Trip to Belgium

I'm going to beer heaven, though being a hop head it might just be beer bliss but I'm still excited. I'm really looking forward to it and if anyone has any must tries while there let me know. The challenge, fitting as much in as possible in 3 days. The plan at this time is to get a beer in the airport before grabbing the luggage. I'm not drinking Stella, and would like to know if the airport bars have decent beer.

Some Guy English IPA

Brewed a batch of English style IPA back in October and it's finally ready to drink.

The beer was in primary fermentation for the first 3 weeks. The liquid yeast was the most active I've ever had, there was actually a nice head coming out of the airlock. After that it was in the secondary for 2 weeks, and I got around to the pain in the ass task of bottling 2 weeks ago.

I was not looking forward to the beer, not because I thought it was going to be bad, but because it had a heavy dose of Kent Goldings hops. Recently I've thought that beer with the KGs have had an odd aftertaste, this one does not. It is a deep amber in color, almost like maple syrup, mostly a clear brew and has a nice balance between the hop and malt characteristics. Maybe it's because the other beers I've drank/brewed that had the KGs have been lighter ales but I thought the KGs were the problem After tasting this it will require more research.

At this time I'm happy with the brew and will be happy to give a couple bottles to the people who have asked for some. Of course as I hand the bottle over I will have to warn them to "point it away from your face when opening". I had a bad experience that was a small but important life lesson, a story for later.

Winter Commute

There is something I love about commuting in sub freezing temps. Riding harder, faster, feeling the crisp air rushing by. At the same time I'm very happy that I only have to ride for short distances before my fingers and toes freeze.