The other great thing about the weather is the temperature allows me to do a few things that the summer would be way to hot to do. One of those things being homebrewing.
I started home brewing about four years ago. Although I don't do it as often as others, I have made eight or so successful batches of beer. Before even trying it I read the Home Brewer's Companion front to back. I'm a nerd when it comes to understanding a technique. I feel like I have to become fully involved in something in order to feel worthy of studying the subject (I wish I felt this way about math in high school).
The batch that I just brewed is a Tripel. This style of Belgian beer is known for its light characteristics and high alcohol content (somewhere around 9%). I made it with an "all grain" mash of just malted barley. Some tripels will use other grains to achieve unique characteristics. The younger brother to the tripel is the dubbel. This tends to be a bit darker in flavor and more caramel like. I brewed a tripel but really I am shooting for a 2.5 if ya catch my drift.
The recipe I acquired called for clear candy sugar, which is nothing more than inverted sucrose (liquid sugar), cooked to the hard crack stage. I took my sugar to a slight amber color to make my tripel a touch more body. I also used some fresh cascade hops (used in pale ales) given to me by the friend of a friend of my wife's boss. The rest was some saaz hop pellets (common in Czech style pilsners).
It's in the primary fermentation stage at the moment for another few days, then I will rack it into the secondary tank for another 2 weeks before bottling.
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Made some bread sticks the other night to go with my polenta and steak. I used my tried and true ciabatta recipe and cut dough into strips before proofing them and baking them on the stone. I plan on posting some more bread stuff soon, so stay tuned.
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Ok, so this past week I felt it was necessary to train some of my future culinarians at school how to do some charcuterie (general term for sausages, hams, cured and smoked meats). Now, these are high school kids and they seemed to be perplexed as to why one would go though the trouble to do all this. "Why spend all this time making your own when you can just go to the store and buy it..." one might say. I respond with the usual "It's for your education, you see..." which leads to a bunch of rolled eyes and blank stares. But I know they will remember how it's done the next time they pick up some cured products at the market and wonder what the hell is in it. They appreciate the experience even though they don't tell me.
I had them brine a pork loin to make Canadian bacon, which is really just ham. Also, some kielbasa was created. It was fun for some. It was torture for others. I use natural hog casings, which gross the kids out, but they will eat it anyway after the shock has subsided. They stuffed them, and over the weekend I smoked them, along with the ham. I love pork.
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Defeater
Lastly, something a bit off topic. I am also musician (unprofessional) and music lover. I play a few instruments and have had a few bands over the years. I never toured or had a following of any sort, just played for fun, and still do when I have the time. Occasionally, I get to go out and see some live music, hang out with some friends and meet new people. These musical events are nothing similar to rock concerts or getting to see the NY Philharmonic. The type of show I am talking about is unique all on its own. I'm talking about punk and hardcore. And ever since I become involved with punk rock and hardcore, I always felt that I had found somewhere I belong. No religion, boy's club or back stage pass could ever replace it.
I have spent the past 10 years absolutely enamored the concept of loud aggressive music played by kids my own age and from my own state. Bands from other states will play, and they get good reactions too, but the hometown heroes always get the biggest hugs. Looking from the outside in, one might think that it is just a bunch of kids acting violent and crazy. This is not the case. When I can stand four inches from the face of a band and scream his lyrics back at him and know that we are sharing the exact same emotion simultaneously, I know that I have felt something that no one outside that room could ever possibly feel. It is not at all a "celebrity/shock" factor. It is something pure an unadulterated. This is why floor shows were created.
My subconscious mind is thinking... I read what you wrote, I listened and felt exactly what you all meant for me to feel through the vibrations racing out of the amplifiers. We all just created a moment, an irreplaceable one that is our to hold.... I think sometimes about how this happens. But, the long and short of it has to do with belonging. We all want to belong somewhere and be identified with a particular group. This is mine.
Yeah, deep... I know. But the truth is I know every other hardcore/punk kid has the same connection with at least one band. I wait months for these shows to happen, and not all are as intense, but I do have memories of some great ones over the years, and some really bad ones. When I was a teenager I would go to shows a few times a month, just to see who ever. Now, it's not as easy to get out, but when I do I make it count. It keeps the youth in me. When things in my life get a bit too serious, I know that a show is coming up soon and I can pretend for a few hours what it was like to be 16 again. Thoughts of stress fleet away from my state of being and I can be friends with people I don't know for a while. CTHC, thank you.
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So that was my week in a nutshell. Go cook something will ya!
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