Dawdle's Dormancy

If you've read my list Tastes of Things Like These (and Other Things Like Beer) (right sidebar), you might get the impression I like many things culinary, and you just might get the idea that I enjoy high-quality beer. Maybe. I mean, it's subtle, but it's there.

In the past I have brewed beer and it was mediocre, but passable as beer (read: it was better than Coors®). As a bionerd I loved the microbiology behind the brew, and the cook in me enjoyed making and consuming my own handiwork. As one tending toward perfectionism, I was never impressed with my creations, but as a creative person I certainly enjoyed the process and, often, when there's a long project and puzzles to solve, I thrive.

Anyway, along came Mancub (and later an auto accident) and my lifestyle was forever changed. I had to simplify my life, and in the process I lost a few of my beloved hobbies (and I was Hobby Queen, lemme tell ya). Well, sadly for me, brewing was one thing to go: no more large glass jugs or (200) brown bottles, boiling wort, testing specific gravity, etc. for me.

Well, thanks to this wonderful new(ish) product, that dynamic recently changed. I started home brewing this month. It's a simplified process in which the recipe is mostly set (so I miss out a bit on the creative part [though there's room to play there]), as the kit includes extract and dextrose (for wort). This seems a good compromise for me: less storage required, less shopping for ingredients, loads of time saved, less mess, etc.

Because the storage containers are PET (bottles and a "jug" [it's a keg]), and the extract is pre-made, I didn't get my hopes too high--I expected the results to be anywhere from sad (wimpy, beer-flavored water) to something reasonable that I could work with (e.g., a light honey lager). I was wrong.

I got impatient and opened a test 1/2-bottle on Saturday to see how it was progressing. Monday would have been the earliest I should have opened the beer, and about 2 weeks after Monday would have been the optimal timing for the conditioning phase. Opening the beer early as I did could/should have, in theory, yielded a light beer with low alcohol content: a wimpy lager (like those you find in the coolers at some picnics [the ones that include KFC® and Lays® as primary fare {no judgments: there's a time and place for most everything...}]).

Upon opening the tester, it was immediately apparent that this beer was going to hold its own in flavor complexity and body. It was shockingly tasty. I was...well, shocked! (And much relieved!) I had more that night with dinner and a movie, followed by some WoW socializing, and on Sunday I had some with lunch and dinner. I decided I better stop there, though, and put the remaining brew in the fridge to mature (and later savor).

Well....I opened another bottle last night, as I was eager to enjoy this first home brew (esp. after a 10+-year dry spell ["dry" being relative to home brewing, I mean]). I was just too excited about this.

I stayed up rather late, imbibing my new effervescent creation and doing Scarlet Monastery runs on my shadow priest (it's a WoW thing...). I got a couple levels and some "phat lootz" before falling into a leaden slumber full of travels to tropical island paradises with coconut water, snorkeling, and erm.....yeah...moving on...

As I drifted off I had a vague sense of concern that there was only 1 liter of beer left. The problem with that was that I had promised a friend he could try some upon his return home Friday and, well, this was very tasty stuff and it was only Monday! /GaspOf"Oh no!WhatamIgoingtodo?!" /sleep

After traveling the world and having a most amazing time, I stumbled my way into the kitchen to discover 1/2 a bottle of beer sitting on the counter...opened...with the lid off...and....a few minutes later...another 1/2 bottle (lid ON [thankfully!]) sitting by the desk, tucked into a basket....

I am Dawdle.



Kyle, dude, ya didn't make it back for the veggies and, I dunno what happened, but I apparently deemed the avocado as ripe...or getting mushy. I ate it. Sorry, man.