Odds and Ends

I had a nice weekend working on little odds and ends around the house. I built a little shoe shelf for my girls. They have more shoes than one can imagine. My wife sent a pic to my phone of a model she saw in the store and liked. It was around $29 if I remember correctly but was only 2' long. I told her I could build one really easy for less. So I took a trip to Lowe's (which is so close, it's dangerously convenient) and picked up a 1"x10"x10', a 1"x2"x8', and a small can of stain. Total cost $19.99 with tax. Almost doesn't get any better considering I only had a $20. I still had my bank card but really thought I could do this for under $20 and I was right.

I ended up making a second trip to Lowe's that day. A friend had a neat idea for a stainless steel drip tray for my kegerator. Lowe's sells a small stainless box for smoking woodchips that has a fliptop lid with holes. Simply use magnets to hold it up. They sell for $10.http://www.lowes.com/pd_183371-47981-42023_0__?productId=3052377&Ntt=stainless+box&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dstainless%2Bbox&facetInfo=  The real ones at the homebrew supply are $32 so I figured I saved myself $22 on that little idea. Thanks Geoff!

Another little project I'm working on is my 15gal conical fermenter. For those that are not familiar with what this is, you can learn more herehttp://bit.ly/zrJaKs. I am currently brewing 5gal batches and am looking to up my production to 10gal brews. Its the same amount of work but double the beer ☺. I have been wanting one for a while but the price has prevented me from being able to afford it. It's hard to justify to SWMBO that you want to spend $500 on something that a $5 plastic bucket can do. So... to meet in the middle, I opted for a plastic conical. Now, the one I purchased is typically used for bio-diesel production. It's called an induction tank. I've been reading about how others have done this and had great results. Granted, it's not going to be s nice as the stainless option but at a fifth of the cost, I am ok with that. I'll post pics of it once complete. So far, all I have done is attach the plumbing to the bottom. I still need to build a stand for it.

It is occurring to me that I need to start posting on here more regularly. This way my posts aren't so damn long. I'm still new to this so bear with me.
Lastly, I brewed a batch of Pale Ale this weekend. It's a new recipe so I hope it turns out ok. I'm always nervous about a "first time" recipe. You never know how they'll turn out. This was a tested recipe so I'm a bit less concerned this time.I tried out my new hop balls this brew. Hop balls prevent small grains from plugging up your drain on the brew kettle when using large amounts of pellet hops. They worked great. I think I'll continue to use them as long as I don't notice any effect on the beer. Being that I've never brewed this one, I'll likely not notice if they impact the taste until I've brewed one of my regular recipes. Speaking of first time recipes, I recently brewed a Belgian Tripel for a competition. There is a local cinema brewhouse that lets local homebrew clubs compete for a tap handle. It's pretty awesome. They give you a style and a deadline and the winner get their beer brewed on their system and served to the general public for 90 days. Anyhow, the style guidelines for this go round was a Belgian Tripel. I had never brewed one and I really don't care for this style of beer but I want to grow as a brewer and also get my beer out there. So I did a lot of reading on the history and the traditional ingredients and brewing techniques and turned in my submission on Saturday. I tried one Friday night to see how it was coming along.....tasted like syrupy horse ass to me but I say that about most beers of this style. I just don't care a lot for them. If it turns out that I win, I'll post the official recipe and links to the theatre.

I grill every Sunday. It's my excuse to spend the day hiding outside of the house. This week my wife bought these cranberry pork sausages. I was doubtful but MAN they are good. I plan to get more of these. I don't know the brand but I'll be sure to post when I get some more. I don't ordinarily condone such things as fruit in my carne, its a sign of fruitiness, but this was pretty tasty. More on the fruity meat later....... hahaha.....