Off topic pic of the day. High School Memories

This makes me think of art class, Mr Smith and Burnt Umber oil paint.

Off topic pic of the day

A few evenings ago...

Larry's write up of the The Great Artisnal Autumnal Homebrew Competition

Hey, Meister Brew Lounge notes that Larry Horowitz of Iron Hill posted this wrap up of the The Great Artisnal Autumnal Homebrew Competition :-)

Again, thanks to Artisan Homebrew and Iron Hill for their hospitality and the opportunity to judge.

Brewgarage Priority

The first addition...serving Victory's Scarlet Fire

Brew Garage Floor Epoxy Complete!

Off topic pic of the day

Had to stop on the drive home to get a picture.

Brew Garage Floor

It's drying after being etched. Soon epoxy :-)

off topic pic of the day

goodbye workday, hello sun

Columbus & Amarillo shipment arrived :-)

(off topic pic) Before working on the brew garage...

Coffee in hand watching the wind tear at the trees.

First judging experience...

So, what was it like? Well, it was kinda like trying to keep up with the Jones' and expressing your dissent at the same time. I needed more time and some space to really work through all these beers, but, alas we didn't have days we only had hours.

On the plus side, I tasted things like sasafras, coffee, cinnamon, hops, butterscotch, honey and well all kinds of stuff that may or not may not be good in a competition. In fact I really enjoyed all the different flavors. Well, 90% of them ;-)

I learned something too. I'm not good at articulating what I don't like. I felt like the other judges really nailed the flavor and I just didn't have the words for it. I also learned that I didn't like one of the beers that everbody just loved. I wonder why. I don't like being the odd one out. Wait, maybe I do. LOL

Anyway, thanks to Artisan Homebrew and Iron Hill for their hospitality.

We had our work cut out for us...

OMG does that say, "Figs"?

Stack a bunch of tasting cups and this is what you see?

Artisinal what? All done judging...

Http://www.artisanhomebrew.com

Judging at The Great Artisnal Autumnal Homebrew Competition

Not unlike The Great Pumpkin.  Well it is a bit different in that it is a contest and it is being judged at Iron Hill Brewery West Chester PA





Http://www.artisanhomebrew.com

"homebrewers to create an inspired interpretation of a seasonally strange fall beer to be judged by an esteemed panel [yes, somebody thinks I'm esteemed or they are just being sarcastic...heheh] of local brewing expertise, wherein the top TWO beers (chosen by virtue of not just their superiority, but their DISSIMILARITY from one another) will be poured at this year’s Gathering of the Gourds event alongside some of the nation’s most exceptionally spooky pumpkin-esque beers"

Brew Garage Tools

Computer & Whiteboard

Electric Brew Kettle Parts

Not sure whether or not you folks get involved in forums on the Internet, but, I do and if you're willing to do some wading and searching you'll find some of the most amazing things. In fact I found a complete parts list and lots of discussion around an electric brew kettle. You have to check out this thread (link to homebrewtalk forum thread).  You can also find some videos about "The Pol's" eHerms system.  He did a great job of documenting his progress.

Here's what I've gathered so far.  Still need the GFCI, stainless steel nut and o-ring.  This will be hooked up to one of my keggles.

Brew Garage & Electric Brew Kettle...

I know not everybody sees comments people post here so, in an effort to keep my post rate up :-)  I've included my response to Splobucket from http://www.ataleoftwobrewers.com/ I wrote the following comment about two of my projects right now, the Electric Brew Kettle and the Brew Garage.

[regarding the electric brew kettle] Well, I'll try to get some pictures up. So far it's been surfing homebrew forums, learning about electricity & wiring and sourcing the pieces. Home Depot and Lowes so far, but, I still need a nut, high temp o-ring and GFCI.

[regarding the Brew Garage] It seems the [epoxy] garage floor is all about the prep. Here's what I've done so far.

- clean garage & organize
- life gets in the way
- clean garage & organize
- life gets in the way
- clean garage & organize
- buy carport tent as staging area for garage stuff
- find places to put stuff other than back in the garage
- research prepping the 60 year old floor
- clean with heavy duty cleaner
- test phosphoric acid for etching
- use paint stripper to remove paint spots from previous owner
- clean with heavy duty cleaner including power washing

Next up...

- tear out old crappy workbench from previous owner
- clean with heavy duty cleaner one more time (power wash)
- etch with phosphoric acid
- mix up the batch and apply (takes an hour or two)

Brew Garage: One step closer.

The electric brew kettle isn't any closer to completion, but, the garage floor is cleaner.  It's been a while since I've mentioned it, but, I'm turning it into a brew garage.  The biggest challenge was getting it cleaned out.  We had so much stuff in there.

Now it feels like a cavern!  Next step patching the floor.

Brew Kettle: I'm hooking an electric heating element up this weekend!

Yep, that's right I'm wiring up a 5500 watt Water Heater Element in my brew kettle.  I'm also preparing to put an epoxy floor down in the brew garage.  Hmmm...will I have enough time?