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Damor

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Damor

  1. Guy I knew had his gallbladder removed and was friends with the surgeon. Coming out of anesthesia, he woke up to his surgeon buddy standing there looking forlorn and shaking his head. He looked down groggily and saw an ostomy bag stuck to his abdomen. Hilarity ensued.
  2. I read about a lot of different ways to do it, but since I wanted the fresh pepper flavor, I seeded them and put them in a nylon bag for a week when I racked to secondary. I had to make a guess, but 4 japs in 5 gallons turned out to lend a good amount of flavor and aroma without being over the top. I'd have preferred some more heat, so I may leave the seeds in one or two next time.
  3. I skipped bottling altogether because I'm lazy and I got a great deal on a used kegerator before I ever started brewing. I guess that makes me a cheater to some degree, but no ragrets. I do really like the $75 kegs from Austin Homebrew. My Mexican Jalapeno beer was ready today, and while I have liked everything I've brewed so far, this felt like my first real victory. I'm damn pleased, and I got to break in my new tap handle as well.
  4. Man, you're going to have a great trip. If you haven't, be sure to check out the Surly Roadtrip Gems thread and map, there's a lot of good shit there which has served me well. There's so much good stuff you can't do it all, but the upside of that is that you can't go wrong with any of the above advice. I especially concur on the Colorado route along the Arkansas river. Beautiful country, cool towns, and great people. Amigo Motor Lodge was a fun place to stay in Salida if it happens to fall that way on your route, and a good excuse to hit up some of the breweries. I can't ever argue against going through Santa Fe, but if you want something more off the beaten path, I have a sentimental soft spot from my youth for the route going Ft. Sumner -> Santa Rosa -> Las Vegas -> Mora -> Taos. Blue Hole is a cool (well, cold) diversion in Santa Rosa, and you can drive through downtown Las Vegas and relive killing commies in Red Dawn. My family loves staying at the Taos Inn, and sitting in the courtyard there with a jalapeno margarita as the sun sets and the neon lighted sign comes on is one of those places for me which makes everything in the world seem right. Hope you have a great time. Damn, I'm jealous. Not enough time off this summer for an epic road trip.
  5. Today is our 15th anniversary (watch, so say the keepers of anniversary gift rules), and my wife completely surprised me with this Sinn 910. I'd never seriously considering adding another nice watch to the 203 Arktis she got me several years ago, but she decided that our two boys need at least one watch each when I am dead. Yes, dear.
  6. Thanks, I'll have to check out Beersmith. Oddly enough, my last two batches have both had crappy efficiency, and those were the only ones I've thus far used rice hulls. I'm assuming the improvement you saw was due to more even/effectve sparging? I did do more vorlaufing on my last two batches -- I wonder if that could have somehow sequestered off some of the first runnings or something, although intuitively I'd think it would help efficiency. I guess I have no choice other than to keep making a bunch more until I get better at it.
  7. I understand there are several ways of calculating efficiency -- Palmer's seems to be a quick estimate compared with generic lager malt, but there are all kinds of online calculators which get very detailed. Do y'all calculate efficiency, and if so, what's your preferred method? I ask because in trying out this Mash & Boil thing, my first batch was >70% ending kettle efficiency, and the second was in the 50s. Trying to understand what changed and how I can get better. In other news, my wife is trying to kill my liver, as she ordered me 4 more recipe kits for my birthday, including a 16-lb Old Chub clone which will max the capacity on the Mash & Boil. Gotta get to work.
  8. Tonight was 'So I Married an Axe Murderer.' Definitely a lot of 90s awkwardness, but the Scottish dad will always be one of my favorite movie characters. I was pleased to see that my boys reached the same conclusion. 'HEED... PANTS.... NOW!'
  9. Thanks. I'll continue asking my stupid questions here -- I don't know that I dare to peek at the thread at Kevin's Shitville Hut. I've got a birthday coming up, I'll tell the boys they can get me an AHA membership.
  10. So as I totally nerd out and go overboard on this, do y'all find any of the homebrew message boards better than the others? Anyone a member of AHA?
  11. Forgive the ignorant olds question, but I've never messed around with podcasts (one of the few downsides of a short commute). What's the best way to go about listening to that on an Android device, particularly downloadable? The boys and I have a road trip coming up at spring break and that might be cool -- but we'll be going through some areas with crappy or no signal. EDIT: Never mind, just found it on Google Play. It's just a bit cumbersome for an old idiot like me.
