000 presidential race. I was really surprised at how stressed I was over the outcome of that race. Then in 2003 I contributed early to Howard Dean's campaign, and then felt like a dope when he wasn't the nominee. I don't know enough about the campaign finance system, so I wonder if Dean's leftover money (if there was any) helped Kerry at all.

Andy, in the lab, contributed to Kucinich early this time, even after I told him about my Howard Dean experience. Well, we were able to commisserate shortly after that.

Here I go again. I know Obama might not be the nominee, but I hope he is. It feels a little like gambling. It's not a bet, this money, but I think I'll feel like it helped if he wins.

Speaking of gambling, I won some money on yesterday's Super Bowl. Just one of those pure luck number grid jobs, and I got lucky. Woohoo.

Rain Day!

UHH, and all schools on the eastern half of the island are closed due to rain that's been going on for it seems like weeks now. Over the past few days it's been really coming down hard--18 inches in 24 hours on Saturday, and early this morning it started to really pour again. All of the drainage canals are full and floods are occurring in parts of Hilo. I looked online for news and stumbled on the HaHaHa! blog. Awesome pictures and writeup.

I thought--"I should blog" out loud, and my wife reminded me that I have a blog. Maria drew the rainy day picture.