Earthquake Honey Ale

Okay, this one started off good. We had the cleaning and sterilization down and we knew the procedures better. But, since we knew the procedures better we realized we did a couple of things wrong the first time around. So, we fixed them this time, and that meant that the wort took longer to cool down (no lifting of the lid this time). But, we did everything as best we could and tried a liquid yeast. Okay, looking back and reading more I realize now that even though the packaging says we can pitch one vial for 5 gallons, we really should not have. We should have made a starter. It took over 24 hours for our fermentation to start. That, and we are doing it at cooler temperatures this time as well. We bought a large bucket and have put in water, ice, and a black t-shirt around the carboy. It's a lot cooler than last time :-) But, we've already bought the ingredients for our next beer (a nut brown ale), and again we're using a liquid yeast. So, I read up on making a starter and I ordered the necessary items to do that. It looks like as long as you have good sanitary procedures it should not be too hard. It just requires a little more planning ahead. But we think it's worth it! Also, we tried our pale ale after a week and a half (we put it in the refrigerator for 2 days), and it was pretty good. Still a little green and needs more carbonation, but it's a decent ale! I can't tell you how excited I am about all of this!! And here, for good measure, is a picture of our newest earthquake honey ale fermenting (it's called earthquake honey ale because we had the 5.4 earthquake just two days after it started fermenting!).

Oh, and I'm still running and working out! Okay, the gym is down to two days a week, but I plan on increasing that as possible. But I'm still running. I need to - it not only helps my physical health, it helps my mental health as well!!