The guy at work that is an all-grain brewer invited me and a couple other brewing friends to his place Saturday morning to hang out while he brewed a batch. I stayed just up until the start of the boil because after that point all-grain and extract brewing are the same. The all-grain process is easier than I thought it would be, but for now I think I am more than happy with the results of my extract beers. It was neat to see though, and at some point I will probably step up to all-grain. He was an extract brewer for 10 years before going to all-grain.
He lives in Evanston which is close to a barbeque place I have been wanting to try called Smoque. I haven't tried it up until now because it is about an hour drive one way. This place is all about the meat, and is probably some of the best I have ever had. If your idea of barbeque has lots of sauce on top then this is not your place. Their pork and brisket are dry rubbed and then smoked for 12 and 15 hours respectively. It is an almost perfect balance of the meat flavor, smoke, salt, and seasoning. They only have one sauce and it is served on the side. It is a fairly thin vinegar-based sauce with a nice sweet twang. The first few times I dunked the whole piece of meat on my fork into the sauce before realizing that was not the right balance. It turned out dipping just the bottom fifth of the piece of meat provided the right amount of balance, and I didn't dip every bite. I dipped maybe every third bite. To summarize the meat, it was smoked so perfectly you really do not want to cover it up with sauce. I liked just a little bit of the vinegar sauce to cleanse my palate so the next two bites of plain smoked meat seemed like the first bite all over again.
The platter I got came with coleslaw and two sides. The slaw needed a little more dressing, but was still a nice fresh counterpart to the meat. The barbequed baked beans were on the sweet side, but not objectionably sweet side, and they had a lot of flavor and nice big chunks of perfectly cooked down onions. The mac and cheese was very good but the serving size was a little on the small side. It was baked in its own little tin foil cup.
Overall I will go back and give it a solid B+, and it would not be much of stretch to give it an A-. The place is very small and when I walked in the line was huge. If I lived a lot closer I probably would have said to heck with it and left, but since I was in the area I stuck it out. The line actually moves very fast and I was there about 15 to 20 minutes. Not too bad.
I had my cable service upgraded to digital and switched from traditional POTS service to getting my phone service from the cable company on Thursday, and I am loving it more than I thought I would!
I have already watched three movies using the free on-demand service. Unless there is a really big movie that I want to see as soon as possible on DVD I think the on-demand service will take care of most of my movie needs. So far I have watched 21, Walk Hard, and Grind House.
When the phone rings the caller ID info pops up on the TV screen. That is pretty cool.
I can look at future shows on the program grid, and if I want to make sure I tune to it when it comes on, I just click a button and a little reminder pops up on the TV telling me it is time to turn to that channel! I even went out to Friday night's schedule a week away and set a reminder.
I also LOVE being able to look at the program guide and still be able to see and hear the program I am watching in the upper right corner. With my previous service when I opened the guide the sound and picture disappeared.
One of the older fence posts in the back yard snapped from the high winds we had a couple nights ago. I need to call the fence guy and have him come out to dig out the old "stump" and set a new one. For now I braced it up by nailing a 2x4 at the top of the post and secured it at the ground by pounding a stake in front of it. It's not going anywhere now so I have time to get the guy out here. I will try and wait until it warms up a bit. Hopefully in the next week or two.
I have been thinking about replacing my furnace and air conditioner for the last couple years. I'm glad I waited because I saw in the news today that I will be able to get a $1,500 tax credit under the stimulus package to do that. There will also be money available for renewable energy upgrades. Once I get a new roof installed in the spring I would be interested in looking at adding a little bit of solar capacity to the house. I have thought about installing just a few panels on the roof and the switches and wiring to get it patched into the house, and then down the road add additional panels as prices drop and efficiency increases.
The siding on the house looks dingy and needs to have something done to it. I am going to look into having it painted rather than residing the house.
Everything is still in place to refinance my mortgage. My banker said things are taking longer than normal because of the huge increase of everyone refinancing at the same time because of the low rates.
I have Monday off for President's Day. I just have a few easy chores on the list for today; pick up dog poop in the back yard, this week's laundry, a trip to the grocery store, empty the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen. I also bought wind deflectors for the rear windows on my car a few weeks ago, but have been waiting until the weather warms up to install them.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
I got to the DMV before it opened this morning and was home with my new license by 8 AM.
I rented Saw V to watch tonight.
I haven't had White Castle in forever and I have been craving them so I swung by there for lunch.
Went to Meijer to get some fun Super Bowl food. I ended up with a 10 inch frozen Home Run Inn pizza, fixings for chili, and a two pound hunk of Jennie O turkey ham that was on sale for $2 per pound.
On the way home from Meijer I was going to stop by the carwash to get the thick layer of salt from the car, but there were at least 10 cars in line so I will try some other time. Maybe I will see if it is open 24 hours and go back late tonight.
When I got home I threw together the chili and put it in a crock pot on low.
I drove 24 city miles today and averaged 31 MPG.
I'm going to take some laundry from the dryer and move another load from the washer and then settle in with the movie and hope I don't get too freaked out.
I rented Saw V to watch tonight.
I haven't had White Castle in forever and I have been craving them so I swung by there for lunch.
Went to Meijer to get some fun Super Bowl food. I ended up with a 10 inch frozen Home Run Inn pizza, fixings for chili, and a two pound hunk of Jennie O turkey ham that was on sale for $2 per pound.
On the way home from Meijer I was going to stop by the carwash to get the thick layer of salt from the car, but there were at least 10 cars in line so I will try some other time. Maybe I will see if it is open 24 hours and go back late tonight.
When I got home I threw together the chili and put it in a crock pot on low.
I drove 24 city miles today and averaged 31 MPG.
I'm going to take some laundry from the dryer and move another load from the washer and then settle in with the movie and hope I don't get too freaked out.
Friday, January 30, 2009
This is where I think I will leave my ScanGauge II for now.
