Ferm-ent-a-tion, keep the rhythm goin'

So the bubbling started, and it progressed into a nice fermentation. it might look like mud, but it smells great! This past weekend, it was time to move the beer from the primary fermenter to the secondary fermenter... This required a siphon. What fun.



Sean got the siphon going first, and about half the beer moved into the secondary fermenter with no problem. But then an air bubble started, and we had to do it again...Let's just say it took a while to get it right, and the picture below ("Mastering the art of Siphoning") tells the story better than I could...

Tiny bubbles...

Seriously, I don't know what Sean and I would do without our hobbies. He's got another one brewing...

Last Sunday, Sean started making beer! I think he's always had an interest in it--most men do, I think--and this summer, started looking into it seriously. His birthday presents all focused on brew-making, and with a neighbor who's been doing it for almost 20 years, he could borrow anything he didn't receive as gifts. Good neighbor, he is!

As you probably kow, beer making requires yeast. Happy, healthy, yeast. To Sean, that meant they should start respiring with gusto ASAP--he may have been expecting instant carbonation. "Biology takes time," his wife says. You'd think a geologist would understand that.

Sean has been checking his water lock on the car boy for bubbles every couple of hours for the past two days. He hasn't had a bubble yet, and was getting disheartened. But the neighbor brewmeister said that it might take days before something happened...

And tonight, something's happening. No bubble yet, but the bubble in the water lock is growing, and will soon be escaping. Probably at around 2:00 a.m. or so--I wouldn't be surprised if Sean is awake and there to see its emergence.

So what has Melinda been doing?

So, you ask, what have I been doing all summer? (Not a lot of blogging apparently...)

It was Sean and my (mine's?) tenth anniversary on August 29th. For the past year, I'd been working on a quilt for our bed. At the end of September, I finished it! Machine pieced, hand-quilted Kaleidoscope quilt with a pillowtuck allowance (I always mention that because it seemed to make it so much bigger, and that much more work!).

Unfortunately, it wasn't finished in time for the Fair (look for it next year!), or the Moonlight Quilters' Quilt Show (don't get me started--I'm still sore). But it is proudly displayed on our bed, and I must say, it's the perfect weight and warmth. I'm so good. Now I'm thinking about the next project--a wall hanging, I think...