Category: Hobbies
-
Interior bike rack for a 2012 Ford Focus hatchback
The best way to carry a bike? I want to be able to carry a bike in my car. Both so I can have my bike with me on road trips and to try new trails outside my normal riding distance from home. The obvious way to mount a bike on a car is to…
Written by
-
Brewing an English bitter on a hot day
It’s hot. I brewed. We’ve been way above normal all spring and summer so far, and here we are on what is expected to be the second 100 degree day in a row. And I made a yeast starter last night so despite the heat I spent the morning outside on another brew session. Today’s…
Written by
-
Completing Beer Prep for Andy’s Housewarming
Tonight I bottled the third of the three brews that I’m bringing to Iowa for our get together at Andy and Lindsey’s new place in Des Moines. The beer was the simple American Rye Ale from the Northern Brewer Kit, the product of the smoothest brew process I’ve had so far. It should be ready…
Written by
-
A Warm and Windy Saturday
Today was one of the warmest days of spring so far. I woke up early, with an orange sun shining in my eyes, but I wasn’t really awake. Eventually though I started to function, and made a good beginning on the holiday weekend. The morning included two significant brewing activities. First, I made a yeast…
Written by
-
Going Loud
I got a new keyboard. It’s one of those fancy Das Keyboards that all the kids are talking about these days. To be more specific, it’s the recently released Mac version which has the keys labeled correctly. Instead of getting a new keyboard I had given serious thought to finding a high quality PS/2 to…
Written by
-
Drinking my first all-grain batch, and preparing for the next
My pale ale turned out pretty good. I wish it was slightly hoppier and I think the ESB was better (seriously I love how that one turned out, awesome beer) but it tastes good and is nice and pale and clear. I’d call it a pretty solid success, especially for my first all-grain batch in…
Written by
-
Gravity Checks
No, there’s nothing wrong with the Earth’s gravity, I’m only referring to Specific Gravity, the ratio of the density of a liquid to the density of water. In this case, the specific gravity I’m concerned with is the specific gravity of my two fermenting batches of beer. The alcohol content of beer can be calculated…
Written by
-
I Finally Got My Bike Put Back Together
Way back in January I wrote about getting my road bike tuned up for the season. Shortly after that we got a huge snowstorm that delayed my plans, and then I started riding my fixed gear bike instead. As a result my good geared road bike sat about halfway put together for almost 2 months.…
Written by
-
Building a Mash Tun From a Coleman Cooler
Overview The other day I pulled out my old Coleman cooler, which hasn’t been used since I went to Burning Man in 2006. After talking with some brewing friends I decided to use it as a mash tun. Coolers, both round and rectangular, are popular for mash tuns because they are inexpensive, easy to build,…
Written by
-
Coffee in the Office
I’m going to start this one off with a very important disclaimer. I am not a coffee connoisseur, at least not in any way that can compare with Andy, Ben, Sam, or Samm. Andy has always sought out great coffee, while Ben and Sam are so obsessed they buy green beans in bulk and roast…
Written by