It is sitting inside a little compartment with a fold-down door. I have most of the cable tucked in behind the ScanGauge, and you can see the cable that leads to the OBDII connector coming out of the left side. It is snaked up over the steering wheel column and then down to the connector.
There is a little punch-out in the back of the compartment. Once it warms up I am going to take remove the punch-out and run the cable through the back of the compartment and to the connector so you won't be able to see the cable at all.
I have improved my gas mileage by almost 25% since I've started using the ScanGauge.
Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I plan on leaving the house at 7 AM to get my drivers license renewed. I hope getting there first thing in the morning will let me miss standing in a long line.
I have started my federal tax return and have only entered my W2, my mortgage interest and property tax and I owe/am owed right around zero, which is fine by me. I don't think the rest of what I still have to enter will make much of a material difference.
It is sitting inside a little compartment with a fold-down door. I have most of the cable tucked in behind the ScanGauge, and you can see the cable that leads to the OBDII connector coming out of the left side. It is snaked up over the steering wheel column and then down to the connector.
There is a little punch-out in the back of the compartment. Once it warms up I am going to take remove the punch-out and run the cable through the back of the compartment and to the connector so you won't be able to see the cable at all.
I have improved my gas mileage by almost 25% since I've started using the ScanGauge.
Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I plan on leaving the house at 7 AM to get my drivers license renewed. I hope getting there first thing in the morning will let me miss standing in a long line.
I have started my federal tax return and have only entered my W2, my mortgage interest and property tax and I owe/am owed right around zero, which is fine by me. I don't think the rest of what I still have to enter will make much of a material difference.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Just a quick update post.
This morning, Saturday, an appraiser came out to do an appraisal on the house because I am refinancing. It will drop my rate by 1.125%.
Before the appraiser showed up Mitch threw up. A chunk of Nylabone with sharp edges came out, so I think that is what was irritating his stomach. It brought back memories of Goliath who seemed to throw up about every month or two and always first thing in the morning, and usually when I was still more asleep than awake. A nice way to start the day.
Today I also FINALLY got around to cancelling my traditional land line phone and ordering VoIP from my cable company. That will also save me a bunch of money. I am also upgrading from traditional analog cable to digital cable and got a bunch of extra channels that I have been wanting, and I will still be paying less per month than I was paying with cable and a land line separately. Some of the channels I am looking forward to are:
Biography Channel
Science Channel
National Geographic Channel
Two Sundance film channels
Seven Starz movie channels
Seven Encore movie channels
BBC America
49 music channels
There are also a bunch of supposedly free on-demand channels, but I don't know too much about those yet. They say there is a library of thousands of movies and most of them are free, but they don't say what kind of movies or how old. I'll let you know.
My ScanGauge and tire pressure gauge arrived today. I used it a little bit when I ran some errands tonight. It updates much more quickly than the fuel mileage display in my van did. The van's display refreshed maybe every 1 to 1.5 seconds. The ScanGauge seems to update almost continually. As a result you get much more feedback on how your throttle control affects fuel mileage. The air pressure gauge is the best I have used. It makes a very good leak-free seal and beeps when it has a reading. It has a built-in flashlight right under where the valve stem goes in. That will be very handy when I am checking the pressure in the garage at night.
Amy stopped over this afternoon after visiting a patient and we watched Astronaut Farmer. The movie was just OK. Entertaining but not great.
I went to the library tonight to return a couple DVDs, Meijer to get a few groceries, and Office Max to get a copy of TurboTax. It is $15 cheaper at Amazon (not counting shipping) so I guess I will order it from them.
I checked out the audiobook version of Thunderstruck by Erik Larson from the library and ripped it to my Zune. Now I have to figure out when and where to listen to it all. It is 10 CD's worth.
This morning, Saturday, an appraiser came out to do an appraisal on the house because I am refinancing. It will drop my rate by 1.125%.
Before the appraiser showed up Mitch threw up. A chunk of Nylabone with sharp edges came out, so I think that is what was irritating his stomach. It brought back memories of Goliath who seemed to throw up about every month or two and always first thing in the morning, and usually when I was still more asleep than awake. A nice way to start the day.
Today I also FINALLY got around to cancelling my traditional land line phone and ordering VoIP from my cable company. That will also save me a bunch of money. I am also upgrading from traditional analog cable to digital cable and got a bunch of extra channels that I have been wanting, and I will still be paying less per month than I was paying with cable and a land line separately. Some of the channels I am looking forward to are:
Biography Channel
Science Channel
National Geographic Channel
Two Sundance film channels
Seven Starz movie channels
Seven Encore movie channels
BBC America
49 music channels
There are also a bunch of supposedly free on-demand channels, but I don't know too much about those yet. They say there is a library of thousands of movies and most of them are free, but they don't say what kind of movies or how old. I'll let you know.
My ScanGauge and tire pressure gauge arrived today. I used it a little bit when I ran some errands tonight. It updates much more quickly than the fuel mileage display in my van did. The van's display refreshed maybe every 1 to 1.5 seconds. The ScanGauge seems to update almost continually. As a result you get much more feedback on how your throttle control affects fuel mileage. The air pressure gauge is the best I have used. It makes a very good leak-free seal and beeps when it has a reading. It has a built-in flashlight right under where the valve stem goes in. That will be very handy when I am checking the pressure in the garage at night.
Amy stopped over this afternoon after visiting a patient and we watched Astronaut Farmer. The movie was just OK. Entertaining but not great.
I went to the library tonight to return a couple DVDs, Meijer to get a few groceries, and Office Max to get a copy of TurboTax. It is $15 cheaper at Amazon (not counting shipping) so I guess I will order it from them.
I checked out the audiobook version of Thunderstruck by Erik Larson from the library and ripped it to my Zune. Now I have to figure out when and where to listen to it all. It is 10 CD's worth.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
This might be the Macintosh that brings me back to Apple!
Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Fun stuff. Anyone that knows me (I measure Mitch's daily dog food ration to the gram) won't be surprised to hear that when I found a digital tire pressure gauge with resolution to the tenth of a pound rather than the standard half a pound I ordered it. Other places have it for over $30, but amazon.com has it for $16.
I also ordered the ScanGauge II. It plugs into the OBDII port on your car and gives you real-time readings of dozens of values from your car's onboard computer. It can also read error codes and reset the dreaded "Check Engine Soon" light.
I think I will mount it like this.
These are the values it can display:
Maximum Speed
Average Speed
Maximum Coolant Temperature
Maximum RPM
Driving Time
Driving Distance
Fuel Used
Trip Fuel Economy
Distance to Empty
Time to Empty
Fuel to Empty
Fuel Economy
Fuel Rate
Battery Voltage
Coolant Temperature
Intake Air Temperature
Engine Speed (RPM)
Vehicle speed (MPH)
Manifold Pressure (not available on some vehicles)
Engine Load
Throttle Position
Ignition Timing
Open/Closed Loop
A friend at work got a coffee roaster for his birthday. I have not tried any coffee he has roasted yet, but if I like what I taste when he brings me some I think I am going to buy a roaster and start roasting my own. Green coffee beans cost a little less than half of quality roasted coffee, and green coffee will keep for two years. I think I could cover the price of the roaster after about 15 pounds of coffee. This is the roaster my friend has. This website also has a really nice selection of beans.
The batch of beer I bottled on the first of the year turned out really good. It is an APA with all Northern Brewer hops. I think this will be the last of the single-hopped batches I make. Now that I have a feel for what different types of hops contribute and what I like, I will start customizing recipes to suit my own tastes. I also think the APA style, hopped to the higher end of the scale, is going to be my signature beer and what I brew most. When I am in the mood for an IPA I will pick up some at the store or visit Tim-In-Law and drink his homebrew. To get the bitterness (IBU's) just right you have to add the right amount of hops at the right time in the boil. An amazing tool for that is BeerSmith. I used it on this last batch of beer and worked out perfectly.
My standard recipe going forward will be six pounds of light dry malt extract, a pound of crushed crystal malt, and a blend of American hops (Cascade, Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, etc.) that bring the IBU's to between 40 and 50.
I also ordered the ScanGauge II. It plugs into the OBDII port on your car and gives you real-time readings of dozens of values from your car's onboard computer. It can also read error codes and reset the dreaded "Check Engine Soon" light.
I think I will mount it like this.
These are the values it can display:
Maximum Speed
Average Speed
Maximum Coolant Temperature
Maximum RPM
Driving Time
Driving Distance
Fuel Used
Trip Fuel Economy
Distance to Empty
Time to Empty
Fuel to Empty
Fuel Economy
Fuel Rate
Battery Voltage
Coolant Temperature
Intake Air Temperature
Engine Speed (RPM)
Vehicle speed (MPH)
Manifold Pressure (not available on some vehicles)
Engine Load
Throttle Position
Ignition Timing
Open/Closed Loop
A friend at work got a coffee roaster for his birthday. I have not tried any coffee he has roasted yet, but if I like what I taste when he brings me some I think I am going to buy a roaster and start roasting my own. Green coffee beans cost a little less than half of quality roasted coffee, and green coffee will keep for two years. I think I could cover the price of the roaster after about 15 pounds of coffee. This is the roaster my friend has. This website also has a really nice selection of beans.
The batch of beer I bottled on the first of the year turned out really good. It is an APA with all Northern Brewer hops. I think this will be the last of the single-hopped batches I make. Now that I have a feel for what different types of hops contribute and what I like, I will start customizing recipes to suit my own tastes. I also think the APA style, hopped to the higher end of the scale, is going to be my signature beer and what I brew most. When I am in the mood for an IPA I will pick up some at the store or visit Tim-In-Law and drink his homebrew. To get the bitterness (IBU's) just right you have to add the right amount of hops at the right time in the boil. An amazing tool for that is BeerSmith. I used it on this last batch of beer and worked out perfectly.
My standard recipe going forward will be six pounds of light dry malt extract, a pound of crushed crystal malt, and a blend of American hops (Cascade, Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, etc.) that bring the IBU's to between 40 and 50.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
I got back this afternoon (Sunday) from a really nice Thanksgiving holiday with my family. It started Tuesday after getting home from work. I packed up the car and got to bed somewhat early. I wanted to get to sleep earlier but I ended up turning off the lights between 10:00 and 10:30.
I set my alarm for 1:40 AM, showered, made coffee, let the dog out, and started driving around 3:00 AM. This lets me miss all of the holiday drivers and worked out pretty well. I got to Toledo around 9:00 AM.
The new car was great on the highway and I was really able to load it up with stuff. One large greyhound and the requisite lounge area and space for him to standup, his kennel, two suitcases, laptop bag, wort chiller, stainless steel brew kettle, 15 gallon garbage can, 3' long plastic instrument sanitizing trough, and 14 bottles of homebrew.
Took a little power nap once I got to Mom and Dad's and hung out with Dad and my nephew and just relaxed. Mom got home in the late afternoon if I recall and then I followed them to the daycare to pick up my niece and then on to my sister and brother-in-law's place.
We drank homebrew, had snacks and then Tony Packo's (rhymes with smack oh, not taco) hot dogs for dinner. Tim and I made a beer run anticipating the good beer stores would be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
The weekend before Thanksgiving I made a batch of dough, punched it down a few times and then froze it. Thanksgiving Day morning I used it to make hard rolls for dinner. Tim's deep fried turkey was probably the best he's done yet. Every thing else also turned out perfect and was delicious as usual. I know I am biased but I think my family has the best Thanksgiving food!
Tim and Lisa had to work Friday morning and while they were gone the rest of us decorated the house, picked up a cake, and set out presents for Tim's month-early surprise birthday party. We got him everything he needed to start homebrewing!
That night some of their friends came over to give him a birthday present and then we proceeded to eat pizza and drink a lot of good beer and had a great time.
