Here’s To It

Here’s to it
And to it again.
If you get to it
And can’t do it
Call us!
We’ll do it.
We’re used to it.
We used to do it.
We want to do it.
We love to do it.
So, here’s to it.

This is an old toast I learned back in the 1980s with a friend.

(27) Friday, September 2, 2011 Brew Day — Harvest Ale

Thursday Evening (9/1) Gretchen and I just picked the hops we grew at the cabin this year. When we did this last year, I told myself that I would be ready to brew with them this year. This is the result of that preparation. Amat Victoria Curam.

I worried about bugs and thought maybe I should wash the hops, so I asked for advice on the AHA Forum.

I found that if I let them sit overnight outside, most critters voluntarily vacate the premises! — pinnah

So that is what I am doing.

I ended up with the following:

  • 15¾ ounces of Cascade
  • ⅞ ounce of Chinook
  • ¾ ounce of Zeus

I also have 1 ounce of Magnum pellets at 13.5% AA — just in case.

Yakima Chief gives the range for Cascade as 4.5–7.0% AA. If I assume I am at the low end of the range, that would give me 4.5% AA for dried hops. Likewise, the Chinook would be 12% and the Zeus would be 14%.

Then there is the question of how to compensate for the undried state of the hops.

Dave Wills from Freshops recommends 5x and that has worked well for me. — Denny Conn

If we go with the one-fifth of the low end alpha acid for these hops we get:

Variety Alpha Acid %
Fresh Cascade 0.9
Fresh Chinook 2.4
Fresh Zeus 2.8

A hop schedule like this seems reasonable:

HOPS Weight Bitterness
Magnum, 13.6% AA, 60 minutes 1.00 oz 37 IBU
Fresh Zeus, 2.8% AA, 20 minutes 0.25 oz 1.2 IBU
Fresh Chinook, 2.4% AA, 20 minutes 0.96 oz 1.2 IBU
Fresh Cascade, 0.9% AA, 20 minutes 5.25 oz 7.8 IBU
Fresh Zeus, 2.8% AA, 10 minutes 0.25 oz 0.7 IBU
Fresh Chinook, 2.4% AA, 10 minutes 0.96 oz 0.7 IBU
Fresh Cascade, 0.9% AA, 10 minutes 5.25 oz 4.7 IBU
Fresh Zeus, 2.6% AA, 5 minutes 0.25 oz 0.4 IBU
Fresh Chinook, 2.4% AA, 5 minutes 0.96 oz 0.4 IBU
Fresh Cascade, 0.9% AA, 5 minutes 5.25 oz 2.6 IBU

That gives me a total bitterness of 61 IBU using Tinseth, and a BU:GU ratio of about 1.1 given my 1.056 SG original gravity.

The grain is weighed and crushed, the brewery is set up, and the water is measured out.

See you in the morning.

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A Gorilla Walks Into a Bar

A gorilla walks into a bar and orders a blueberry daquari. The bartender thinks it’s some kind of hoax or joke and decides to play along, makes the drink, says, “That’ll be six bucks.” The gorilla reaches into his fur, pulls out a wallet, gives the bartender seven dollars saying, “Six for the drink, and one for you,” and quietly drinks his drink as the bartender looks on, waiting for the catch.

The gorilla finishes the drink, orders another, and the same thing happens. The bartender wants to know what the hell is going on, but doesn’t want to give anyone the satisfaction, so he decides to attempt to ellicit what is going on through casual conversation, maybe trip up the “gorilla.”

The bartender casually comments, “Ya know, we don’t get too many gorillas in here.” The gorilla takes a sip from his drink and says, “Well, at 5 bucks for a blueberry daquari, I can see why.”

pablo snazzy

A Pig Walks Into a Bar

A pig walks into a bar. He goes up to the barman and says, “Pint of bitter please, and where’s the toilet?” The barman pours his pint and points him in the direction of the toilet. The pig comes back, finishes his pint and leaves.

Later that afternoon, another pig comes in. “Pint of bitter, please,” he says, “and where’s the toilet?”

Once again, the barman serves the pig and shows him where the toilet is. Thye pig pays, drinks up and leaves.

That evening another pig walks in. The barman is ready this time, and says to him, “There’s your pint of bitter, and the toilet’s over there.”

“Thanks for the pint” the pig says, “but I don’t need to use the toilet. I’m the little piggy that goes wee wee wee all the way home.”

Colbert

A Panda Walks Into a Bar

A panda walks into a bar, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead.

As the panda stands up to go, the bartender shouts, “Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn’t pay for your sandwich!”

The panda yells back at the bartender, “Hey, I’m a PANDA! Look it up!” The bartender opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda:

“A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats shoots and leaves.”

— Daniel Yee