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Just Getting Some Stuff Done Around The House

After I came back from playing tennis this morning, I moseyed around just finishing up some stuff that needed to get done.

First and foremost, I had to make a new batch of beer. I am almost out of my current beer (Irish Stout). It will be horrific if I run out. I ordered the ingredients for my new batch a few weeks ago. This time, I am not messing around. I mixed things up a bit with a new recipe. Here’s what I did…I went ahead and did my thing with the original recipe. I added what I needed to add and stirred when the directions told me to stir. This time, instead of just sealing up the big jug and waiting for it to ferment, I decided to brew a pot of decaf coffee and pour it in with the rest of the mixture. I also added 100 grams of cocoa powder. When I was finished mixing everything together, I took a big smell. It was like I had my nose in a huge wine glass. Ahhhhh, the aroma of chocolate coffee stout in the making.

Now, all I need to do is to find somewhere in this house that remains between 70 and 80 degrees. Yeah right. Like there is anyplace that hot here. I think I am going to store the beer downstairs, because that is the most heated area of the house. Even if the temperature goes up and down, I think it will be ok.

Beer kit thermometer

Today, I also made another batch of ice cream. I decided to make traditional vanilla bean, because I haven’t made a real smooth one yet. I am very proud of myself because this batch came out very well. I believe that if you tried it, you would give me a hug. It’s intoxicating.

Later on, Laura and I went outside to hang the Halloween lights around the door and to trim the Lilac bushes in front of the house. She did most of the lights and I did all of the Lilac trimming.

Rob, just in case you were wondering, this is what I was doing when you called.

I’ll take a picture of the Halloween lights another day. It’s pretty windy outside right now and I might blow away.

Since it was a great “working outside” afternoon, Holly the dog decided to join us. I tapped a metal stake into the ground and put her leash around it. Laura took a bunch of pictures of her and I wanted to show you the one where she (Holly) looks the most buff.

Holly the dog - Norwegian Elkhound

Doesn’t she look like such a punk?

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A Nice New Beer Recipe – Chocolate Coffee Stout

I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist, my glass is clearly empty.

I have been drinking my Irish Stout at a healthy pace. I don’t think I have been having too much of it, although at times, I have thought I haven’t had enough. It seems to get better tasting over time. Every so often, I go to the store to grab a few six-packs of some neat little micro-brew that I haven’t tried yet. Those are usually awesome, but I still would love having 65 of those awesome beers in the cabinet…made by me.

Empty beer mug

Since I am now running low on my home made beer, I decided to give a call to my friends over at Makebeer.net. I read a recipe on their blog on how to make “Chocolate Vanilla Stout.” This recipe intrigued me because it wasn’t your typical fairy beer, like most beers in the world. I am sure you know my taste in beer by now. Let’s see…ok, if you can throw a beer at a wall and the wall breaks, I like the beer.

I talked to the fella at the other end of the line for a while, who was pretty eager to help out. I was most appreciative for that. He seemed to understand my issue (all their beers are too light). We talked about the Chocolate Vanilla Stout. He said he didn’t care for the vanilla part of the recipe. I told him that I like coffee chocolate stout. He looked up a recipe and gave me some information on how to make that.

Basically, I need to make the Irish Stout beer that I have made before. Before I pitch the yeast, I need to mix in 100 grams cocoa powder and a quarter pound of ground coffee. The coffee has to be in some sort of a sack. I have to think about what that sack will be.

I ordered the Irish Stout beer kit and am working on the other ingredients. Remember, this is the first beer that I will be making that isn’t strictly from a kit. Sure, it’s not too involved, but I still think I’m special.

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