Saturday morning I guided Tim in brewing his first batch of homebrew. It was a Brewer's Best IPA kit and everything went smoothly. It should be ready to drink for Christmas. Afterwards he picked up an extra ounce of hops to dry hop next week when he racks it to the secondary fermenter.
After that we went out to lunch at a neat place in downtown Toledo. Then we went to the homebrew shop to get a few things Tim needs to connect the new Corny keg he got to dispense his homebrew and I got a few hundred bottle caps. After that we went to an army navy surplus store to see if I could find a new parka (I didn't) and then to Anderson's for a wreath for Lisa.
Saturday night we just chilled out and had a blast playing with the kids. Katelyn is at an especially fun age to play with. I also loaded into my car over 150 beer bottles that Tim has been saving for me! He didn't think we would be able to get them all in my car but we did. And they traveled very well. None of them shifted and there was no rattling which I expected a lot of. Now I have to scrub the labels off from over 150 beer bottles. I will be able start to brew more regularly with the extra bottle capacity so I will always have fresh beer waiting in my basement.
I got up early this morning so I could start driving back and try to miss the winter weather that was promised later in the day, and to try and beat everyone else coming back home from the holiday. It worked and I didn't encounter any traffic jams at all.
I unloaded the car as soon as I got home, but didn't do any unpacking, or decide where I am going to store my bottles while they wait to be cleaned and filled. I took a little nap and then showered, set up Mitch's cage and did some general neatening up downstairs. I am going to brush my teeth soon and try to get to bed early in case I need to get up early and shovel snow.
I set my alarm for 1:40 AM, showered, made coffee, let the dog out, and started driving around 3:00 AM. This lets me miss all of the holiday drivers and worked out pretty well. I got to Toledo around 9:00 AM.
The new car was great on the highway and I was really able to load it up with stuff. One large greyhound and the requisite lounge area and space for him to standup, his kennel, two suitcases, laptop bag, wort chiller, stainless steel brew kettle, 15 gallon garbage can, 3' long plastic instrument sanitizing trough, and 14 bottles of homebrew.
Took a little power nap once I got to Mom and Dad's and hung out with Dad and my nephew and just relaxed. Mom got home in the late afternoon if I recall and then I followed them to the daycare to pick up my niece and then on to my sister and brother-in-law's place.
We drank homebrew, had snacks and then Tony Packo's (rhymes with smack oh, not taco) hot dogs for dinner. Tim and I made a beer run anticipating the good beer stores would be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
The weekend before Thanksgiving I made a batch of dough, punched it down a few times and then froze it. Thanksgiving Day morning I used it to make hard rolls for dinner. Tim's deep fried turkey was probably the best he's done yet. Every thing else also turned out perfect and was delicious as usual. I know I am biased but I think my family has the best Thanksgiving food!
Tim and Lisa had to work Friday morning and while they were gone the rest of us decorated the house, picked up a cake, and set out presents for Tim's month-early surprise birthday party. We got him everything he needed to start homebrewing!
That night some of their friends came over to give him a birthday present and then we proceeded to eat pizza and drink a lot of good beer and had a great time.
Saturday morning I guided Tim in brewing his first batch of homebrew. It was a Brewer's Best IPA kit and everything went smoothly. It should be ready to drink for Christmas. Afterwards he picked up an extra ounce of hops to dry hop next week when he racks it to the secondary fermenter.
After that we went out to lunch at a neat place in downtown Toledo. Then we went to the homebrew shop to get a few things Tim needs to connect the new Corny keg he got to dispense his homebrew and I got a few hundred bottle caps. After that we went to an army navy surplus store to see if I could find a new parka (I didn't) and then to Anderson's for a wreath for Lisa.
Saturday night we just chilled out and had a blast playing with the kids. Katelyn is at an especially fun age to play with. I also loaded into my car over 150 beer bottles that Tim has been saving for me! He didn't think we would be able to get them all in my car but we did. And they traveled very well. None of them shifted and there was no rattling which I expected a lot of. Now I have to scrub the labels off from over 150 beer bottles. I will be able start to brew more regularly with the extra bottle capacity so I will always have fresh beer waiting in my basement.
I got up early this morning so I could start driving back and try to miss the winter weather that was promised later in the day, and to try and beat everyone else coming back home from the holiday. It worked and I didn't encounter any traffic jams at all.
I unloaded the car as soon as I got home, but didn't do any unpacking, or decide where I am going to store my bottles while they wait to be cleaned and filled. I took a little nap and then showered, set up Mitch's cage and did some general neatening up downstairs. I am going to brush my teeth soon and try to get to bed early in case I need to get up early and shovel snow.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
I finally got around to snapping a few pictures of my new car today while I was out doing errands.
It was the first time I put gas into it and I was so thrilled that it only took 8.5 gallons to top it off.
Lots of extra room in the garage now.
Here you can see the window wind deflectors I installed in action. I can be cruising down the road with my window open like that and no rain comes inside.
It was the first time I put gas into it and I was so thrilled that it only took 8.5 gallons to top it off.
Lots of extra room in the garage now.
Here you can see the window wind deflectors I installed in action. I can be cruising down the road with my window open like that and no rain comes inside.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Lots of updates to write about over the last few weeks.
Probably the biggest is I had to buy a new (to me) car. The van was pretty sound overall, but I took it in to have a few things fixed and it turned out the repairs were going to be a couple thousands dollars. I have had it for almost nine years and it had 140,000 miles on it so I didn't feel bad about getting rid of it. I definitely got my money's worth out of it. In city diving I was getting around 20 MPG, sometimes less, so I was also very excited to have the excuse to bump up my fuel economy too.
My list of required must-haves was pretty short. I don't think I've seen a car that doesn't have air conditioning in the last decade so that was kind of an assumed requirement. Automatic transmission. It had to have cruise control and it had to be able to haul Mitch, his collapsed cage, a couple big suitcases and a few extra boxes, bags, etc. More than 99% of the time it will just be hauling me around and commuting to work so nothing flashy, reliability was important, and looking to minimize purchase price.
