Oktöberfest has been in primary for a week

There is still krauzen on the top of the beer, I’ve been dropping the temp 1° per day to 52°F for the primary.  Smells like Lager fermenting when I open the freezer door. This batch might just be ready for Oktöberfest this year.  If I go to Bramwell this year, I’ll enter it into the homebrew contest and see how it does.

The second batch of this style has been met with rave reviews from my peeps with whom I’ve shared it.  One guy at work asked if he could buy a sixpack for his camping outing this weekend, but I told him that was illegal.  I could give it to him, however.  And so I did.  He had previously given me his old steel toed work shoes when he got a new pair and I gave him a tasteful selection of Oktöberfest and ESB and he & his wife loved them both.  I probably give away about half of the beer that I brew; it is a labour of love.

After this batch gets thru, I may start another ESB, and also will put together a batch of Mead.  Might make it with an addition of strawberries of something tasty like that.  Maybe get some Damson Plumbs from my barber who doesn’t do anything with them and make a plumb mead.  That would be interesting.  Use a sweet champagne yeast rather than the dry that I used last time.  And hope that I live another 5 years to enjoy it.  For the sake of the mead….. We’ll see…

More on Microbe Festus….

As I was saying in our last exciting episode, I got my cargo cleaned up around 5:30, and the beer stopped being served at 6:00 PM… and so I had a whirlwind tour of the vendors that had beer left.  I went to a vendor’s tent and got a glass of IPA…

and a good time was had by me, CyberDave!  Also ran into my sister Boon who was pouring beer:

… and her preacher & his wifemate.  Names? I dunno.  I was drinking that day… She knows ‘em, and that’s the important part. 

Ah, it was a wondrous day.  Beers, Female earthlings sporting their best Summer Breasteses…

Who could ask for more?  Bwa-hahaha….

Microbe Festus….

It was a hoot.  I put on a brewing demo, brewing an Oktöberfest using the triple decoction method to the delight of all.  Well, me, if nobody else.  I finished and got things pretty much cleaned up and ready to pack for the long journey home by 5:30… the soiree shut down at 6.  I had to hustle to get some of the beers that were left, many of the beers that I’d wanted to sample had blown their kegs long before I was ready.  I did try Star Hill’s Monticello ale, made from a Thomas Jefferson recipe; it was really nice. I’ll try that one, one day. 

Supper is about ready so I’ll post some pix later.  Didas!

Replacing Temperature Controller

Once I got a couple lagers through my new freezer the temperature controller went out as was foretold by The Prophecies.  So… I got a new one.  Dave W. built this one for me one night after I captured all of the components;  RANCO ETC-111000 DIGITAL TEMPERATURE CONTROL 120 – 240V; Electrical box, plug in thingy, and faceplate; 8’ heavy doody electrical cord; Piece of electrical conduit and fittings to attach the controller and box.  Oh, and a piece of 2x4:Dave cut a three pieces of wire to do the wiring within the controller thusly:

  …and cut a chunk of the 8’ cord out to connect them within the controller as shown above.

In the plug box, that piece and the plug end piece were attached to the plug in thingy thusly:

One side…

T’ other side…

As you can see in the first picture, Dave put a staple across the plug end wire to act as a strain relief and did likewise on the temperature probe on the other end.  Both boxes were fastened to the 2x4 with screws making replacement of the controller simple.

In place, I put the little nite lite thingy in the other plug in to show when the freezer is running.

Cheers!

CyberDave

ESB…

I put an arf case into the fridge the other morning and as we speak am sampling another one.  This one tastes flawed, similar to the first batch of Märzen that I dubbed “Private Stock” so I wouldn’t have to shame myself before my fellows… There must be a critter lurking in some of my brewing equipment.  Maybe one (or more) of the carboys… perhaps in the bottles their own selfs.  I suppose that we all have this happen, some people more regularly than others… but this is not the way that it is supposed to be.  I must pay more attention to sanitization.  I have already gotten some new hoses… better put some denture cleaner into the carboys.  And I really should get a newer brewing pot.  My canning pots are about beat all to hell.  Must get stainless steel…

And should probably invest in some powerful sanitizer and let the Clorox go for a while.  This should be easy to find and fix.  Should.

My calm has been harshed

My calm has been harshed…

   What is wrong with this country when it takes half of your income just to get insurance coverage?  It wasn't like that in the past.  I just don't know how people are supposed to survive.  You know, in the 19th century the official policy of the Government regarding the Indians was to make them totally dependent upon the US Government by killing off their way of life, the buffalo.  This Government policy nearly extinctified the buffalo, and the Indians were brought to a state from which they haven't really recovered.  They are indeed dependent upon the Government...and the same thing is happening to the rest of us.  Love it or hate it: We NEED O'bammaCare!  We can't survive without it, now. With the usury fees of the insurance companies that the Government has been oh, SO willing to turn a blind eye to have made that a necessity.  We are all Indians, now. Soon, we all will be living in Government trailers on Government property…

   I think back on both of my grannies: they lived for years off of what they had been able to sock away during their lifetimes and had some to leave their kiddies when they passed on.  My own dear ole mammy was able to pass on what was left from her inheritance... and it has taken all of our cut to stay alive just these past few years; surviving longer doesn't seem like it is going to be a reality.  I really don't know what to do.