Frosted Mini-Wheats to be exact. And not the mainstream kind, the Hannaford kind. Today marked the beginning of my commuting season and I am posting about it here in an effort to hold myself accountable and ride my bike in to work more days than I did last year. Last year various factors contributed to why I didn't commute as much...sketchy shower accommodations at work, got into more group rides, and probably general laziness.
But this year I am going to man up and try my best to ride 4 days a week (I teach class on Wed evening until early May when the semester is out then I can try and ride all week) Not sure if the shower situation will improve this year or not, right now its fine because the HUB is open early while the students are here. But I reminded myself this year that I don't care and I will get really sketchy if needed....sink showers here I come. Weather is also no excuse this year, I have gear for rain/cold and I'm going to use it.
I also have a new route for this year. In the past I have ridden Rt. 3 because it is the most direct route, but I have never liked the condition of the road/shoulder and the types of traffic that use that road. This year I am riding N. Ashland Rd. up to Rt.175 and then down into Plymouth. For some reason I thought that route would add a lot of time and distance as opposed to Rt.3 but its only .7 more miles and maybe takes me a few more minutes. and traffic is pretty much non-existent and the road is in much better shape. Long story short, I am an idiot for riding Rt. 3 for as long as I did.
I created a new channel on the right to track the season and the number of days I actually ride in to work and eventually I will post my gas savings, miles ridden, etc.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
New Old Ale
I don't know why this beer is called New Old Ale, but I like it because it makes no sense. Easiest way to describe it would be a high gravity brown ale. Newcastle with balls if you will.
The nut brown ale I made for Thanxmas got rave reviews so I am hoping this is right on par with that batch. I am also a big fan of brown ales in general so I have a feeling this might be my favorite batch to date.
Brew day was fairly uneventful, like any other brew day, EXCEPT that Pog dropped by unannounced just in time to add the Belgian Candi Sugars at the end of the boil. I am hoping Pog's magic touch will add that certain...'je ne sais pas'.
This was the first time I got to use those candi sugars. They are added at the end of the boil to give the yeast a little extra super food to boost the alcohol content of the final product. This batch is slated for a Memorial Day release. I would come out now and say there will be a summer kick off event at Squamywood, similar to years past, but we still have a foot of permafrost out back and late May might still feel like winter...but I suppose a snowball fight to kick off summer with some good beer is pretty Gnar too.
pics coming once fermentation kicks off...
brew day +48 hours
The nut brown ale I made for Thanxmas got rave reviews so I am hoping this is right on par with that batch. I am also a big fan of brown ales in general so I have a feeling this might be my favorite batch to date.
Brew day was fairly uneventful, like any other brew day, EXCEPT that Pog dropped by unannounced just in time to add the Belgian Candi Sugars at the end of the boil. I am hoping Pog's magic touch will add that certain...'je ne sais pas'.
This was the first time I got to use those candi sugars. They are added at the end of the boil to give the yeast a little extra super food to boost the alcohol content of the final product. This batch is slated for a Memorial Day release. I would come out now and say there will be a summer kick off event at Squamywood, similar to years past, but we still have a foot of permafrost out back and late May might still feel like winter...but I suppose a snowball fight to kick off summer with some good beer is pretty Gnar too.
pics coming once fermentation kicks off...
brew day +48 hours*UPDATE*: Bottled. Just in time for Memorial Day...hopefully. Its only two weeks away and usually I like to go with at least 3 for conditioning but this was hanging in secondary for a bit longer than it probably needed to so I think flavors have probably already mellowed and now I just need to get the right carbonation. Naro and I tried this batch a bit with the leftovers from bottling and it is STRONG. consider that your warning.
At SquamyBrew LLC all of our bottling technicians are certified professionals.
At SquamyBrew LLC all of our bottling technicians are certified professionals.Thursday, March 13, 2008
Kona Kula 2-9
Bring on EFTA '08.
Building my new race bike up in March was probably a bad idea but I couldnt wait...I have an addiction. And now I have to wait probably many months before I can ride it on trails...at least around here. oh well, at least I can stare at it a bunch. I think this is the first bike I have ever had that actually looked like a race rig.
Only thing its missing is a black seatpost to get it looking perfect (gina agrees, so a purchase must be made), plus my current post is an old clunker and I can probably shave some more weight. Not that I care but I already shaved so much weight off I might as well keep goin. This rig is easily 2-3lbs lighter than my last bike and mentally it feels like 10lbs.
I think I am going to leave it un-cabled so I don't try something stupid and ride it in 3 feet of snow and mud for now and maybe try and take it south to ride down in MA once trails down there are ready.
The red is added for pure SPEED
Building my new race bike up in March was probably a bad idea but I couldnt wait...I have an addiction. And now I have to wait probably many months before I can ride it on trails...at least around here. oh well, at least I can stare at it a bunch. I think this is the first bike I have ever had that actually looked like a race rig.
Only thing its missing is a black seatpost to get it looking perfect (gina agrees, so a purchase must be made), plus my current post is an old clunker and I can probably shave some more weight. Not that I care but I already shaved so much weight off I might as well keep goin. This rig is easily 2-3lbs lighter than my last bike and mentally it feels like 10lbs.