I didn't have a specific fuel economy rating in mind but I was expecting something at least in the high 20's. Obviously low miles and late model is good but also didn't have an exact cutoff in mind. Wanted a stereo system with an audio input jack on the front to plug in my MP3 player but that is something you can always add yourself for not too much time or money.
I loved the Scion xB. It is HUGE inside. However the xB's prior to 2006 or 2007 didn't have cruise control as an option, and the later model xB's had cruise control but they also put bigger engines in them which really dropped the fuel economy; almost to the mileage of the old van! So unfortunately the xB was out.
I test drove a Honda Fit and I was comfortable behind the wheel, but at the same time I felt like I was ducking my head and was being forced to lean to the right away from the side of the car even though I did have enough room. Just something subconsciously didn't work for me. With the back seats folded down it did have a good amount of cargo space, but I could do better.
Long story short I ended up going with a 2007 Toyota Matrix with only 3,400 miles. It is basically a new car. I love it! Very fun to drive especially compared to driving a van for almost the last decade. It feels very big inside for a small car. Tons of room for cargo when the seats are folded down, and the front passenger seat also folds flat so you can get some really long things in the car and still close the hatchback. It is rated at 29/34 MPG but I have not calculated how I am doing so far.
I already bought some wind deflectors for the windows from the WeatherTech factory showroom (no shipping costs!) and love those. I went with this brand because everyone on the internets had good things to say about them AND more importantly they installed without using adhesive tape like a lot of the other brands. I also bought their all weather floor mats for the front. They fit perfectly. I highly recommend their products.
The stock Toyota radio that came with it does not have a front input jack so I have been looking at my options for that but that is not urgent for me. I have also been looking at, and hearing really good things about, the ScanGauge. It plugs into the OBDII computer port of your car and lets you monitor pretty much everything the computer monitors in real time as well report error codes that make the dreaded "Check Engine Soon" idiot light come on. The primary feature I want it for is for keeping an eye on real time and average mileage since my car doesn't display that, but all the other stuff would be really fascinating too.
Enough car stuff. The other big change is my hair style. I have started shaving my head. My forehead has been slowly creeping back to meet my bald spot and I wanted to beat it to the punch. I have gotten mostly positive feedback and I feel pretty comfortable with it.
My Norelco electric razor I've had for probably six or seven years finally died and I replaced it with another Norelco. It performs even better than my first one! This one is designed to be rinsed out under hot water every day so you are always using fresh clean blades. I would buy it again in a second.
I have a three pound pot roast in the slow cooker with potatoes, onions and carrots for dinner tonight.
I have a batch of beer that I need to bottle today. That will bring me up to three batches (15 gallons) that is conditioning in my basement. I've met another homebrewer at work that kegs his beer and doesn't need bottles so he is saving his empties for me so I can get my bottle collection up to four batches worth. Tim-In-Law has also been working on increasing my bottle count. Four batches of bottles is about 200 bottles or eight cases!
I have almost a pound of Centennial, Cascade and Northern Brewer hops in the freezer for upcoming batches. My last two batches have been single hop batches so I can get a feel for what each type of hop contributes. My next batches will probably be an all Cascade an all Northern Brewer batch.
I'm in the process of getting quotes for a new roof on the house. I'm not looking forward to that expense.
Probably the biggest is I had to buy a new (to me) car. The van was pretty sound overall, but I took it in to have a few things fixed and it turned out the repairs were going to be a couple thousands dollars. I have had it for almost nine years and it had 140,000 miles on it so I didn't feel bad about getting rid of it. I definitely got my money's worth out of it. In city diving I was getting around 20 MPG, sometimes less, so I was also very excited to have the excuse to bump up my fuel economy too.
My list of required must-haves was pretty short. I don't think I've seen a car that doesn't have air conditioning in the last decade so that was kind of an assumed requirement. Automatic transmission. It had to have cruise control and it had to be able to haul Mitch, his collapsed cage, a couple big suitcases and a few extra boxes, bags, etc. More than 99% of the time it will just be hauling me around and commuting to work so nothing flashy, reliability was important, and looking to minimize purchase price.
I didn't have a specific fuel economy rating in mind but I was expecting something at least in the high 20's. Obviously low miles and late model is good but also didn't have an exact cutoff in mind. Wanted a stereo system with an audio input jack on the front to plug in my MP3 player but that is something you can always add yourself for not too much time or money.
I loved the Scion xB. It is HUGE inside. However the xB's prior to 2006 or 2007 didn't have cruise control as an option, and the later model xB's had cruise control but they also put bigger engines in them which really dropped the fuel economy; almost to the mileage of the old van! So unfortunately the xB was out.
I test drove a Honda Fit and I was comfortable behind the wheel, but at the same time I felt like I was ducking my head and was being forced to lean to the right away from the side of the car even though I did have enough room. Just something subconsciously didn't work for me. With the back seats folded down it did have a good amount of cargo space, but I could do better.
Long story short I ended up going with a 2007 Toyota Matrix with only 3,400 miles. It is basically a new car. I love it! Very fun to drive especially compared to driving a van for almost the last decade. It feels very big inside for a small car. Tons of room for cargo when the seats are folded down, and the front passenger seat also folds flat so you can get some really long things in the car and still close the hatchback. It is rated at 29/34 MPG but I have not calculated how I am doing so far.
I already bought some wind deflectors for the windows from the WeatherTech factory showroom (no shipping costs!) and love those. I went with this brand because everyone on the internets had good things to say about them AND more importantly they installed without using adhesive tape like a lot of the other brands. I also bought their all weather floor mats for the front. They fit perfectly. I highly recommend their products.
