Quarantined in Wuhan - Name my beer

[Broothru]

My older brother was a helo pilot and then flight instructor for the USMC.

So I'll jump in with the thing he told me once that has stuck with me, and which all USN/USMC folks might agree.

It was when he was still a reservist during Desert Storm, prior to being an aviator, sleeping in tents guarding water while the Air Force folks were basically put up in near-hotels.

"The Air Force. They're the finest paramilitary organization the world's ever seen..."

I've got more than a few stories like that, and not all of them "jealousy."

Like the time in a joint services exercise with Air Force AWACS planes in Puerto Rico. They (AF) had quite a few enlisted air crew members. According to their crew berthing guidelines, the Navy enlisted quarters were substandard, yet they were perfectly fine for our ground pounders. I was a late night arrival, and when I went in to check in to the Bachelor (unaccompanied) Officers Quarters I was informed that the "Q" was full due to AF enlisted crew members being billeted in Officer quarters. There was a 'single' E-5 AF sergeant billeted alone in 'my' room, so I had to share a two person room (me on a roll away bed) with two other Navy officers, all of us O-5 Commanders who rated private quarters. I would have preferred a tent.

We used to joke that the Navy spent all its budget on aircraft carriers, then had to go crawling to Congress for more money to buy airplanes and spare parts. The Air Force would buy the land, build a golf course, construct beautiful quarters and clubs for personnel, then go to Congress demanding more $$$ to build a runway.

I kinda' miss the camaraderie of raising a glass to 'salute' our sister services.

Brooo Brother

 

[rmchair]

W-ipa your nose gose for your next one.

 

[Jayjay1976]

So we've established navy good, air force bad.

 

[Broothru]

So we've established navy good, air force bad.

Naw... the Zoomies aren't "bad". It just takes 3 to 4 times as many of them to accomplish the mission that a squadron detachment of Naval Aviators (Marines are also Naval Aviators) can do twice as fast at 1/4 th the cost. They need a 10,000' runway nearby. We take ours along with us.

But the greatest distinction between Navy and Air Force is: all Navy pilots have landed on long runways, but very few Air Force pilots have landed on an aircraft carrier.

Brooo Brother

 

[BBBF]

Quarantined, But Not Gonna Wuhan About It

 

[Jayjay1976]

QuaranTINE barleyWINE

 

[bpgreen]

I have no suggestions for your brew name, but I wanted to wish you well and hope you don't get infected.

 

[Mumathomebrew]

Stay safe and well.

As for beer, maybe Wuhanocoronanomore

 

[Jayjay1976]

We were at the grocery store yesterday and while my wife was picking out lemons, a latino guy next to her buying limes said "these are for the coronas! *wink*", we all had a laugh but I was suddenly gripped by an urge to purchase and drink a bunch of Coronas with lime.

We had four more confirmed cases in Chicago today and I am starting to dread riding the train into downtown every morning. So far I haven't seen any sanitizing crews working while the trains are idling and very few passengers wearing masks while they all seem to casually grab the hand railings as if everything were normal. Weird since all the local stores are sold out of hand sanitizer and face masks, guess all those folks are self-quarantined at home.

In other news: my requisition for an emotional support helicopter seems to be caught up in channels.

 

[FatDragon]

Now it's time to ask myself, is it worth risking the wife's ire if I use up some of our limited printer paper to print these up?

 

[Miraculix]

View attachment 670333

Now it's time to ask myself, is it worth risking the wife's ire if I use up some of our limited printer paper to print these up?

It definitely is

 

[Broothru]

We were at the grocery store yesterday and while my wife was picking out lemons, a latino guy next to her buying limes said "these are for the coronas! *wink*", we all had a laugh but I was suddenly gripped by an urge to purchase and drink a bunch of Coronas with lime.

We had four more confirmed cases in Chicago today and I am starting to dread riding the train into downtown every morning. So far I haven't seen any sanitizing crews working while the trains are idling and very few passengers wearing masks while they all seem to casually grab the hand railings as if everything were normal. Weird since all the local stores are sold out of hand sanitizer and face masks, guess all those folks are self-quarantined at home.

In other news: my requisition for an emotional support helicopter seems to be caught up in channels.

HELICOPTERS!!!???!!!

Man, those things are DANGEROUS! For those of us with roots in the fixed-wing aviation community, helos are referred to as "one million parts flying in close formation all trying to kill you."

Of course that philosophy (pre 1980s) comes from an era when sex was 'safe' and 'flying' wasn't, instead of the other way around.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jayjay1976]

Better hang onto some of that printer paper, in case you need to DIY some face masks!

 

[S-Met]

Better hang onto some of that printer paper, in case you need to DIY some face masks!

Or tp.

 

[isomerization]

TV news media blowing things out of proportion causing world panic and widespread disruption to economic markets ale.

Still feel that way?

 

[Jayjay1976]

At this point anyone who doesn't take this crisis seriously, is themselves not serious.

In other news, the NCAA cancelled March madness and the NBA suspended the season. Now what will we watch? More hysterical news coverage about the sniffles?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Hey @FatDragon how are you doing?

I just heard from a colleague of mine in Dongguan city, she said the virus is subsiding and public transit is opening back up. Hope you and yours are in tip top, please let us know.

