Brewed a Pumpkin Porter

Finding the time to brew (and do other household projects) has been tougher and tougher, especially now that our 1 year old daughter is mobile (and loves to climb). Keeping an eye on our 1 and 3 year old has forced me to start brewing in the evening until late into the night (or morning). Well, Sunday night I got a chance to brew a pumpkin porter. I’ll post the recipe here shortly, but it was based on one I found in Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head.. I was just happy to brew again after about a 8 week hiatus.

1 gallon of water
60 oz of pure Libby’s pumpkin
Boiled it for 20 minutes
Let sit for 2 hours (not by choice, the kids were acting up)
Added 1 gallon of water
Brought to 156 degrees and added crushed grains in grain bag:
1 lb Briess Chocolate Malt – 6-row Lovibond 350
1.5 lb Briess 2-row Pale Malt Lovibond 1.5
Added 2 tsp of gypsum
Maintained the heat between 153 – 157 degrees for about 45 minutes
Removed the grain bag and strained some of the pumpkin out (as best I could)
Added 4 gallons more water and brought to a boil and added
1 oz Kent Goldings (product of UK) pellet hops A.A. 4.8%
Boiled for 40 minutes, then added
3 lbs Muntons Plain Amber Dry Malt Extract (color 20 EBC)
3.3 lbs Muntons Light Liquid Malt Extract (color 8-12 EBC)
.5 lbs of Lactose
1 oz Ken Goldings (product of USA) pellet hops A.A. 4.5%
2 tsp of Irish Moss
Boiled for 10 more minutes and added
.5 oz Cascade pellet hops A.A. 6.3%
.5 lb corn sugar
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
Boiled for 10 more minutes and removed from heat.
It cooled down slowly over 24 hours.
Original Gravity = 1.074
Shook the carboy vigorously and added Coopers Dry Ale Yeast – 7.5 grams

It started fermenting today, so I’ll try and keep you updated on its progress. I’m still debating adding 15 oz. more of pumpkin and 1/4 teaspoon of each of the spices to the secondary. Your thoughts?

Craig was the Mole

I was wrong in my thinking that Nicole is the Mole. Last night was the finale of the Mole and it turns out that Craig was the mole. They showed the “hints” they gave revealing who the mole is, but I thought it was pretty confusing. The hints they gave actually directed you to who the 3 finalists would be, not necessarily who the mole was. Unlike previous seasons where the hints were fairly obvious, these were very well hidden, only to be figured out by those hardcore fans who owned a magnifying glass and a TiVo they could use to go frame by frame. Maybe I’m just a little sentimental about the first time the Mole was on, but I thought it used to be better than it has been this season… or maybe it was just that Anderson Cooper was a great part of the show.

Nichole is the Mole

My wife and I were avid fans of The Mole when it was first on ABC (I guess about 8 years ago or so). We were very excited when it came back on this season. This season has been a little different than we remember (the people seem to be characatures than real people). However, we still enjoy the show. Every episode, my wife and I try to guess who we think the mole is. Last night, I’m convinced they gave away a hint. Right before the first commercial break, you hear a whisper of something like – “I’m gonna get you.” I’m pretty sure it was Nichole’s voice. We’ll have to wait until next week’s finale to know for sure, but I’m convinced it was her.

Pringles Aren’t Potato Chips

Did Pringles (and manufacturer Procter and Gamble) win in a lawsuit in a British court actually hurt them in the minds of myself and other shoppers? The court case was over whether or not Pringles could be considered a “potato snack.”

In Britain, potato snacks – along with “potato crisps, potato sticks, potato puffs, and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch” – are subject to a 17.5% tax. Britain’s high court ruled that Pringles were not considered a potato snack and thus are not subject to the tax.

The reason – it turns out that Pringles are made from only 42% potato. I’m not sure how great Pringles sell in the UK, but I’m sure they’ve avoided paying quite a bit in taxes. However, I’m also not sure how many people – like myself – will think twice before buying Pringles in the future. If a Pringle chip (I guess I can’t call it a “potato chip”) is only 42% potato, it makes you wonder what’s in the other 58%.

Privacy Please

I’m in New York City this weekend for a project for work surrounding the Major League Baseball All-Star game. As I was getting ready to settle in for the night, I happened to notice that instead of a “Do Not Disturb” sign, this hotel has a sign that says, “Privacy Please.” I get the Do Not Disturb – don’t knock, bother, etc. However, aren’t you asking for privacy the second you close your door? Therefore, you wouldn’t really need a sign that says “Privacy Please.” It just seems unnecessary. I do have to mention my favorite hotel door sign… At an Embassy Suites, the sign to hang on your door says, “There’s a really good reason not to knock right now.” That I can appreciate.

Drinkers Visit Weather.com

I just visited weather.com to see what it’ll do today. First, the front page was interrupted by an enormous ad for Smirnoff Ice that expanded over the entire screen. When it finally disappeared, I was able to plug my address in, which said it was, “sponsored by Bud Light.” I got to my location and upon reading the forcast, saw a skyscraper banner ad for Jose Cuervo. I know it’s the 4th of July weekend, but I certainly wasn’t expecting so many ads for alcohol.  However, I think I’m craving a drink.  Have a happy 4th!

Impulse Buy?

My family and I stopped into the dollar store yesterday to look for some little toys for our kids. We found a couple of toys for the pool/bathtub and a coloring book or two. My wife took the kids to the car while I waited in the checkout line. Around the checkout were the normal sorts of last minute buys – candy, superglue, etc. Although one thing caught my eye and left me a bit perplexed. Right next to the Chapstick were pregnancy tests! First, would you really trust a pregnancy test you picked up at the dollar store? Second, is a pregnancy test really an impulse buy?

Brewed a Pale Ale

I brewed a Pale Ale this past weekend. It might be close to an IPA, but I’m not sure. Here’s the recipe…

Steeped .5 lb of Crystal 40L for 24 hours in 5.75 gallons of hot water from the tap
Brought up to 155F and let sit at that temp for 30 min.
Brought to a boil and removed grains.
1 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3%
Boiled for 30 min.
.5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3%
2 cups of corn sugar
2 cans of Alexanders Sun Country Pale Malt Extract
1 tsp Irish Moss
Boiled for 15 min.
.5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3% Boiled for 10 min.
.5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3%
Boiled for 5 min. and removed from heat
Cooled the wort and added Muntons Gold yeast at around 79F
Gravity = 1.066

I’m planning on dry hopping (my first experiment with dry hopping) with .5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3% after a week in the primary and let sit for another week in the primary before transferring over to the secondary. Again, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Another Fake Video is an Ad

No sooner did I discuss the growing number of online videos that are actually ads than I was forwarded another one this morning. Turns out that this video, which has been making the email rounds, is actually the beginning of a web viral video campaign for Gatorade.

In the online video world, just remember, if something looks to good to be true, it’s probably an ad. A news report indicates that in this video, the woman’s leaping ability was helped by a harness and cables which were edited out later.

Catchy Tune

I’m sure this has been out for a while, but I was surfing YouTube the other day with my 3-year-old and we both found this video/song extremely entertaining…

Real vs. Fake Ads

It’s getting harder and harder to tell what’s real and what’s fake anymore in terms of new media advertising. There seems to be almost a free-for-all in terms of web videos.

A viral video that’s been making the rounds supposedly shows survelliance camera footage of an office worker freaking out. It turns out that it was actually created by Timur Bekmambetov, the director behind the upcoming movie Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie. Apparently it was a viral stunt about breaking out of your workaday drudgery, as the geeky main character does in Wanted.

Even more surprisingly, a fake tv commercial for JC Penney recently won a bronze at the Cannes Lions International advertising awards show. JC Penney has publically reprimanded its agency – Saatchi & Saatchi – for entering the spot in the awards, saying it was never intended to be seen by anyone. The spot is clever, but seems to promote teens having sex.

With all this crazy marketing going on, it makes you wonder whether or not this was really planned or not.

Moved Hefe to Secondary

Last week was busy and I had a wedding this past weekend, so I finally moved the hefeweizen over to the secondary after 2 weeks in the primary. Again, I’m experimenting a little… I went to a local flea market and bought a 5 gal. carboy for $6. This allowed me to split the 6 gallons into 2 carboys – 1 with 2.5 gal. and one with 3.5 gal. In the secondary carboy with 2.5 gallons, I added 1 can of Oregon red raspberries with juice to make a raspberry hefeweizen. Again, I’ll let you know how it turns out when I bottle it in a week.

I’ve already purchased the ingredients to brew an IPA this weekend… This is partly because of my excitment that my local homebrew shop finally has a new supply of hops. I bought several packs of Cascade hops for my upcoming IPA recipe. I’ll post the recipe next week after I brew.