The stock Toyota radio that came with it does not have a front input jack so I have been looking at my options for that but that is not urgent for me. I have also been looking at, and hearing really good things about, the ScanGauge. It plugs into the OBDII computer port of your car and lets you monitor pretty much everything the computer monitors in real time as well report error codes that make the dreaded "Check Engine Soon" idiot light come on. The primary feature I want it for is for keeping an eye on real time and average mileage since my car doesn't display that, but all the other stuff would be really fascinating too.
Enough car stuff. The other big change is my hair style. I have started shaving my head. My forehead has been slowly creeping back to meet my bald spot and I wanted to beat it to the punch. I have gotten mostly positive feedback and I feel pretty comfortable with it.
My Norelco electric razor I've had for probably six or seven years finally died and I replaced it with another Norelco. It performs even better than my first one! This one is designed to be rinsed out under hot water every day so you are always using fresh clean blades. I would buy it again in a second.
I have a three pound pot roast in the slow cooker with potatoes, onions and carrots for dinner tonight.
I have a batch of beer that I need to bottle today. That will bring me up to three batches (15 gallons) that is conditioning in my basement. I've met another homebrewer at work that kegs his beer and doesn't need bottles so he is saving his empties for me so I can get my bottle collection up to four batches worth. Tim-In-Law has also been working on increasing my bottle count. Four batches of bottles is about 200 bottles or eight cases!
I have almost a pound of Centennial, Cascade and Northern Brewer hops in the freezer for upcoming batches. My last two batches have been single hop batches so I can get a feel for what each type of hop contributes. My next batches will probably be an all Cascade an all Northern Brewer batch.
I'm in the process of getting quotes for a new roof on the house. I'm not looking forward to that expense.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
I have today off for the Columbus Day holiday which gave me the opportunity to take Mitch to the vet this morning for his annual check-up and shots. I scheduled to take him in Thursday morning to have his teeth cleaned because he is starting to get some gum irritation.
Last night a friend from work invited me over to eat a bunch of game birds he shot. There were just four of us, but he cooked about 15 quail, 15 pheasant, and a couple chuckers.
We started out with about a dozen skewers of pheasant breast on the grill with an Asian soy/sesame marinade and some pheasant legs with barbeque sauce as an appetizer.
Then he brought out the tray of roasted quail. Quail was a tie for my favorite this evening. After a bit he brought a tray with the roasted pheasant and chuckers. These had been dry rubbed with a spicy Cajun spice blend.
While I was still working on my chucker he brought out a large pheasant pot pie. This was the other favorite of the night. He made it in a regular 9" pie pan. Huge.
For dessert they baked a cherry pie. All of it was delicious.
They made three of the huge pot pies and sent one home with me along with a few quail.
I took Mitch along and he seemed to enjoy himself too. They were worried that their young and extremely energetic and non-stop motion German shorthaired pointer hunting dog would be too much for the calm laid back Mitch. They were just fine together.
Last night a friend from work invited me over to eat a bunch of game birds he shot. There were just four of us, but he cooked about 15 quail, 15 pheasant, and a couple chuckers.
We started out with about a dozen skewers of pheasant breast on the grill with an Asian soy/sesame marinade and some pheasant legs with barbeque sauce as an appetizer.
Then he brought out the tray of roasted quail. Quail was a tie for my favorite this evening. After a bit he brought a tray with the roasted pheasant and chuckers. These had been dry rubbed with a spicy Cajun spice blend.
While I was still working on my chucker he brought out a large pheasant pot pie. This was the other favorite of the night. He made it in a regular 9" pie pan. Huge.
For dessert they baked a cherry pie. All of it was delicious.
They made three of the huge pot pies and sent one home with me along with a few quail.
I took Mitch along and he seemed to enjoy himself too. They were worried that their young and extremely energetic and non-stop motion German shorthaired pointer hunting dog would be too much for the calm laid back Mitch. They were just fine together.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Everything is in place. Kettle is on the fire coming up to temperature. Steeping grains are in the mesh bag. Yeast pack has been smacked. Liquid malt extract is in a hot water bath. I think I am going to open up another homebrew that I put in the fridge last night and sip that while I am waiting for my water to heat up.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Friday evening and three beers under my belt. Drawing the water I will brew with tomorrow so it can sit overnight and dechlorinate. Will get everything set out that I will need tomorrow so I can get brewing as soon as I have had my coffee and breakfast.
Tried one of my homebrews that I bottled last weekend. It is maltier than I expected but still good. Drinkable. I think another week of conditioning will carbonate it a bit more and bring out some more of the hop bitterness. I used two cans of amber malt extract. Tomorrow I have a can of amber and a can of light. I like the trial and error aspect of this hobby.
I am going to a friend's house Sunday to eat some pheasant he shot. He likes really weak beer, but I will still take a couple homebrews with me even though I don't think he will like them.
Talked to Tim-In-Law for a bit and am jealous of the load of great beer they they have for tonight. I am really interested in trying the Racer 5 IPA they tried and said is awesome.
OK, I have the stereo tuned to 104.3 FM and it is time to go get everything ready for tomorrow morning.
Tried one of my homebrews that I bottled last weekend. It is maltier than I expected but still good. Drinkable. I think another week of conditioning will carbonate it a bit more and bring out some more of the hop bitterness. I used two cans of amber malt extract. Tomorrow I have a can of amber and a can of light. I like the trial and error aspect of this hobby.
I am going to a friend's house Sunday to eat some pheasant he shot. He likes really weak beer, but I will still take a couple homebrews with me even though I don't think he will like them.
Talked to Tim-In-Law for a bit and am jealous of the load of great beer they they have for tonight. I am really interested in trying the Racer 5 IPA they tried and said is awesome.
OK, I have the stereo tuned to 104.3 FM and it is time to go get everything ready for tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
I wasn't quite sure how to keep track of which bottle of homebrew is which, and then I had a good idea: I will write the date I bottled each bottle on the bottle cap with a Sharpie. It is so simple I don't know why I didn't think of it before.
