Heather's hat-knitting endavour isn't something new, but she's been making some really cute hats lately that I must share with you all! She is still getting orders for hats on a regular basis from the ladies at work, and even some of their friends! Here are three of her latest creations:
If any of you are curious, hats are $15 and can be any color and style you like! :) She has even made one with a hole in the back for a ponytail!
My latest hobby has been a few years in the making. I've been enjoying craft beers for several years, but have only thought about making my own for the last 6-8 months or so. I've done a lot of research on how to make beer, and on several of the available home brew kits out there. Turns out, this is a pretty popular hobby! There are tons of different kits out there for all levels of experience. Essentially the spectrum runs from (malt extract in a can + sugar + yeast + water = beer) to whole grain brewing where you steep the grains, multiple types of hops, and malt in a brewer's kettle, mix with different sugars, add yeast, ferment, and bottle. While I like the flexibility of the latter, I thought it wise to start with a simpler set up while I get some experience. So as an early birthday present, Heather bought be a home brew kit! The kit comes with a 6-gallon fermentor (big bucket with a valve at the bottom), 30 750ml bottles, and an American Lager kit.
Here's a picture of my first batch a couple days into the fermentation process.
Yeah... Heather yielded a good portion of the bathroom counter for the beer kit. What a woman!
It's pretty fun to watch the yeast do its thing over the first 2-3 days. Within 6 hours or so of getting everything mixed in the fermentor, the yeast begins to get pretty active. This process is essentially the same as the whiskey process I described in the post about our trip to the Jack Daniel's distillery. The yeast is so active that you can see the liquid churning, bubbling, and foaming. Gravity readings (aka density) are taken every day to monitor the progress of the fermentation. When the yeast is no longer converting sugar to alcohol and CO2, it's time to bottle! The primary fermentation in the bucket lasts about 6 days. You add some priming sugar to each bottle which helps to carbonate the beer in the bottle. The beer is supposed to "bottle condition" for a minimum of 2 weeks. I've read and heard that the flavor continues to develop for up to 3 months! I bottled 3 days ago and I'm already anxious to give it a try! Fortunately, 30 bottles will take quite a while to go through. I'm sure we will be able to have a taste test at several intervals between 2 and 12 weeks from now.
Here's my bottling set up (more or less).
The bottles are now tucked away in a box, and Heather has reclaimed the bathroom counter.
Even though I got one of the simpler kits about there, I can exercise as much creativity as I want when I mix the wort (pre-fermented liquid). My next batch may be a pumpkin ale, oatmeal stout, or perhaps just a dark ale with some brown sugar added. I'm really excited to have a new hobby that takes time, creativity, a little bit of science, and that results in beer! I'm looking forward to sharing some of my results with friends and family.
That's all we have to report for now! Things are going well in Nashville right now, and we are both enjoying the transition to fall. And of course, we are SO excited for the upcoming holidays and all the joy they entail.
Until next time and with love,
Tim & Heather
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