  12. Trey Wilson (Nathan "Arizona" Huffhines) was actually intended to play Leo O'Bannon, but died suddenly before filming. I can't envision that one -- Finney may have been a second choice, but he made the character iconic.
  13. ^^^ Brilliant film, with some of the greatest Coen dialogue. "Take your flunky and dangle." Sounds like I have an upcoming excuse to watch that and Big Fish with a glass of whisky in a dusty room.
  14. ^^^ My 11yo won't stop singing that. And he got some surprises when he listened to some other versions on Youtube.
  15. Sumbitch. Linking to Google Photos has worked in the past, I'll try Tapa.
  16. Took my boys to see it this evening. Amazing. I'm glad I caught it - if you're at all thinking about it, make the time and go see it. Stay for the 'making-of' appendix, too.
  17. Tried out the Mash & Boil today with the Austin Homebrew Chocolate Orange ale that came with it. I don't have anything to compare it to since this was my first all-grain brew, but I was pretty damn pleased. Brewing inside was a little weird, but I can get used to it, as easy as it made setup and cleanup. My probably needlessly complex chilling setup worked fine. Next up will be the Zaragoza's Chalice kit which came with all the stuff my bride got me. It'll be close enough to Cinco de Mayo at that point. Thinking about adding some jalapeno to that one -- any tips?
  18. Don't want to make this the McCarthy thread, but I'd never discourage a dad from reading The Road. It's hard, it's a gut punch, it questions your most basic assumptions, it tears you to pieces. So does being a father. It also affirms that, despite those things, it's all entirely worth it. Carry the fire. On a lighter note, now that we've got the new AV system in, I've been having a great time with my boys (11 and 13): Alien/Aliens double feature: "Hey, this is like Halo!" They stand the test of time, Alien as suspense/horror, and Aliens as action. Directors cut of Aliens is too much with unnecessary backstory on Newt and Ripley's daughter, IMO. The Matrix: Blew their minds, still stands up, I refused to watch the sequels with them. Terminator: Cool story is unfortunately seriously limited by 80s SFX and styles/soundtrack as to detract from enjoyment by lesser generations. We'll try T2, but I didn't realize how poorly this would hold up before paying Google 14.99 for it. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: I expected it to age poorly (it has), but it went better than I thought, and was still entertaining if cringeworthy in several parts. The Birds: Pleasantly surprised how well they stayed engaged, I see much more Hitchcock in our future. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Held the older one's attention after The Matrix, the younger one went to bed. Still beautifully filmed and choreographed, with a great soundtrack. This is fun.
  19. Haven't seen the movie, but The Road is the best book I may never read again. That said,I think it's a book every dad should read. I actually bought two first-printing copies to give to my boys when they become fathers.
  20. Bump Looking for a short trip in June and considering SF. My boys are 11 and 14, and I think they'd have a blast. It's been years since I've been, and then it was me and the wife at the Fairmont -- not gonna happen with these knuckleheads. Any particular recommendations for family (but not little kid) hotels beyond the usual generics? Any particular areas to look in?
  21. When ours were little, we liked staying onsite at Schlitterbahn, since it was easy to let them take a break for a nap and we didn't have to truck their shit everywhere. It's pricey for the kinda crappy accommodations, but it's easy to grill, bring your own booze, and is pretty amenable to hanging out with a group. This is a really awesome thing you're doing.
  22. I did not watch my buddies die face-down in the muck so this fuckin' strumpet, this fuckin' horse could sell eurotrash pale lager.
  23. Appropriate thread title is appropriate. It's the dismal tide.
  24. Thanks for the chiller advice. I think I'm going to start simple, since I'm just trying to figure out this Mash & Boil thing. I ordered a longer immersion chiller (50') and a cheap pump. Since I don't have a garden hose attachment for my sink, I figure I'll fill a bucket with tap water and pump from that first, then add some ice later to drop the temperature more. There seems to be a popular mod to the M&B to recirculate, but I think I'll hold off on that until I better understand how the thing works. I also figured I'd graduate from just adding liquid yeast directly, but I'm still lazy short on time, so I ordered some Propper Starter to try out. This is the beginning of the end for my liver.
  25. You look for the person who will benefit, and, uh...
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