But that didn't take care of the problem of remembering the specifics of each batch (i.e. ingredients, unusual or different techniques that may have changed the outcome, etc.) We bought a little notepad for this, but you can run of space on a page, it can get dropped in a pale of ale, etc. So I had a second follow-up idea to the first idea above: I am going to use this entry to keep track of each batch of beer by bottle date.
I will just keep adding information to this entry rather than adding a new entry with every batch.
Brew Log
Brad's Summer APA
Brewed 7/3/09
IBU's: 31
1 lb crystal malt steeped 30 minutes
6 lbs Light Dry Extract
0.60 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops
0.70 oz Columbus [12.20 %] (60 min) Hops
1.00 oz Amarillo [8.20 %] (5 min)
Safale US-05
Hop Scare IPA (kit from Midwest Homebrewing Supply)
brewed 4/26/2009
1 lb caravienne malt, steeped 30 minutes at 155 degrees
6 lbs liquid gold malt
2 lbs dry light extract
1 oz Warrier hops, 15.4% alpha, 60 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 30 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 15 min
1 tsp Irish moss 15 minutes
2 oz Cascade hops, 5.4% alpha, 4 min
Wyeast American Ale II Activator pack
Bottled 1/2/2009
6 pounds light DME
1 pound crystal malt 60L
norther brewer hops
1 ounce 60 min
1 ounce 40 min
1 ounce 10 min?
1 ounce dry hopped
Safale US-05
Bottled 11/15/08
Brewed on 10/25/2008
1 pound US crystal malt 30 Lovibond steeped 20 minutes at 165 degrees
5.3 pounds DME
1 ounce centennial - 60 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 40 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 30 minutes
1 ounce centennial - 15 minutes
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 ounce centennial dry hopped into secondary fermentor when racking after first week
2 7 gram packets of Cooper's Ale Yeast pitched dry directly into wort without proofing
Used wort chiller for first time. Cooled down to 70 degrees in about 20 minutes
11/1/2008 – Estimated bottling date of batch brewed on 8/11/2008.
OG 1.050
2.5 ounces Simcoe hops, continuous addition. 0.5 ounces dry hopped in secondary fermenter.
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped golden light LME
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped sparkling amber LME
Steeping grains: 1 pound Briess 60L crystal malt 6 row
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 pound Briess victory malt
Wyeast Northwest Ale yeast.
Primed with cane sugar.
Bottled 10/4/2008 – Ad hoc recipe. ~5.5% ABV
6.6 pounds amber LME
0.5 pounds light DME
1 ounce Cascade bittering
0.5 ounce Kent Golding bittering
1.5 ounce Kent Golding flavor
1 pack Munton's dry yeast to the primary, and another pack to the secondary when fermentation stopped.
Aerated the wort this time. Poured hot wort into primary fermenter with a bag of commercial ice.
After one week of bottle conditioning my first impression is that this turned out almost like a hopped up stout. Using all amber extract is too much for my tastes. It is still good though.
Bottled 8/22/2008 – Mead, basic dry. 10.4% ABV 12 pounds mesquite honey, Pasteur Champagne Red Star yeast, acid blend (citric/tartaric/malic)
Bottled 8/10/2008 – First solo batch. Used a Brewer's Best American Micro Style Pale Ale. 1.5 ounces Cascade hops, bittering 1.5 ounces Willamete hops, flavor. Added the yeast before the wort was properly cooled. I think it was about 130 degrees. Added a second packet of yeast to the secondary fermenter when fermentation stopped a few days after racking.
Bottled 6/7/2008 – Batch brewed at Bev-Art
But that didn't take care of the problem of remembering the specifics of each batch (i.e. ingredients, unusual or different techniques that may have changed the outcome, etc.) We bought a little notepad for this, but you can run of space on a page, it can get dropped in a pale of ale, etc. So I had a second follow-up idea to the first idea above: I am going to use this entry to keep track of each batch of beer by bottle date.
I will just keep adding information to this entry rather than adding a new entry with every batch.
Brew Log
Brad's Summer APA
Brewed 7/3/09
IBU's: 31
1 lb crystal malt steeped 30 minutes
6 lbs Light Dry Extract
0.60 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops
0.70 oz Columbus [12.20 %] (60 min) Hops
1.00 oz Amarillo [8.20 %] (5 min)
Safale US-05
Hop Scare IPA (kit from Midwest Homebrewing Supply)
brewed 4/26/2009
1 lb caravienne malt, steeped 30 minutes at 155 degrees
6 lbs liquid gold malt
2 lbs dry light extract
1 oz Warrier hops, 15.4% alpha, 60 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 30 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 15 min
1 tsp Irish moss 15 minutes
2 oz Cascade hops, 5.4% alpha, 4 min
Wyeast American Ale II Activator pack
Bottled 1/2/2009
6 pounds light DME
1 pound crystal malt 60L
norther brewer hops
1 ounce 60 min
1 ounce 40 min
1 ounce 10 min?
1 ounce dry hopped
Safale US-05
Bottled 11/15/08
Brewed on 10/25/2008
1 pound US crystal malt 30 Lovibond steeped 20 minutes at 165 degrees
5.3 pounds DME
1 ounce centennial - 60 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 40 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 30 minutes
1 ounce centennial - 15 minutes
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 ounce centennial dry hopped into secondary fermentor when racking after first week
2 7 gram packets of Cooper's Ale Yeast pitched dry directly into wort without proofing
Used wort chiller for first time. Cooled down to 70 degrees in about 20 minutes
11/1/2008 – Estimated bottling date of batch brewed on 8/11/2008.
OG 1.050
2.5 ounces Simcoe hops, continuous addition. 0.5 ounces dry hopped in secondary fermenter.
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped golden light LME
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped sparkling amber LME
Steeping grains: 1 pound Briess 60L crystal malt 6 row
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 pound Briess victory malt
Wyeast Northwest Ale yeast.
Primed with cane sugar.
