Welcome to the Party

.
Too Funny.

It seems Michelle has become a celebrity. Well, here photos of Public Enemies are . . . if you could see them. I looked for the latest news and saw headlines

400 behind-the-scenes shots of PUBLIC ENEMIES!

But then in the tiny article "You can see the rest of the 400 HERE (though site seems to be offline right now)." There are other sites spouting "WE HAVE HIT THE MOTHERLODE"

Welcome to the party world - seems you are late though. There have been photos for a year on the net. Where have you guys been? Welcome aboard.


Funny thing about this scene. The bags had too much "money" in them and when they went to toss the bags into the car through the windows they would not fit.

Another funny thing happened. As the "gang" was robbing the "bank" and they would line up inside the building and rush the door. After many many takes all of a sudden the door jammed and they looked like keystone cops running into the jammed door. thud thus thud thud
=========================

Happy HUGE storm Anniversary!

One year ago today we had 12 inches of snow.
=============================


NAME YOUR COWS!!!

Something many farmers have always known is that a happy cow will give more milk. But now researchers know exactly how much!

It seems a cow will give about 2000 gallons of milk a year. They have found that affectionate treatment which includes giving the cow a name will give you on average 68 more gallons a year.

The reasoning behind this is that a cow will feel more comfortable around humans. On some farms in order to be the head milker you must learn the name of every one of your 200+ cows. They have also found cows like music when being milked. it is suggested that farmers walk among the cows everyday talking to them.
==============================
Here is a way for Columbus to be even Greener!

While on the Stair Master at 24/7 last week I looked around and saw all the machines being pumped and came up with the idea that we should harness all of the energy being put into the aerobic machines. I bet they all add up to a nice little kilowatt for heating the building or something.

Then I did some googeling and found that in Portland there is a gym doing just that. In that gym they had four bikes hooked up and then produce 200 to 600 watts per hour.

I think Mayor Nancy O did something like that last summer involving a bike and an electric light although I can not remember the details. Did you know she was the only candidate to even mention how Columbus is going green at the debate?

OH - Nancy O says "We're having a "political discussion / meet and greet" on Friday the 13th (seemed fitting) at Nathan & Amanda Roberts, 102 Highland Court. 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Everyone welcome. You are welcome to recap Columbus political events, ask questions, etc.

BEER!

With that said have a great weekend - I'll be brewing a complex Porter with a roasty aroma and a bittersweet, chocolate-coffee taste which will include a bold hop presence.

Hopefully like a Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.

I also have to bottle a Scottish Heavy and have a new Nut Brown that is getting close to bottling except I'm running out of bottles. My main bottle supplier, Elweed, has decided he will not become an alcoholic because Fat Squirrel costs $9 a 6-pack and it's too expensive. So if any of you drink New Glarus beer, save the bottles - they are the best for recycling and refilling. Their labels just float right off with an hour in the tub with OxyClean (that stuff is magic).

The pipeline has slowed with winter dragging on. The basement is too cool for some styles. For instance, the One Putt Twelve IPA will be much different (and better) if I can ferment it at a higher temperature. It fermented at about 65 degrees, if I could get it to 70 I would have more esters and more smooth hops flavor. I've already had to switch to a different yeast for most brews.

Another interesting thing. With the temps getting warmer in the evenings the basement is actually getting cooler. I can see now that I'll have to adjust the beer pipeline for January. ( you can see the brewery temperature near the bottom of the page at the Columbus WI Weather Station).

One the BRIGHT side. The first of spring seasonal brewing recipes are coming out. I'm preparing to brew a Pacific Jade Pale Ale. Pacific Jade is a new hop from New Zealand which I have never used. It's high in alpha acids and has low cohumulone. It should give a beer a herbal aroma with hints of citrus and black peppercorn (from what I have read).

Learn more about Hops below - otherwise - move along - we're done

Hops and Malt are the two big players in beer. Hops are used for three purposes, bittering which offsets the sugary malt of the beer and adds balance, aroma and flavor.

When deciding what hops to use you look at the Alpha Acid in the hops to know how strong they are. Alpha Acid is like the Cholesterol of hops. It's the one BIG number but is actually comprised of many other smaller components. A BIG alpha hop is +10%.

Humulone is the primary alpha acid and gives a "soft" bittering to the finished beer
Cohumulone is considered to add a harsh and unpleasant bitterness to beer. Most noble hops have relatively low cohumulone.

One interesting thing about the hops is that the hops shortage of the past few years, which made Micro breweries change their recipes, has really torqued up research for new varieties and strains. We are living in the golden age for new hops with new varieties hitting the market.

A Hop Heads delight!

BTW - if you are in a micro brewery and see numbers like 52 IBU. IBU is International Bittering Units and tell you how mane bittering units are in a beer. However it is all about balance. an IPA can have 60 IBUs and a Brown ale can have 20. Fat Squirrel has about 40 IBUs BUT the sugar in the malt offsets the hops so just kowing the IBU will only give you a rough idea.

My One Putt Twelve IPA has 48 IBUs
American Amber has 20 IBU
Creamy Dreamy actually has 34 IBUs

Have a great weekend.
Rod