Dreams Smashed

The men at my house this morning from 1-800-Got-Junk were suprisingly strong for their appearances. They carted away my broken retro deep freeze, after 2 Dads, 2 friends and my husband vetoed the idea of hauling the thing up from the basement, lifting it onto a truck, and driving it to the new house, only to have to fix it anyway. The Junk guys had it out of my basement in5 seconds flat, and I considered trying to bribe them to take it to our new place. But I gave up, and let it go. No retro kegerator at our house, then.

Retro Recycling

This old deep freeze has lived in my basement for a very very long time. It came with the house. It does not work. Now that we're emptying the house to move, I find that I've become attached. How do I turn this 1964 Frigidaire freezer into a most awesome retro kegerator? Anyone know a local who's handy with refrigeration?

ATTN BEER BREWERS

I need some advice. I really want to start brewing. I have been goofing around with *thinking* about it for about a year. A friend of mine said he would do it with me, but my foot dragging pushed his impatience, and he started without me last night. He's doing a Cream Ale, from some sort of starter kit, and brewing straight to a keg. Booo. But it seems to have been the competitive spark I needed to get off my duff and start.

I bought this book, and I ended up getting a little more freaked out after reading, since it suddenly felt a lot more like chemistry class than home ec. I can bake, I should be able to brew, but now I am over thinking it. I am definitely starting from a kit from a local homebrew store, and I am STILL compiling a list of equipment I need. I'm recruiting the husband into the hobby, so I won't be alone.

I would love feedback from all you awesome people out there, you award winners, you serious brewers that I admire so much. Here are my starter questions:

1. What are the must have, no messing around, don't bother if you don't own this, equipment that you would recommend?
2. For a first timer, what style of brew would YOU recommend starting?
3. Should I attempt bottling, or is keg brewing easier? I have access to kegs and a kegerator, so I feasibly could do it, but am afraid of ruining so much beer all at once.
4. What are the worst mistakes newbies make, and how can I avoid them?

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate it!

Beer Counting Technology

Your bartender saying, "This one is on me," may be a thing of the past. New software programs monitor tap lines, and are synced with the register, so any unpaid for pours are noted. Then that info goes to a centralized database, where bar owners can pull reports on beer loss. While I know that this is good for bar owners, who
lose tons behind the bar, and the geek in me does love the accountability of the machine, I can't help but lament the end of an era when people could be trusted more, when drinks weren't measured by the ounce, and when there wasn't a report available to be pulled for EVERYTHING.

Thoughts?

What I Want For My Birthday

YouTube and Blogger appear to be having some sort of lovers' quarrel. Click here to see.