Bottled 10/4/2008 – Ad hoc recipe. ~5.5% ABV
6.6 pounds amber LME
0.5 pounds light DME
1 ounce Cascade bittering
0.5 ounce Kent Golding bittering
1.5 ounce Kent Golding flavor
1 pack Munton's dry yeast to the primary, and another pack to the secondary when fermentation stopped.
Aerated the wort this time. Poured hot wort into primary fermenter with a bag of commercial ice.
After one week of bottle conditioning my first impression is that this turned out almost like a hopped up stout. Using all amber extract is too much for my tastes. It is still good though.
Bottled 8/22/2008 – Mead, basic dry. 10.4% ABV 12 pounds mesquite honey, Pasteur Champagne Red Star yeast, acid blend (citric/tartaric/malic)
Bottled 8/10/2008 – First solo batch. Used a Brewer's Best American Micro Style Pale Ale. 1.5 ounces Cascade hops, bittering 1.5 ounces Willamete hops, flavor. Added the yeast before the wort was properly cooled. I think it was about 130 degrees. Added a second packet of yeast to the secondary fermenter when fermentation stopped a few days after racking.
Bottled 6/7/2008 – Batch brewed at Bev-Art
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
I have been really interested in trying Anheuser-Bush's first ale (as far as I'm aware) called Budweiser American Ale. I finally saw it in the store yesterday and picked up a six pack right away.
It is easily the best beer AB has ever produced, but it is just an OK beer compared to all of the other great beer out there. The carton says it is dry hopped with Cascade hops but I can just barely detect their aroma, and I detect no hop flavor. The hop bitterness is nice without being too overwhelming for people used to insipid macro lagers.
It wasn't dry, but it also wasn't overly malty or heavy. It had a nice body and mouth feel.
Another nice touch is the bottles have pry off caps rather than twist offs which means I can reuse the bottles for my homebrew. I expected to have to throw them away. A nice surprise.
Finally, a six pack was $7.50. For just $0.50 to a $1.00 more you can buy a really outstanding beer. If it was priced more like their other beers in the $6 range I might be more tempted to pick some up every now and then when feeling the pains of a bad economy, but at that price I don't think it's a beer I will be seeking out.
So overall it is a decent and approachable beer, but nothing too interesting. My hope is it will give people that normally just drink Budweiser-type lagers their first experience of a nice hoppy ale and be a "gateway drug" to the better beers that are out there. I am also hoping it will be showing up on tap in bars and restaurants that normally just have Bud on tap. If that was the best choice and I was feeling like a beer I would order one. If they just had Bud, Miller, etc. I would probably just pass.
It is easily the best beer AB has ever produced, but it is just an OK beer compared to all of the other great beer out there. The carton says it is dry hopped with Cascade hops but I can just barely detect their aroma, and I detect no hop flavor. The hop bitterness is nice without being too overwhelming for people used to insipid macro lagers.
It wasn't dry, but it also wasn't overly malty or heavy. It had a nice body and mouth feel.
Another nice touch is the bottles have pry off caps rather than twist offs which means I can reuse the bottles for my homebrew. I expected to have to throw them away. A nice surprise.
Finally, a six pack was $7.50. For just $0.50 to a $1.00 more you can buy a really outstanding beer. If it was priced more like their other beers in the $6 range I might be more tempted to pick some up every now and then when feeling the pains of a bad economy, but at that price I don't think it's a beer I will be seeking out.
So overall it is a decent and approachable beer, but nothing too interesting. My hope is it will give people that normally just drink Budweiser-type lagers their first experience of a nice hoppy ale and be a "gateway drug" to the better beers that are out there. I am also hoping it will be showing up on tap in bars and restaurants that normally just have Bud on tap. If that was the best choice and I was feeling like a beer I would order one. If they just had Bud, Miller, etc. I would probably just pass.
I went to the homebrew shop on Sunday to get ingredients to brew an IPA next weekend and I am pretty excited about what I got.
The centerpiece of the batch is three ounces of Simcoe hops plugs! Their alpha acid content is 13.2%.
I also stepped up from dry yeast and got a Smack-pack of Wyeast Laboratories Northwest Ale strain. This is a link to the details of the yeast strain.
For steeping grains I got a pound of 60 Lovibond crystal malt and a pound of victory malt. I tasted a few grains of the victory malt before he crushed it and it has a very pronounced toasty bread taste. Lovibond is a measure of grain's darkness. The higher it is the darker it will make the beer. Crystal malt has a nice sweetness to help offset my Simcoe hops.
Finally I got a 3.3 pound can of amber liquid malt extract (LME) and one can of light LME.
On Saturday I finally bottled the batch of beer that my family drove 4 hours to help me brew 6 weeks ago on August 23, 2008. It is tasting really good and it is going to be really difficult for me to wait until this weekend to try a bottle. Friday after work I will bring a bottle up from my beer cellar and put it in the fridge so it will be ready to inspire me while I am brewing Saturday morning.
The centerpiece of the batch is three ounces of Simcoe hops plugs! Their alpha acid content is 13.2%.
I also stepped up from dry yeast and got a Smack-pack of Wyeast Laboratories Northwest Ale strain. This is a link to the details of the yeast strain.
For steeping grains I got a pound of 60 Lovibond crystal malt and a pound of victory malt. I tasted a few grains of the victory malt before he crushed it and it has a very pronounced toasty bread taste. Lovibond is a measure of grain's darkness. The higher it is the darker it will make the beer. Crystal malt has a nice sweetness to help offset my Simcoe hops.
Finally I got a 3.3 pound can of amber liquid malt extract (LME) and one can of light LME.
On Saturday I finally bottled the batch of beer that my family drove 4 hours to help me brew 6 weeks ago on August 23, 2008. It is tasting really good and it is going to be really difficult for me to wait until this weekend to try a bottle. Friday after work I will bring a bottle up from my beer cellar and put it in the fridge so it will be ready to inspire me while I am brewing Saturday morning.