I’ve Been All Around This World

Honors TRiP III is ready for the AT

Last month I climbed into a 15 passenger van from the Reitz Union and headed to the Appalachian Trail for a weekend of hiking and camping. This was the third Honors adventure with TRiP and the second time we visited of the most beautiful places on the AT: Max Patch. The adventure began at Lemon Gap and led us to Walnut Mountain for the first night. The weather was perfect; lows in the 30′s and highs in the 60′s. This was my second Honors on the AT experience and it did not disappoint. We were fortunate to have four intrepid TRiP leaders with us who not only guided us safely through the wilderness, but also fired up some respectable grub as well. Edward Abbey once said, “Hunger is the best sauce.” This food would have been good, hungry or not. We dined on veggie pasta, apple and peach turnovers and rice and bean burritos. I chuckled when one of the participants commented that she didn’t eat this well when she was at home.

Sunset at Walnut Mountain

Hearts and Bones

The Castle at UWC-USA

Recently I had the privilege to travel to the United World College – USA in Las Vegas, NM. The UWC hosts students from around the world for an International Baccalaureate program that is international in every sense of the word. Nestled in the foothills of the Sangre de Christo Mountains, the UWC-USA is housed in an amazing structure originally built in 1885. It served as a hotel for elite railroad travelers around the turn of the century. It was an incredible setting for an equally incredible program. We were busy the first night giving a recruiting presentation for UF and then spent a full day interviewing prospective Honors students the next day. I met students from Afghanistan, the Philippines, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Spain, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Mexico, Ghana, India, Canada and Barbados. We interviewed a promising herpetologist from Oswego, Kansas as well as a future biologist who was a Chinese-Chilean! We need more programs like the UWC. It made an indelible impression upon me and gave me faith that maybe; just maybe humans may one day get their shit together and live in harmony.

After a long day of interviews, we ventured out to Dick’s Liquors, one of the few watering holes in Las Vegas. If Las Vegas, Nevada is one end of the entertainment spectrum, Las Vegas, NM is truly on the polar opposite. That being said, if I had to have a bar in a one-trick pony town (let’s see, how many more Paul Simon references can I fit in here?), it would be Dick’s. Going in the front door, you enter into to what appears to be a standard package store. Dick’s has a fine selection of western beers including New Belgium and Stone Brewing Co. Heading to the back of the liquor store, Dick’s transitions into a classic blue-collar bar, complete with Sweet Child O’ Mine on the jukebox and waitresses that call you honey. I tried two local brews: Santa Fe Pale Ale and Monk’s Ale. The SFPA was not as citrusy as I like. It tasted more like a Sierra Nevada, with a more earthy tone. I bet there are Centennial Hops in there. The Monk’s Ale was a fine full-bodied Amber, which tasted very good in the chilly New Mexican air (the 50’s in September qualify as chilly for a Floridian). To my surprise, Dick’s was like the Energizer bunny. It kept going! One passes through the bar section to a nice restaurant complete with linen napkins. I filled my belly with an Christmas style Enchilada (red and green Chile sauce). Good thing I don’t live in New Mexico. Between the beer and food, I’d weigh 350 pounds.

New Mexico and the UWC are amazing places to visit. Now I’m headed back to Gainesville for the Mother and Child Reunion, Still Crazy After All These Years….

Blue Skies

Or should I say “Big Skies?” This year the most popular brew-project at the Florida Park Brewing Company was the Big Sky kit available from our good friends at Homebrew Den. I made four versions over the course of the summer and all proved worthy. The Homebrew Den website states that this kit will easily become your “house brew”…They aren’t kidding. The first version was straight up, following the directions out of the box. I was pleased with the results, but being the hop-head that I am, decided to try dry-hopping for the first time. The second generation of Big Sky was dry-hopped with Cascade. I remember taking a sample while racking it to the secondary and thinking, wow, this is already quite hoppy! Do I really need to add anything else? I chucked the hops in anyways and was very pleased with the results. This tried and true recipe was even better dry hopped. Next time around I used the Citra Hops (13% AA) that was part of the booty from the bronze medal at the Hogtown Brew-Off. Perfection! The Citra hops imparted a wonderful grapefruit aroma and just the right citrusy bite. Alas this keg was a victim of its own tastiness and died far too soon.

The fourth (and final, for now) version of Big Sky was made for an exceptional occasion. Ten plus years ago my good friend Scott and I brewed up a Wedding Bliss Ale for my wedding. We used a recipe called “Old Bottle Rocket.” As I recall, it was a steam beer clone. I still have a bottle left-over; somehow, I’m guessing it is past its prime. Naturally I had to return the favor and brew up something for Scott and Amanda’s wedding. Big Sky had proved to be so reliable and popular that I couldn’t resist one more iteration. I was convinced the dry-hopping technique was the way to go. The Citra was great, but was hard to find. This time the hop selection was truly an accident.

