There’s something about brewing and kegging beer that makes me think of Top Gear BBC, probably because it’s very easy to set up my laptop and stream it through Netflix while I’m working. Last night I ventured out into the rain to dump water out of a tub of empty bottles I’ve been soaking, and then scrape the remainder of the glue and paper off them. It took a bit longer than I was expecting–I started at 10 and finished after midnight–but they’re all cleaned, washed, and ready for beer. If I get time this evening, I’m going to transfer the Irish Stout into a bucket, bottle the batch, and let it sit for a few more months. With any luck, it’ll be perfect for Thanksgiving. Now, to design and print some labels…

The Belgian Dubbel I brewed last weekend is happier now that it has fresh yeast; as it turns out, I bought the kit all the way back in last October so the original yeast was long past its due date. Thankfully I bought fresh steeping grains for it a month ago. I’m going to let it sit for another couple of weeks and then transfer to the secondary, and it too should be ready by Thanksgiving.

Finally, I’m ordering a third beer from Austin Homebrew for general sipping. Something not as heavy as the stout or dubbel, but with more flavor for the winter months. I’m looking at their Viking IPA, which is lighter than most of the IPAs I’ve brewed, or their Texas Red Ale, which would be a little hoppy but more of a malty selection. Decisions, decisions…