First Brew Day of 2012

Monday was our first brewday of 2012. (we have a few coming up..haha)


Nightcap Cherry Stout to start the new year. Mike's all excited, after an excellent Christmas and New Years. I however, am quite sick-tastic today. So I've been assigned the "special helper/blogger post" which is totally different from my normal "assistant/blogger" post.

thin yeast packet. obvs

1:25 My first job as special helper involves pouring Chocolate Malt into the baggies so that Mike can roll it out. Apparently, it smells like hot cocoa and delicious, I cant smell a darn thing so I give up.

1:32 I take a quick picture of the skinny yeast and Mike smacks it. Oi responds by smacking the doors.

1:47pm

1:38 I have to muster up all of my strength to go hunt down the meat thermometer. The blog might have to go silent after this.

1:41 success. (it was right where I told him it would be) I need a nap.

1:47 "See! The duct tape is MUCH more elegant this time! Heats on, lessroll" :)

the last Polish Pumpkin Ale

1:55, Mike opened up his last bottle of homebrew and is threatening to not let me taste the Delirium Noturnum later unless I nose mace myself. (For the record, nose mace is this sinus buster product that you squirt up your nose. it's made of capsasin and it hurts like (-----). So, you dont get addicted like ya do with Afrin) The pre-wort has to cook for half an hour at 150 before it can boil, sooo we're waiting.

2:07 I have been maced. and we learn to only sanitize the caps as you need them. rust is not tasty.

2:15 As I'm talking in a weird voice  - "Do you hate me because I'm stupid?? Nope, I love you because you're cute"

Goop.

2:30 The spent grains are done steeping. They're great compost, but, seeing as we don't have a compost bin or any animals that would eat it (cause Olive and Oi would NOT be amused) they're also great trash. Now we're heating it up.

2:48 Time to add in the really bitter hops. I"M EXCITED CAUSE I CAN SMELL!!!!!

2:54 Goop has been poured into the wort and Mike is stirring it to make sure it doesn't scorch onto the bottom of the pot.

chilled, during thermo class

3:27 and we boil.

4:35 boil is done. and we start cooling. our advanced method of cutting open water bottles and spilling them all over the floor is in full swing!

4:49  Mike is quizzing me on thermodynamics.
4:50  I passed the the test. I'm so smart.  ;)

5:02 who would have thought that the last two degrees, much like the last 10 lbs, is the hardest to drop....

puffy yeast

5:05 Mike has taken the beer outside. Because..well it's colder out there than it is in here.

5:07 Clean up time! Me? Dayquil time. There is also some chicken soup calling my name, and I still havent gotten my delirium nocturnum...

5:13 Temperature is good and the specific gravity is 1.0068

via instagram

5:16 yeast is in. beer is waiting. kitchen is cleaning. we wait, and come up with names for ~ 2 weeks.  It's also time for me to return to my post under the fluffy fur blanket with a huge mug of soup to fix up my head.


Goodnight :)