I’ve commented before that Homebrew Den in Tallahassee is awesome: here’s an example of their awesomeness. On my last order, I purchased among other things, a #7 solid rubber stopper for a whopping $0.90. HBD made a mistake and sent me a stopper with a hole. When HBD was contacted, they were happy to send me the new stopper and did not ask me to return the erroneous pierced version. A few days later a rather large box appears on the doorstep; a box far too big for a rubber stopper. I opened it up to not only find the correct stopper, but four ounces of hop plugs (two Cascade and two Amarillo). Now that’s service! HBD has another loyal customer.

I had never used Amarillo before, so I gave it a try. Not bad. Not as good as the Citra, but still quite good. We served up the keg at Scott and Amanda’s wedding after-party. It was well received and sadly, floating the next morning.

Summertime

Dueling Stallions at the Entrance of Brookgreen Gardens

…and the living is easy. We’ve recently returned from our annual summer retreat to Litchfield Beach, SC. The kids enjoyed the sun and sand and spending quality time with Nina, TyTy and Aunt LaLa. My niece, Elena displayed her deft culinary skills coaching Ella through the creation of the traditional red, white and blue (and yellow and green) cupcakes. When I asked Elena to pick out some music on my iPod, she selected Abby Road; I couldn’t have been more proud. Litchfield offers the significant bonus of Brookgreen Gardens, one of the most unique and beautiful places I’ve ever been. The sculptures here are truly amazing, but what is even more amazing is the remarkable gardens that surround them. Ella befriended a Brookgreen bus driver while she was there and enjoyed sitting in first class as we toured the Low Country. The vacation also featured some amazing local SC peel-and-eat shrimp and my discovery of not-so-local McSorley’s Irish Pale Ale. This beer had that great clove taste more commonly found in wheat beers. Try it, you’ll like it.

Speaking of beer… The Dunkleweizen turned out to be quite tasty. The keg seems to be disappearing more quickly than I intended. I wonder if my bucket’s got a hole in it? Production has been great of late. The Red, White and Brew party yielded Big Sky III. This version used the same Homebrew Den kit as I have in the past, but this time I dry-hopped with Citra T-90 pellets (AA 13.5%). O.G. was 1.054 and F.G. was 1.012 when I dry hopped. I’m trying a cold crash this time and plan to keg tomorrow after three days at approximately 38 degrees. Two beers on tap at the same time! Woo hoo! Tomorrow I hope to brew Big Sky IV (I know, not a lot of creativity, but this recipe is close to foolproof). Big Sky IV will be aka Wedding Bliss II as I plan to have this one on tap for Scott and Amanda’s wedding on August 25.

A Hundred and Ten in the Shade

It was as hot as I can ever recall in Gainesville on Father’s Day. The thermometer on the back porch hit 100 degrees (in the shade). With heat indexes into the 110′s, there was only one sensible thing to do; move the brewing operation to the stove-top. This Father’s Day began a new tradition with the Denny family: giving Dad time to brew. Summertime is time for wheat beers. At the risk of being redundant, I’m once again creating a Dunkelweizen (OK, so this time it supposed to be a Dunkelweizen, not a Dopplebock).

Nothing says summer like a good German Wheat

This is also my first “stew brew”, meaning I’m using ingredients left over from prior batches. The vital statistics are as follows:

4oz Chocolate Malt
4oz CaraMunich 40 Malt
2lbs Munton’s Light DME
1.45 lbs Weyerman Hefeweizen LME
3.3 lbs of Breiss Weizen LME
0.6oz Glacier Hops (6% AA)
Fermentis Safbrew WB-06 Yeast

I steeped the specialty grains for 15 min at 152 degrees then added the LME, DME and hops and boiled for 45 minutes. My O.G. was 1.050, which was in the range for the style. Fermentation is proceeding nicely at 70 degrees. I hope to rack to the secondary in time for the Red, White and Brew party coming up this Friday.

So Damn Lucky

Who would of thunk a hapless home-brewer that had to call on St. Beano to salvage a stuck fermentation would be a medal winner!?! Well folks, it happened. Perhaps the esteemed judges had been working all day before they got around to judging the German Wheat and Rye Beers, perhaps beginners luck was manifesting itself or maybe Johannes Aventinus himself reached out from beyond the grave; whatever it was, the would-be doppel bock came out as a bronze medal winner at the Hogtown Brew off.
If your F.G. ain’t what it should be, don’t fear the Beano. The little white pills that prevent flatulence are just what the doctor ordered to kick-start your fermentation. My final gravity dropped to 1.015, still a little higher that what it should have been, but close enough to bring home the bronze.

Comes a Time

We are one month almost ten months into Denny Family 2.0.  So far everyone is doing well, except for the timeliness of John’s blog postings.

When Ella first learned she had a little brother on the way, she wasn’t too happy; she really wanted a sister to play with. On Christmas morning, Ella opened a gift for little Ty from Ty and Nancy. It was the outfit little brother is wearing in the picture. When Ella asked who this was for, we told her it’s for your brother. She exclaimed, “Brother! That’s a boy!” Since then she’s embraced being a big sister.

