The sky is crying over the Packers!

BREAK UP THE BREWERS!! Yea - game on baby!! Here we come. Five wins in a row!!!

And then there are the Packers. Here is a bright side to the lining. The Packers sucked so bad and were still only 10 yards away from tying the game when time ran out! Yea, so they lost to the spread by like 16 points, it'll just make the 0-2 hidious (truly bad) St. Louis Rams over confident.
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RAIN???
On the south side of Columbus we had 0.85 inches of rain last night. Someone near Fall River (I believe) had 0.55 inches. We had a little blob of rain form just east of Madison, the farther east the more the rain blob hit. First rain since August 29th.
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I see Obama was on all the Networks yesterday, ABC, CBS, NBS, CNN, Univision and . . . .what? FOX decided not to let him talk on their fair and unbiased network?

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Infections 5, Melotte 0

So after suffering my 5th bottle side brew infection in a row it is time to take drastic measures. The problem was that I did not know I have a problem until my 2nd infection. Then I found what I thought the problem was, a bottling spigot with hidden gunk. I replaced it, sanitized everything and went on with confidence.

Brewed two more batches but AGAIN, batch 3 foamer. So I got anal, changed sanitizers from a Hydrogen Peroxide based solution to an iodine based solution. BAM batch 4 was a foamer when MEANS batch 5 will be a foamer.

SO! this seems to be a bigger problem since I don't think I can get more sanitary. I asked around on forums and talked to Joe the brewmaster for the new RePublic BrewPub in Sun Prairie (not open yet) and all said it has to be an equipment issue. One guy said, "after 35 brews it's time for new plastic anyway".

I believe it's the bottling bucket! I was told that a tiny unseen scratch can hold bad bugs that can not be killed except with bleach or other yucky things you don't want beer to touch. So I'm buying all knew bottling equipment.

But Mr. Wizard - I'm afraid to drink your beer now.

Let me put your mind at ease, there is NOTHING you can ever do to a brew that will make you sick, NOTHING! ANY beer is safer then any water you can find either out of the faucet or in a bottle.

There are 1400+ known pathogens and not one can survive in beer. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminths all are very specific in their needs and it ain't in beer.

A bacteria COULD live in WORT, that sweet, warm liquid before it becomes beer but they can not survive fermentation.

One HUGE reason is hops! The isomerized alpha acids in hops provide a preservative effect for beer, which happens to inhibit pathogens! Add to that the drop in PH during fermentation and the fact that yeast emit their own enzymes and byproducts all with the goal to kill bad things.

But what about Botulism you say? Botulism is an anaerobic pathogen. It's toxin is one of the few that is broken down by boiling.

Remember beer is one of the oldest beverages in existence (some say there was beer before water but that has not been proven). Beer was made to be drunk in places where drinking the water was deadly. Beer is safe and healthy (in moderation).

Of course, there is always the salmon mousse!



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I'm normally not into doing this but if anyone is looking for a real inexpensive Surround Sound system Amazon has one that is pretty good for $209. The Sony HT-IS100 BRAVIA Theater Micro-System.


As always read the reviews and particularly the BAD reviews but seems like a deal.
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And lastly. When I was in school I took a few marketing classes and had my best grades in Marketing. My career path took a different course but I've always enjoyed watching the marketing aspect of . . . everything, I think I'm good at it (look, you are reading a blog about nothing in particular from a guy that can't spell - I rest my case).

Well - the Sassy Cow is doing a great job marketing and doing everything right. They had what I've been told and extremely good party yesterday with a turnout showing off their wares. It's really fun watching small operations gather momentum.

I think that is why I like watching Pizza Shak grow, EXCEPT for the fact that I can never order a pizza on Saturdays because that seem to be closed on Saturdays? sigh!

Have a great Monday - MAYBE my camera comes back this week!!!

Rod