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Over the last year, I've been slowly building up my equipment to make the switch from extract to all-grain. Couple months back, was on vacation for a week and decided I would have time to brew once I got home and before I went back to work. Ordered the grain bill for the German Hefeweizen...

...but thankfully, this one turned out okay. I'm a volunteer firefighter. I love it, my FF1 and FF2 certificates mean more to me than my 4 yr degree (the FF ones are framed on my wall at my "real" job... I've never actually seen my diploma). Just about any firefighter with time 'on the job'...

I've been having a year-long debate/disagreement/whatever with the current president of a volunteer charity chapter I'm involved in. There's a lot of back story that I won't get in to for simplicity sake, but what it comes down to is this: You're in charge of a meeting or presentation. 3-4...

My brew club is doing a "Wort Transformation Challenge" type competition - we got together and brewed a 10 gal batch of a base pale ale, and then anyone participating took a gallon home to do as we pleased with yeast, dry-hopping, and any other additions. I decided to try a pineapple IPA. Left...

One of the more less-desirable parts of my job is doing on-site survey work for three different landfills - four different times this summer, I've found myself walking on top of the active garbage face. You really start to evaluate your career choices when you can tell by look what areas of the...

So I'm in the process of converting a keggle; got the top cut and holes drilled for the thermometer and valve over the weekend. Got the valve and bulkhead installed with what I thought was no problems, until I tested it, and both fittings leaked. One of the o-rings had mashed out on the valve...

So with the formation of a local homebrew club, and a new coworker who is also a homebrewer, my interest in moving up to all-grain has rapidly increased. Month or so ago, I bought an spare keg from a coworker to convert to a keggle, and finally got around to cutting the top this weekend. I...

So I've decided to try and get tickets to GABF this year - even joined AHA to have the option for the Saturday members-only session. The whole plan is still pretty fluid, but what I'm thinking right now is if I get tickets, making a week-long road trip beer tour out of it. Leaving NW Iowa...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tby91aTGF4 (Can't for the life of me remember how to embed the video)

Newcastle almost made a commercial for the Mega Huge Football Game. They almost paid Anna Kendrick to almost star in it. The behind-the-scenes is great:

Getting ready to bottle my cider, and needed to clean up a new batch of bottles. Quite a few of them still need to be de-labeled, and not all of them had been washed out well enough, so I decided to try the oxyclean route of cleaning this time. Put them in a 10 gallon rubbermaid tote, and...

Do people worry about bottling beer (or racking to secondary, etc.) while feeling slightly under the weather? On one hand, with the alcohol and everything in the beer, any germs that might float in don't exactly have the most hospitable environment to take hold in. Plus, even if you weren't...

Happened to be browsing quirky.com (another "spin" on the crowdsourcing concept - except this one you help design the product, etc. and then potentially get a cut of the profits) and came across something that might be really usefull to the homebrew community: Spotter It's a wireless sensor...

Been meaning to try a cider for a while now (QUITE a while now, actually... I've had the cider sitting in the corner of my kitchen for almost a year now, just have never been able to find time to do anything with it). Had some PTO time to burn at work, so took thanksgiving week off, and here I...

Was in the Wine & Spirits section of the local grocery store yesterday, and saw the new "Project 12" 12-pack sitting at the end of one of the aisles. Tried them last year, and contrary to the opinion of many here, they weren't bad. Sure, they weren't the greatest beers I'd ever had, but they...

After being a die-hard charcoal aficionado most of my life, a few years ago I broke down and bought a gas grill (convenience factor... I still swear by charcoal as the better option). Well, because of various time constraints, my charcoal offset firebox smoker hasn't been used more than two...

About two weeks ago, I was put in charge of planning an office BBQ for my coworkers, which we did tonight after work. (Aside: Turned into a freaking FEAST - for the 10 coworkers that showed up and their spouses, we had 4 racks of ribs, two smoked chickens, and a full brisket we had smoked...

There's an online challenge/"game" called GeoGuesser. Pops up a screen of a Google Street View, and you have to navigate around until you figure out where on earth you are, and drop a pushpin on a map for your guess. You're scored on how close you get to the actual location. Requires good...

Has anyone ordered from them lately - I know they were having some shipping issues not too long ago, was just wondering if they'd been settled yet. Just got a 20% off coupon emailed to me, good for the next 3 days, so I might put in an order tonight. I don't have a brew day scheduled...

Back story: This morning, a bomb threat was called in to the elementary schools in my hometown...small-town Iowa. Obviously, all 4 elementary schools were evacuated while the buildings were searched. A short time later, there was an attempted robbery at a bank about 15-20 miles away. The...