The beginning of this experience has made us reflect on how fortunate we are. We’ve been blessed with another healthy child and have received unbelieveable support from family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. We could not be the family we are without all of you. We look forward to everyone being a part of Tyson’s life!

Southland in the Springtime

Spring has sprung here in Hogtown. The azaleas and dogwoods are in full bloom, the nights are cool and the days are warm. It’s the perfect time of year for friends, fellowship and of course homebrewing! My latest creation is a Schneider Aventinus

The standard by which this brew will be judged

clone. It’s my first swing at a Wheat Dopplebock. For those of you keeping score, here are the vital statistics:

3 oz Pilsner Malt
1.5 lbs Cara Munich Malt
5.6 oz Carafa Special Malt II
3 lbs DME
5.5 lbs Weyerman Bavarian Hefeweizen LME (unhopped)
.75 oz Glacier Hops (6% AA)

I mashed the grains in 3 quarts of water for 45 minutes at 152 degrees then rinsed with 1.5 quarts at 170 degrees. Everything boiled for 60 minutes with the exception of the LME which was added with 15 minutes left in the boil. I wound up with an OG of 1.064. It was supposed to be 1.073, so I may be looking at a weizenbock instead of a dopplebock. (This recipe based on Brew Your Own magazine, September 2008, 14(5), p.32).

This is my first use of the chest freezer. The beer is bubbling happily at 60 degrees. After fermentation it’s supposed to condition for for 3-4 weeks at 42 degrees. Can you say willpower? Not in my vocabulary. I need to get a pale ale going to distract me!

I’ve often reflected on why I enjoy brewing. This last session was a great example of why this is such a great hobby. We had four generations of friends and neighbors present. From a very classy lady who was celebrating her 75th birthday to my nine-month old son, everyone participated and all had a good time. (OK, so Tyson didn’t get too much out of the experience, but he did enjoy playing with the baggie full of some extra grains.) Homebrewing is best done as a social exercise, from taking turns stirring the brew-pot to being mesmorized by the thermometer during the wort chilling; it’s all good. Best of all with a little luck and a lot of willpower, I’ll have something that would have made Johannes Aventinus proud.

I’m Going to Dizz-knee-land

I’ve intentionally avoided the mouse and his minions for over 21 years. Lines that never end, tourists with short fuses, the smell of sweat and sunscreen applied after the skin is fire-engine red, Brazilian tour groups that threaten to trample the unprepared in a boisterous sea of chartreuse t-shirts with matching hats: not my idea of a good time. This September everything changed. We made the journey to O-town for an NSCS

Hogtown Dennys Do Disney

conference (going there on UF business eased the pain a bit). We descended upon the Coronado Springs resort with high hopes and low expectations: How fun could this possibly be with a four moth old in tow?

Needless to say I was absolutely amazed and thoroughly entertained. Disney is pretty much the coolest place in the universe to a four year old who loves her princesses. I remember liking Disney as a kid, but Ella took it to a whole different level. Ella seeing Cinderella, the REAL Cinderella at Cinderella’s castle would be like me seeing Willie Nelson at Gruene Hall. It was the genuine article as far as she was concerned.

One of the many highlights of the trip was at the end of our first full day in the park. The Main Street Electric Parade (or whatever it’s called these days) is truly amazing. I remember it from the 70′s. It was pretty much Christmas lights on trolleys back then. Now it’s fiber optics, fantastic costumes, amazing animations on big screens; truly incredible. Ella stayed on my shoulders the whole time and drew many smiles from the people around us as she kept saying WOW! at everything that came down the street. The parade was over and Ella was done. She had been great all day long but was now exhausted. I was determined to stay for the fireworks, so we bribed her with some ice cream. The plan worked. I don’t know if that was the best display I’ve ever seen, but I can say that I haven’t seen better (Bejing Olympics don’t count – that was on TV and I understand there was CGI involved). The park lowers the lights. The PA tells everyone to stay where they are. “When you wish upon a star” is played as a single shooting star arcs gracefully over the castle. Unf%*#ing believable. I became a convert then and there as I wiped a tear from my eye. The mouse knows what he’s doing when it comes to entertaining kids (and adults). I cringed as we paid $170 just to walk in the gate earlier that day, but by the time the fireworks were over and we were on the bus back to the Coronado, I felt like it was worth every penny.

The Kids Are Alright

Ella is turning out to be a great big sister; just like we knew she would be. She is quite adept at helping to feed the little guy and does a fine job of facilitating burps. Watch out for “split-ups”. A little sister can only be asked to do so much.

Christine enjoyed her maternity leave and John got to work half time for a couple of months. The time went by all too quickly, but we both enjoyed many walks with Ty up to Open Arms to pick Ella up in the Double-Stroller.

Big Sister at Work