Starting 2011 on the Right Foot

It probably sounds kinda cliche to say that I'm trying to get back in shape this time of year.  However, I'd really like to lose about 20 or 25 pounds over the next few months.  Trying to get back down my typical adult-life average weight.  So far, so good.  Haven't lost much weight yet but I haven't been eating as much crap and have been running and going for long walks with Theresa and Abby fairly consistently over the last couple weeks.  I have already noticed my energy climb a little.  I am trying to continue on this path and keep it up to incorporate it as my normal routine.  I'm also trying to do this by making a few compromises but still enjoy myself food-and-drink-wise.  For example, I'm not giving up beer.  Considering I don't drink mass quantities of beer (usually in the neighborhood of 2 - 3 beers in a night most weekend nights), and considering that beer-hunting and homebrewing are the hobbies that I am most passionate about, I think its a reasonable compromise.  I think I should get there slowly, but surely, over the next few months simply by exercising more consistently and eating better.

Now to the much more delicious and interesting portion of today's program ... BEER!

I'm pretty excited about my homebrew selection.  This Thursday will mark the two week mark on the bottle-conditioning of the Ruination and Ubu clones, which means this weekend is tasting time!  Both beers will probably get better over the next few weeks but I'm pretty amped to try the two new beers.  These two will also give a bit more variety to my homebrew selection; with the addition of these 5th and 6th volumes I will have three brews in bottle - the Tripel, Runiation, and Ubu.  Three brews is the most I have had in bottles at one time.  I am hoping to sustain this variety, if not increase it, as I continue brewing.  Its definately going to be nice to have a good variety of homebrew in the fridge.  I am hoping to get another brew or two in fermenters in February.  The next one will probably be a good session beer - maybe an ESB or something of that nature.  Sometime in March I want to get something in the can for the Spring.  I'm thinking of doing something like a blueberry wheat or something along those lines.

Equipment-wise, I'm thinking about getting some new gear.  Right now, I'm doing extract brews with a big stainless steel pot on an electric range with a beginners starter kit with a plastic fermentation bucket and bottling bucket.  I also picked up another plastic fermenter recently to use when I have two brews fermenting at once.  Next on the wish list is a glass carboy.  I want to get this mainly to use for secondary fermentations so I can do longer secondary fermentations with better quality.  For one, it will let me rack my beer onto other ingredients to age with, such as oak chips (I really want to do an oaked black IPA sometime soon).  Also, it should reduce some of the sediment that I get in my bottles (especially on bigger beers like Ruination).  Been looking into doing some other minor things too (like waxing or putting foil wraps on my bottles for better presentation for gifts).  However, I doubt I will do any other major upgrades at this point (like an all-grain setup) until I have house - I just don't have the space for the extra equipment right now.

On the beer-hunting/drinking front, it has also been a good start to the new year.  Among my favorites that I've picked up at Pinocchio's Beer Garden in the last week or so are Dogfish Head's Pangaea (a beer brewed with ingredients from every continent - even Antarctica (water)) and Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout.  Also had a chance to stop into the restaurant side of Pinocchio's and have a couple Lucky Bastards (which they had on draft) with my buddy Jim this past weekend.  It was good to have a couple solid beers with Jim and catch up.

Dogfish Head's Pangaea in one one of my Stone Brewery glasses.

Stone's Old Guardian Barleywine in my Vertical Epic glass.

That's all for now - hopefully I'll get in another update this weekend after tasting the new homebrews :-).

And I know you're dying for today's beer and song selections :-) .....

Song of the Day: "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3" by Coheed & Cambria
Beer of the Day: Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout