What are you doing with homebrew today?

Set up my table and got a few things ready. Running low on the IPA style. So I'll put one together tomorrow. Need to go through the inventory. This is what I like about the feature can check without getting off the couch. Saves energy also not opening the freezer door
 
Over The Cliff Brewing said:
-5F this morning here
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Back in 1999-2002, I lived in western KY just north of Russellville in the booming metropolis of Lewisburg. The first Christmas I was there, the snow/ice hit, the temperature dropped to -10F and stayed there for 10 days. Kinda weird, but I didn’t seem to need heavy layers to stay warm like we do in winter in Alabama. It’s a much drier winter at -10F, so I guess clothing doesn’t soak up humidity and get cold. The coldest I’ve ever been was in 68F in Barstow, CA. And the craziest temperature swing I ever saw, same place. 38F at 0600, 118F at noon on July 31, 1992. Barstow is a good place to be FROM.
 
I spent a lot of time in and around Barstow growing up. My parents owned a place about 20 miles from there and grew alfalfa. I did a lot of irrigation pipe carrying, cutting and bailing. (To small to carry the bales)
But what I miss is the dirt bike racing. Spent a lot of time riding dirt bikes in the heat.
A bit further up the road from Barstow is Baker. It has a giant thermometer you can see from the freeway. Seems to always be in the tripple digits.
 
RoadRoach said:
Back in 1999-2002, I lived in western KY just north of Russellville in the booming metropolis of Lewisburg. The first Christmas I was there, the snow/ice hit, the temperature dropped to -10F and stayed there for 10 days. Kinda weird, but I didn’t seem to need heavy layers to stay warm like we do in winter in Alabama. It’s a much drier winter at -10F, so I guess clothing doesn’t soak up humidity and get cold. The coldest I’ve ever been was in 68F in Barstow, CA. And the craziest temperature swing I ever saw, same place. 38F at 0600, 118F at noon on July 31, 1992. Barstow is a good place to be FROM.
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The misty, damp 30s and 40s yesterday were not my cup of tea, but I am thankful not to be somewhere a whole lot worse. I would have taken the cold any day this month vs. the panic of what I had to deal with last January, actually all of last year.
 
brewing my StoneMan IPA today, Its a recipe I built for a stone mason friend. Been brewing for a couple years in the rotation. Typical IIPA with cascade and centenial dryed out with some dextrose. Not a brute but building to his taste. It is 7,5% abv and 80 IBU
 
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Brew Cat said:
brewing my StoneMan IPA today, Its a recipe I built for a stone mason friend. Been brewing for a couple years in the rotation. Typical I d IPA with cascade and centenial dryed out with some dextrose. Not a brute but building to his taste. It is 7,5% abv and 80 IBU
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If I ever want to go that big at home with something hoppy, I like the idea of the dextrose, especially with BIAB. In the Brut, aren't they using an enzyme?
 
Sandy Feet said:
If I ever want to go that big at home with something hoppy, I like the idea of the dextrose, especially with BIAB. In the Brut, aren't they using an enzyme?
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correct like I said not a brute but a little bit more dryness gives it some more bite. Not sure why you mention dextrose for BIAB. What is your reasoning?
 
RoadRoach said:
I'm just trying to get the Canadians to come down here and get their weather. We've been sub-freezing for 3 days now. I've had enough. Wouldn't have much need for a wort chiller yesterday. The high was 28F here. I had to go out to the chicken pen every two hours to thaw the water dispensers. Supposed to hit a balmy 40F today, but back down to about 25 tonight. Warming trend toward the weekend, and hopefully no more of this blistering cold weather. Been one of the coldest winters I can remember in a long time. I'm ready for some spring time.
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I’m fermenting a batch in the beer fridge…and using a heating pad to jeep it warm enough!
 
Brew Cat said:
correct like I said not a brute but a little bit more dryness gives it some more bite. Not sure why you mention dextrose for BIAB. What is your reasoning?
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Efficiency, or lack thereof. It would take some serious grain for me to get up in the mid 7s. Saisons are easy because of the yeast, but others wouldn't be as easy, well without a lot of grain.
Now that I think of it, something hoppy with a French Saison yeast would be cool:)
 
Donoroto said:
I’m fermenting a batch in the beer fridge…and using a heating pad to jeep it warm enough!
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You guys dodged Snowmageddon in Big A too didn't you? My brother and sister live down in Mobile, and they got 8 inches down there. I don't ever remember seeing snow when I lived in Mobile, and only a little when I moved up on a farm about 100 miles north.
west1m said:
I spent a lot of time in and around Barstow growing up. My parents owned a place about 20 miles from there and grew alfalfa. I did a lot of irrigation pipe carrying, cutting and bailing. (To small to carry the bales)
But what I miss is the dirt bike racing. Spent a lot of time riding dirt bikes in the heat.
A bit further up the road from Barstow is Baker. It has a giant thermometer you can see from the freeway. Seems to always be in the tripple digits.
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I went out to Baker a couple times, and a little silver mining ghost town. Got to see a re-enactment of a gun-fight in the streets. I think the town residents all wait for someone to show up and do their little show. Pretty cool. Also went to a place out on 66, big biker bar out toward Victorville. More a tourist attraction than it was at one time, I'm sure. I never felt the least bit threatened there. Experience my first and only earth tremor out there. A couple things walked off the night stands and a picture fell off the wall, but otherwise, nothing serious. Also my first experience with swamp coolers in the desert. The building we were working in at the USMCLB (Yermo annex) was 'air conditioned' with a swamp cooler. It would easily drop the low temperature to the low 70's and hold it there all day.

What I remember most, though is that there was a very wet winter in the desert that year, and everything was so green out there when I got there in March. For about 2 weeks. Then, it turned a light tan color, for about 3 weeks. The sun bleached that to white just before the Santa Anna winds kicked up and obscured everything from view for about 3 more weeks and ate the paint off the upwind side of every car in Barstow. Once the dust settled, there was nothing but rocks and dirt as far as the eye could see. This was a very stark experience for someone used to beautiful green growth and tons of flowers all spring. Kinda depressing once all the plant life was etched away by the blowing sands. I think it took me a month to spit out all the grit when I got back home. They had a freak snow storm (about 2 inches of snow which shut down Only Street) while I was there. It was gone by lunch.
 
You covered the area well! My parents place was about halfway between Barstow and Victorville, Helendale.
I remember it getting very cold, in the teens f. Now I live where it is in the negative teens.
 
Was the big bird fryer power plant there when you were working out there. About a thousand mirrors focused sunlight on a boiler in a tower to make steam to run a powerplant. But if a bird flew through the beams. POOF, bar b qued bird.
 
Well going away for the weekend. Two brews fermenting on autopilot while I'm gone
 
Bringing my Saison to a boil.
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