I think I am going to leave it un-cabled so I don't try something stupid and ride it in 3 feet of snow and mud for now and maybe try and take it south to ride down in MA once trails down there are ready.
The red is added for pure SPEEDSaturday, February 23, 2008
SquamyWeizen
Wheat batch number 2 off and running. This time German.
Pretty typical brew day...although I almost had my first boil over. well not really but it came the closest it has ever come to boiling over to date. I think it was due to the 3lbs of DME (dried malt extract) I used. I have never used that much of the dried extract, I usually use malt syrup and I think the dried might be a little more prone to boil overs.
The only other slightly strange thing that happened was the way the yeast mixed in with the wort. This was only my second time using dried yeast and the first time it had me rehydrate before adding to the wort. This strain of yeast just said to sprinkle it into the wort when adding it to the water and when I did that it kind of caked up a bit on the surface of the batch. I am assuming it will slowly rehydrate and I'm not too worried but I think it would have gone a bit smoother if I had rehydrated first.
Well my concerns about the yeast were unfounded. Because here we are at less than 24 hours after brew day and this batch is looking like the first one in a while that might be a candidate for a blow off tube.
snuggly
*UPDATE*: This batch is bottled. I set a land speed record while bottling...2 hours start to finish including clean up. Now two batches are bottled and hopefully they will last me until my next two high gravity batches are done. Each of those will take two months but I think they will be very interesting brews and will be well worth the wait.
'the operation'
Pretty typical brew day...although I almost had my first boil over. well not really but it came the closest it has ever come to boiling over to date. I think it was due to the 3lbs of DME (dried malt extract) I used. I have never used that much of the dried extract, I usually use malt syrup and I think the dried might be a little more prone to boil overs.
The only other slightly strange thing that happened was the way the yeast mixed in with the wort. This was only my second time using dried yeast and the first time it had me rehydrate before adding to the wort. This strain of yeast just said to sprinkle it into the wort when adding it to the water and when I did that it kind of caked up a bit on the surface of the batch. I am assuming it will slowly rehydrate and I'm not too worried but I think it would have gone a bit smoother if I had rehydrated first.
Well my concerns about the yeast were unfounded. Because here we are at less than 24 hours after brew day and this batch is looking like the first one in a while that might be a candidate for a blow off tube.
snuggly
'the operation'
Saturday, February 16, 2008
One Armed Wit
I'm back on the brew horse! Its been a while since my last batch...probably because last time around I had two batches bottled at once and we haven't had any Blue Zoo events to help it disappear in a timely manner.
Its a bit early to start Spring batches but I am on the DL thanks to my unintentional 12ft booter to flat ground to memory loss to radiology dept incident at Jay last weekend. Cant shred, might as well brew right?
Jake has been on a Belgian kick lately (and I can't blame him...Belgium rules) and bought me this Belgian Wit (Wheat) kit. I don't really partake in wheat beers that often but they are delicious and a pretty good weight for Spring so after this batch I will be doing another wheat beer this time in the German tradition...SquamyWeizen
Todd from Fermentation Station helped me put together a basic weizen recipe that should come out on the strong side with a nice cloudiness, characteristic of german wheat beers. I should be firing that up soon
*disclaimer*: technically that sling isn't necessary, shoulder recovery is going well, but I needed it for dramatic purposes and to make the name of the batch legitimate.
Its a bit early to start Spring batches but I am on the DL thanks to my unintentional 12ft booter to flat ground to memory loss to radiology dept incident at Jay last weekend. Cant shred, might as well brew right?
Jake has been on a Belgian kick lately (and I can't blame him...Belgium rules) and bought me this Belgian Wit (Wheat) kit. I don't really partake in wheat beers that often but they are delicious and a pretty good weight for Spring so after this batch I will be doing another wheat beer this time in the German tradition...SquamyWeizen
Todd from Fermentation Station helped me put together a basic weizen recipe that should come out on the strong side with a nice cloudiness, characteristic of german wheat beers. I should be firing that up soon
*disclaimer*: technically that sling isn't necessary, shoulder recovery is going well, but I needed it for dramatic purposes and to make the name of the batch legitimate.
*UPDATE*: Well this batch had some trials and tribulations early in its life and even through adolescence I was doubting this batch a bit because the fermentation never really 'took off'' like it has with all my other batches....it just kind of putted along. I think that is mostly due to temperature issues. Belgian beers like it real warm...which is strange because Belgium is renowned for some of the worst weather in western europe.
Even with the slow fermentation I am fairly sure things wrapped themselves up and I bottled this batch this evening. The color and consistency look real good even now (a nice golden copper, see pic), and the taste seemed pretty Belgian to me...I dont drink belgians very often but I did have some recently that Jomo brought up and I could taste some similarities so I think this batch is doing just fine.
Even with the slow fermentation I am fairly sure things wrapped themselves up and I bottled this batch this evening. The color and consistency look real good even now (a nice golden copper, see pic), and the taste seemed pretty Belgian to me...I dont drink belgians very often but I did have some recently that Jomo brought up and I could taste some similarities so I think this batch is doing just fine.
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