Thanksgiving Holiday - Bottling Session

So, I've got a long weekend because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. I'd said a few days ago that I needed to bottle my beer that I brewed a month ago.  My wife was out shopping on Black Friday and I didn't have much to do so I decided to bottle the beer today. My son wanted to help because he likes to help me bottle so this became a father and son bottling session.

 (The Beer!)

(Three cases of empty bottles) 

(Everything being sterilized) 

(Priming sugar being brought to a boil) 

(Beer being siphoned into the spigot bucket) 

(Spigot bucket)

I put the phone away after this step because the rest of the process is a very wet and messy process. All the beer was bottled and capped and shelved away in the basement so that it'll carbonate and be ready to drink next month. I'm giving these away as Chrismas gifts and I hope that everyone enjoys them! 

And here are some WIP photos of one of my Bolt Throwers...

I thought that I would really enjoy painting up the Bolt Throwers but I'm finding them very tedious and boring. I'm really looking forward to painting up the unit of Slayers though. They've been sitting on my desk and they've been calling out to me lately. Plus I feel like I should be able to paint them up quickly since they're mostly skin. I feel like I've really slacked this month with paining and if I was still holding myself to the 250 point painting challenge then I would've failed utterly. But work continues and I'm trying to get through things!

I'll most likely post something tomorrow or later today about the process of how I've been painting my dwarves. I have everything written down on a scrap piece of paper and I am so afraid that I'm going to lose it. If I have it all up on the blog then at least I will have an electronic copy.

So close to 500

I've been REALLY sick the past week and a half and while this hasn't hindered my painting it has hindered my gaming time since I haven't been wanting to get out to my local FLGS.

So, the only real news is that the warmachines have taken longer than expected but I finally have the crews completed!

 (7 crew complete)

 (3 crew w/ Bolt Thrower)

(4 crew w/ Bolt Thrower)

Sorry about the poor lighting on the pictures.

Once I finish the 2 Bolt Throwers (which won't take long) I'll finally be finished my first 500 points worth of Dwarf models!!! I've based my next 250 points and I've primered them so that I can start on them right away when I finish up my first 500 point chunk. If you recall  my next 250 points will be a unit of Slayers and another 10 Dwarf Warriors w/ shields to fill up my Warrior unit.

I'm hoping that with the 4 day weekend coming up that I can get some headway.

BUT... I also have to plan for one of these night to bottle my beer. It's been a month since it's been brewed and it's about time to bottle it up so that it'll be ready for Christmas time.

Homebrew Session

I dabble in a lot of other hobbies and from time to time you will see glimpses into these mystical realms.

This is one of those times!

BACKSTORY... A few months ago sometime around June or July I was introduced by a few friends to the art of brewing one's own beer. With the state alcohol tax here in Maryland increasing to 9% recently and the fact that myself and my wife enjoy knocking back a few, I really liked the idea of brewing my own beer and being able to save a few dollars on good quality beer at the same time. I bought my first ingredient kit one weekend and went to my friends house where they helped me start up the process of brewing. Homebrewing is a lot harder than it sounds and is actually quite an easy process to accomplish. I have most of the tools to accomplish making my own beer and perhaps if I didn't have so many hobbies then I could afford to maximise my homebrewing experience... But hey! Where's the fun in that!!!

I was able to order a beer ingredient kit earlier in the week. I had a gift certificate from earlier in the year when I made my first purchase so ot was relatively inexpensive because I only had to pay for shipping. I ordered an easy to make kit that I plan to use as easy well made Christmas presents because I can't afford to buy the extravagant presents for everyone. Beer ingredient kits are nice because everything comes pre-measured and the directions are pretty easy to follow.

(Cologne Kolsch Kit Ingredients)

I chose a Colgne Kolsch Beer kit because of it's easy smooth drinkability. I hope that everyone enjoys this kit because most people will be getting a 6 pack for Christmas. 

(The Wort being prepared)

The Wort (pronounced "WERT") step is one of the most important steps. You steep (boil at 155 degrees) the grains for 30 minutes. This is done on a stove because it is easier to monitor tempatures. 

(Wort and Malt Extract at a rolling boil for 60 minutes)

Now add the Wort, 1st stage hops and the Malt Extract to 2 more gallons of water and set to a rolling boil for 60 minutes. 

(40 minutes left) 

(20 minutes left)

At about 5 minutes before the boiling time is up we add more hops to help with flavoring and aroma. 

(Ice Bath = STEAM!)

After the boil is complete the chemical reaction of taking the mixture and rapidly decreasing it's tempature will form the beginning of beer. You then add yeast that comes with the ingredieant kit to this mixture.

(It is very inportant that everything is very sanitary during these steps. There are some bacterias that will destroy your yeast and ruin your beer.)

Your beer is then added to a fermenter for a few weeks and then after that few weeks we will begin the bottling stage.

(Completed product begins fermentation in the basement away from light) 

Your batch should make 5 gallons (roughly 2 and a half cases) of mixture that should be ready to bottle in about 3 weeks.

(Yeast is bubbling like a champ)

A day later and the yeast is working it's magic. It is now eating away at the sugars within the mixture and producing gas (hence the bubbles). This chemical reaction is what turns sugar, hops, and grains into beer! In about 3 weeks we will start the bottling process and these beers should be ready right before christmas for my loved ones to enjoy!