Brew Day! Deck Party! Super Happy Fun Time!

Everyone is cordially invited to a Brew Day at a beer sort of house! Saturday, July 11th, starting around noon. We're going with a Summer Beer Trade/Brewing/Drinking theme. Think lagers, pilsners, fruit brews, kolsch, etc. We'll fire up the Weber, have a few yard games, and lots of awesome people there, some even brewing up their own concoctions. The forecast says 92 degrees, but it is always cooler in the shade of Prairie Village, so plan to stop by! Bring your favorite brew to share, and possibly a camp chair. :) Email, twitter, IM, etc for directions.

Oh yeah, edited to add that our house is a couple of weeks from going on the market. If you or anyone you know really wants to move into a remodeled ranch on an awesome street in Prairie Village with great neighbors, come check out the house before it goes on the market.

Ketchup

Second batch of homebrew is almost ready for second fermentation, so fingers crossed. Bubbling is mostly stopped, gravity truth to be unveiled tonight. The Cream Ale involved way less STUFF, so maybe it's more idiot-proof? We shall see.

Works busy, economy is crap, and I think I am putting my house on the market to buy another one down the street. Gotta keep it interesting, you know.

I am going to Baltimore & DC for the 4th, any recommendations on where to get a decent beer?

Also, Jessica from Obsidian Public Relations thought I might find this interesting enough to post on my blog, so here you all go:

Flying Saucer will present a beer tasting featuring Schlafly Beer on Monday, July 6 at 7 p.m. The event will be hosted by Stephen Hale, head brewer at St. Louis-based Schlafly. Six of Schlafly’s bottle-conditioned and barrel-aged beers will be paired with selected meats, artisan cheeses and dessert. Featured beers include the Tripel, Grand Cru, Bière de Garde, Quadruple, Oak-Aged Barleywine and Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. Tickets for the event can be purchased at Flying Saucer and are $30 for U.F.O. Club members and $35 for non-members.

Fail Whale Pale Ale

The name ended up being more prophetic than I would have liked. It's really bad. Like, I don't even want to try anymore. I tried, I did. It smells awesome, but tastes like behonkey. The super low gravity that never rose told me this would be the result a week or so ago, but I really wanted it to succeed. Hope and want are not enough. Perseverance might be. You can get pretty far in a lot of things just by trying really hard and not giving up. I'm pretty stubborn, I don't like to fail, and I do lots of things I was not born to do, so there will be many more attempts.

Boil of a new brew starts tomorrow. In the meantime, I have a lot of cleaning to do. Sigh.

COMPLETELY related note:
I missed out on Amy's brew day today. I really could have used it. Long story, poor me, boo hoo, has everything to do with not so happy neighbors, a landscaping project, and then having to fill in for an employee on a Saturday afternoon/evening.

QUESTION:
That being said, KC brewers, if I can provide an actual venue, a free, private space, a place to gather, consume, discuss and teach/mentor the slower of us (me), would you be interested in an another meet up? The door is wide open. We could even invite home brew stores to come bring us goodies. I work in marketing, people, I will find us free stuff if I need to stoop to that level. Brew club peeps, experts & proven winning brewers (Jeff, I am looking at you) and fans (Bullevard) would you consider it?

Buy a movie ticket, get a free gift

If you're thinking about going to the movies on Friday, why not head out to AMC's Fork & Screen Studio 30 in Olathe? Boulevard Brewery is having release party of their seasonal beer, Zon, from 5 – 8PM. (Yes, I know Zon has been out in stores for a bit already, but they decided to throw the party now.) There will be free beer sampling with Boulevard staff on-site to talk about their beers and the brewery, free food sampling that goes well with the flavors, and movie swag from the movie “The Hangover” that comes out on Friday – t-shirts, shot glasses, etc. Get your free gift with movie ticket purchase this week.

I've always had a thing with gravity

Gravity testing on the brew starts now. Then on to moving it from one fermenter to another. Aren't you glad I updated you all on that? I am sure.

I've been kind of busy. Not in a bloggy way. Perhaps a little burnt out at the end of the day, too much time, too little do. Strike that, reverse it, you know. But it is summertime, GORGEOUS, and I have a little positive thing here: I paid a stranger to power wash, strip and restain my deck because I want to enjoy it, and I couldn't face doing it again. Grab a sixer of something interesting & meet me in the backyard, anytime.

Edited to note - This started out around a 1.020, I think. I should have done a better job of reading that specifically. Here's where we are now. Going to 2nd it because it really needs some clarification if my husband is going to drink it at all. :)

Double double toil and trouble

We have bubbles. One at least every 3 seconds. So I have that going for me. Which is nice.

Got wort?

I FINALLY have the wort in the carboy, and after messing up the seal, potentially sprinkling the dry yeast wrong, and almost forgetting to take a hydrometer reading, I THINK we may be in business. I have no idea. This batch is my warm up batch. No harm if it sucks, right?