I think both Rachel and I enjoyed a low key Valentine's day. Our wedding date is about four months out, and we still have plenty to do. That's taking up most of our free time right now. Rachel's been doing quite a bit of work, and I'm not slacking off either. She is my Wonder Woman. Check out the bike we built together two years ago: 3-speed Sachs torpedo hub w/coaster brake, Sturmey dynamo front hub, double butted spokes... and custom Wonder Woman sexiness. Rachel has given the bike quite a beating in two years, with some componentry improvements since these maiden ride photos. Campagnolo Nuovo Record pedals, front v-brakes, christophe toeclips with snazzy leather covers, new comfy specialized saddle...
Sunday, we took a hydrometer reading and a graduated-cylinder taste of our Belgian Tripel. It's time to bottle, but it'll have to wait for the weekend. 8.7% ABV suckas. I've finally conquered my lower-than-intended ABV problem. Tasted very floral and alcoholic. We'll see what it tastes like when chilled and carbonated. More on that in three weeks.
The Dortmunder... well some bottles are turning up with some pretty bad off flavors...
Rachel and I went out to Martin Hardware yesterday to pick up everything to create a DIY immersion wort chiller. The gentleman that helped us find everything said I should bring him a beer when I finish it... and I definitely plan to. Nice guy. Though I swear, that place is a mixed bag. Their customer service varies by day and employee, and their stock is completely hit or miss. However, yesterday I found everything I needed for the project and had good service... probably my best experience there. The other hardware stores around town aren't that great either. Meadowbrook has even worse Saturday hours and Lowe's is nowhere near bike-able.
I definitely had some frustration getting the wort chiller together last night. I think I was too tired to do it right. I decided to put it down and give it a another go this morning instead. Of course it went together much easier, and tested 100%. It work VERY nicely. It cooled wort from ~200F to ~70F in under 20 minutes. Here is a quick video of it in action. Unfortunately the lighting is poor.
Parts ~ $50 / Assembly time ~ 1 hour
-Copper tubing, intended for refrigerator ice makers ~$35
-Adapter coupling for kitchen faucet from 15/16"-27 to 3/4 hose (your faucet may have different threading, check first!)
-Garden hose tip that narrows almost to a point
-3/8" tubing, 5 ft
-3 small pipe clamps
And now I have a rad homebrewed wort chiller - thanks Rachel! We christened it on a Brewer's Best Belgian Tripel that we picked up from Charlottesville's Fifth Season yesterday. Now there's a place with consistently great service. They also give me free stickers and coozies.
The Belgian Tripel is my third and most-easily-brewed beer to date. Only one small mistake, due to equipment failure. I'll be keeping my eye out for a good thermometer. Regardless, I've gotten to the point where I'm fairly confident in the extract brewing process. My next goal is to find a good extract recipe and see if I can successfully gather and brew all the ingredients, then I'll begin concocting my own recipes.
I rather like my outdoor brewing setup:
And now I have two beers fermenting. I was beginning to think my bottle saving was in vain, but now I'm glad I started early. I'll transfer the Tripel to secondary next weekend, immediately after I bottle the Dortmunder.
Brew Day Beer:
It's Highland Brewing Company's Oatmeal Porter. A very fine beer from Asheville, NC. Found in a 6 pack at Kroger for $9. I've enjoyed three of these babies today! This time, I had appropriate glassware. Doesn't this photo make you thirsty?
