Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Well, I put on a good front, but the only true metric of effort is accountability. I made a number of vows for the new year, and I intend to follow through with them. So here’s a straight and merciless look at what I set.
You all knew it was coming: another beer post. This is really where my motivation comes from–as my friend Sparrow was saying to me earlier this week, alchemy is irresistible. I tried to hold off, but the stuff I put out in between was just senseless emo rambling, so we’re back for another update on [...]
Grad school is taking its toll. Most of my days are spent putting off grad work or doing grad work. And by putting it off I’m usually thinking about it but not writing. So, video games, which I know I must swear off at some point, or television, which I also know I must swear [...]
One of the larger themes about my new year’s resolutions is the act of communication. I’m terrible at it. Really, what I’m terrible about is maintaining it. I have a pile of people I want to be in touch with, some going months back, and it’s all I can do just to hang on to [...]
The semester has already been going well. The structure alone has been beneficial. Unlike last semester, where half of my classes had nebulously-constructed assignments with only a few due dates, my classes have specific assignments due at specific times throughout the semester, and the instructors were very clear about how they were to be formatted [...]
I’ve been slacking this week, the first week of my second semester. I allowed the funeral of my great uncle Bud (who died at the ripe old age of 102) to eat up my workday on Thursday, and then failed to compensate for it by doing extra work this weekend. Back to the old habits [...]
I have a few friends with gluten issues, and it’s a fantastic challenge to be a good host when they come by. I’ve sought out roast recipes, and tried my hand at baking cookies. But I had never tried to brew beer before without some sort of glutenous malt. Fortunately, this is an active topic [...]
I am always surprised when I rack the correct amount of beer into the bottling bucket, even though I use brewing software that accounts for liquid losses when transferring from the brew kettle to the fermenter. When bottling last night, I had the presence of mind to take some pictures, so I’ll share with you [...]
I realized after I got home from a whirlwind tour of Maryland to see my family over the holidays (yes, multiple holidays) that I hadn’t posted since way before I got on the road. So, here’s my magical New Year’s post for you. Which is just to say, I’m already hard at work on the [...]
My first stovetop brew was a special bitter. It’s a fun style. Not too strong, so you can do it on the cheap, and nice for playing around with adjuncts and showcasing hops. It’s a happy middle between a fully alcoholic beer and table beer, tasty enough so you can toss a few back without [...]