On your marks, get set, brew!

Once again it is time for the Sam Adams Longshot competition. Last year I entered in the French/Belgium ale catagory, sub-class Saison. This has been my pet project for a year now ever since I received the results from my last entry. The cool thing abut this competition is the judges are brutal and don’t let much slip by them. Let me highlight a few comments from the judges about my beer last year:

Would pay money for this beer.

Excellent job on the dry finish.

Good complexity and fermentation, just needs a bit more tart.

I scored an overall 38 out of 50 which equates to an excellent rating. 45-50 is outstanding and will put you in the winners circle. So, the big problem I have run into is the acidity or “tartness” of this style beer. While I was in DC I went to a home brew shop with a very knowledgable staff, that turned me onto an acidic-malt. Hopefully this will do the job.

Oh yea!

Right now I have 5 gallons of this awesome brew cooking away in my closet. I am excited. But, I think everyone should join in on this. I know what you are thinking, but  it is cheap and easy (like me) and above all fun. You do not have to be a bio-chemist, but an understanding of how bacteria works does help.

Cooking up something good

If you have ever thought about brewing you own beer I suggest starting off light. Go with a small kit like Mr. Beer, which is what I started with and I learned how everything works. Plus, if you screw up a batch, you are not wasting 60 bucks and 5 gals. of beer. Trust me its not fun when this happens. In fact what I like to do now is slip in a couple of home brews into a cooler at a party and see the reaction. If people like it, the recipe stays, if not well, out it goes.  I have been thinking about joining a brewing club once my roots are planted. Also, I may have to cast out an invite for a “taste testing” session for those bloggers over the age of 21. Who knows, maybe one day I will have my own brew pub! Hell, even the big guys started out small.

Oh, it’s like that

Welcome to TMI Thursdays: Today we focus on the kind of girl JP likes to date…

 

I have always said that I like my girls to be a bit off. Crazy, but not emotional. Meaning you may have to sleep with one eye open because you might get stabbed kind of girl. When I say this no one really understands what I am talking aboot (that was for our Canadian friends). So, to highlight my kind of girl I thought I would start out with a more mild story, one about a girl I met while surprisingly working in the ER. *Rachel.

I met *Rachel when she first started working in the ER a mild manner soft spoken petite brunette. To be honest I wasn’t that into her at first, but like all good players of the game, I proceeded to get her number. You know, just in case. Well, just so happened that I had moved in to a new place and needed help moving two items that were too awkward to carry by just one person. I called everyone to help me, everyone. When I got no response from the A-list I went to the B-list. Dialed *Rachel and told her my plight and asked for some assistance. She reluctantly obliged. Yet, promptly rolled over to my joint.

She helped me get the items in the house and then we of course started drinking whiskey as a reward for our hard work. This is where the fun began. The pad was a wreck and there things all over the house, yet enough space to dance to Sublime. (side note: Dancing to Sublime has worked several times. I am not sure if it is my dancing skills or the music that seduces the ladies. An experiment should be done.) While dancing I noticed that the mood shifted and she began to, well, “get her grind on.” What was I to do? I could not in good conscious let her go satisfied. We took it back to the room and this is exactly what she said, “I am a little nervous, its been a while. Put some Pantera or something like them on.”  

So, after that night she became this pseudo-one nighter that kept coming back. Would seriously call me and say, “hey baby can I come over tonight, I will bring the whiskey?”  I would of course say what the hell swing on by. Now remember she was attractive, very attractive, but i quickly found out she was a bit off. How did I find this out you may ask? Well, here is the icing on the cake:

I could do no wrong with this girl, there were no boundaries. One night my roommate and I left work around 11 (yes we all worked together) and he said lets go downtown and get a few beers. I was of course always wasted at this time game for the adventure. Long story short, he got really hammered and started a fight and I had to throw him out of the bar to prevent him from getting arrested. After I tossed him out, I went after him because he had the car keys. As I was chasing (sober) him I stepped into a pot hole and broke my ankle. A snap was heard and I hit the ground. By this time I am fuming pissed about the whole thing and now I had to go back to work, to get my ankle fixed. Guess who else was working that night? That’s right, *Rachel. Who was not that excited that I had left in the first place.

So, find out it is broken and the doc told me *Rachel would be in to set it. Thats right, for you watching at home  the only person in the joint who was splinting and casting, was the girl that I had pissed off. Not only that, but I decided in my moment of clarity, that she was not doing it right. Guys, here is a JP lesson learned. Do not piss off a girl that you are sleeping with, who is also fixing you broken ankle. Lets just say she swiftly let me know who was in charge. Finally, we are done and my ankle is back in the right place, after taking a few wrong turns I might add. We headed out to the car with the passed out roommate.

While on the way out to the car I convinced *Rachel that she should get off work early and come take care of me. I mean I was on her way home. Seriously, I thought I would never see her again, but at 5:30 in the am she came rolling through. I remember her standing in the door way and asking if I was okay, when I replied yes, she called me an asshole. Then stripped down and proceeded to take care of me. Proper. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a small example of why I like my girls tattooed and slightly off. They don’t judge and neither do I.

 

P.S. My ankle is still screwed up 4 years later. Ahh, the gift of lasting love.

 

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent. 

Refreshed

There is something to be said about sleeping in until 11:45 on a Wednesday morning. This is a sign that I needed a holiday bad! What a holiday it was. If you have been following me for a bit the assumption could be made, that I had my head up my ass and was a bit of a downer. I couldn’t break out of my funk and believe you me I tried. I think the past few days helped me realize that all my hard work is about to pay off.

During my holiday I met incredible people and everyone I spoke with was very helpful in my quest. Even people that had no part of this quest were supportive and helpful. This was very refreshing to go to a new (yet familiar) place and be treated so well. Now, I can’t really reveal what I have cooking just yet. Lets just say my world is going to change; location, mentality, and hopefully pay scale. 

Now that I have returned to 70 degree weather I have been able to reflect a moment. Today I am refreshed and ready to go.So, if you met, saw, or spoke with JP in the past 7 days you had a direct part in helping get out of my funk. For that, I want to say thank you! Thank you very much, you truly helped someone who was ready to call it a day. 

 

P.S. Tomorrow is TMI Thursday and I will tell you a little story.