 

[ba-brewer]

Today they put the SF Bay Area on a shelter in place order, closing bar and restaurants for the next 3 weeks. Not overly restrictive but they are tell people to stay home unless you really must leave. Looks like I will be starting my own series of ABC beers.

 

[FatDragon]

Hey @FatDragon how are you doing?

I just heard from a colleague of mine in Dongguan city, she said the virus is subsiding and public transit is opening back up. Hope you and yours are in tip top, please let us know.

There's word that public transportation will start ramping up in the next couple weeks here in Wuhan, though for now communities are still largely closed so they'll have to open up before many people need to use public transportation. Technically, there's still no official timeline on opening the city, but it's starting to feel like it's on the horizon.

Meanwhile, things are just starting for you guys. Stay safe and wash your dang hands regularly!

 

[JPDosey]

Ale Strain 19

 

[monkeymath]

At the risk of henceforth being known as "the moron", I just have to ask:
Will my homebrew be safe to drink, even if I might (unknowingly) be infected?

Generally, there is hardly a way to know for sure that you are not currently infected. As there's not too much to do right now - we are now getting serious about "social distancing" here in Germany - it'd be nice to brew a beer or two, but I do not want to end up with Corona-in-a-bottle (not talking about the flavourless Mexican lager). From what I gather, the virus can survive for a couple of days on some surfaces (here's a nice table: https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(20)30046-3/fulltext

So the fermenters and bottles should be fine after a while. As the virus generally needs a host to live, I can't really imagine that stuff thriving inside beer. But still I find it hard to tell if its lifespan would be longer or shorter than on a dry surface and by how much.

It seems to be debatable (https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus-resource-center) whether it can be spread via food at all, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I do not want to start the next big wave when I whip out my homebrew in celebration of the international defeat of COVID-19.
Anyone got any insight on this? (And please don't give me the good-old "pathogens cannot survive in beer", I'd really appreciate a more specific response with some background and substance.)

Thank you in advance,
the moron

 

[Jayjay1976]

Hey 'moron', this is a very valid question! From what I've read here on HBT and elsewhere in the past week, viruses are apparently a bit of genetic material wrapped in a ball of fat. I would think that the alcoholic content would break down the protective fat layer and destroy any potential for infection. I'll wait for the experts to chime in.

Thanks for bringing it up @monkeymath

 

[isomerization]

Hey 'moron', this is a very valid question! From what I've read here on HBT and elsewhere in the past week, viruses are apparently a bit of genetic material wrapped in a ball of fat. I would think that the alcoholic content would break down the protective fat layer and destroy any potential for infection. I'll wait for the experts to chime in.

Thanks for bringing it up @monkeymath

Hopefully the homebrew isn’t ending up in your respiratory tract...

Biggest risk for transmission will not be in the beer, but between the people sharing the beer. Via liquid droplets (sneezing, cough, etc) is main method, but could come from touching contaminated surfaces (glass, bottle, etc) and then touching mouth, nose, eye, etc.

Preferred source:
https://arstechnica.com/science/202...e-ars-technica-guide-to-the-coronavirus/2/#h2

Edit: will also add that >60% abv is needed to effectively kill enveloped viruses (like coronaviruses).

 

[monkeymath]

Hopefully the homebrew isn’t ending up in your respiratory tract...

I don't intend to inhale it, but if licking strangers' hands is discouraged - and not only, as I had to learn the hard way, frowned upon -, then anything touching your mouth has a certain potential for transmission, and I don't see why homebrew would be any different, unless it was certain that the little balls of evil die in a timely manner.
And, as you said, the alcohol content is too low to act as a real disinfectant. *But* even a lower concentration might accelerate their decline... ?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Hey, I wonder how @FatDragon is doing? Curious how his beer turned out.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Seriously, anybody heard from @FatDragon ?
I'm really worried now.

 

[Jag75]

Seriously, anybody heard from @FatDragon ?
I'm really worried now.

Man I hope hes good. Maybe hes just been super busy since their quarantine is over

 

[FatDragon]

Over is a bit of an overstatement - the lockdown was officially lifted, while many of the restrictions remained in place. My community never loosened them much at all, and as of a few days ago, many communities that did loosen up significantly are already tightening back up. Effectively, unless you've got to be out for work (which, to be fair, a great many people are going to work like normal now), you can go out once a day for no more than two hours, only if you have a clean bill of health. As a foreigner, it's a lot more work to get that clean bill of health for me than it is for most people here. I, my kids, and my wife have not left the community since late January, though my wife is considering an outing in the next few days if we can get my clean bill of health sorted out.

The beer is alright - the hops profile is pretty muted by now because I don't have the time or equipment to do hoppy beers properly these days. I was pleased with the low mash temp - it allowed the low-attenuating yeast to bring the beer fairly dry. I bought some hops and yeast a few days ago so I'll be doing another brew soonish - this time with Belle Saison because my fermentation chamber is indefinitely tied up to serve as a deep freezer.

That's about all. I hope all of you are doing well and drinking Anything But Corona!

 

[Psyberd]

how about a good bitter IPA with a touch of cummin.. named "5 Chinese, Bitter Meat Place"

五汉-苦肉那 IPA
WuHan - KuRuoNa IPA

I'm in Henan, Zhengzhou. not so far away