Continuing 2011 on the Right Foot

So, things have been pretty busy lately - been doing the normal grind for work and been trying to relax as much as I can with Theresa on the weekends.  I figured that now would be a good time to do a little gut check in regards to a few goals that I set for the year.

In the beginning of the year, I set a couple goals to try to improve my overall fitness and drop a little weight to get back to my average weight during high school/the later part of college.  So far, I've dropped around 5 pounds, which I'm pretty pleased with.  I've been eating a lot more reasonable (smaller) portions and have been trying to get more regular exercise - mostly in the form of running on an elliptical during the week and walking/running with Abby on the weekends.  I'm very happy with my progress so far and have noticed that my energy level is up and my clothes are fitting a little less snug.  Aside from a few bumps in the road in the form of a couple colds, things have been going very smoothly.  I have dropped some weight, am feeling a bit healthier, and am still enjoying beer and good food.  All in all, its been a great success so far.

Here's a little update on my brewing goals for the year:

• Brew 10 beers this year (a mixture of solo brews, and brews with Keith) - I just brewed up a small batch of a blueberry wheat this past weekend and am slated to brew a Bass clone with Keith this coming weekend.  Combining these two with my first brew of the year - the banana bread ale, my total is up to three.  So far, so good - I am very much on track to hit my goal of 10 on the year. 
• Enter some sort of brewing competition by the end of the year - Haven't entered any yet but I still have a decent amount of time this year.  I'm thinking I probably need to make this happen sometime October or earlier this year because of my wedding/honeymoon in November. 

Overall, my goals for the year seem to be progressing well.  I'll be posting again soon with some updates on the my Banana Bread Ale and the Blueberry Wheat that I'm putting into a secondary on top of some blueberry puree this weekend.  In the mean time, here's a picture of my Banana Bread Ale I took this past weekend of a new Northern Brewer glass I got.

Song of the Day: "Bubble Toes / Express Yourself" (Live in San Fransisco off the En Concert Album) by Jack Johnson
Beer of the Day: Winter White Ale from Bell's Brewery

Theresa and I finally got a chance to make it up to visit my parents, brothers, and a few friends a couple weekends ago and it was a great time. :-)  Had dinner with a few close friends on Friday night and hung out with my parents and  brothers and their families most of the day on Saturday.  It was really nice to catch up with everyone and to see my niece and nephew running around! :-)  My little nephew is running around on his own and apparently needs to have an eye kept on him at all times, as he is an explorer and will sneak away in no time.

Theresa and I also got a chance to squeeze in a brewery tour and tasting session at Custom BrewCrafters.  It was a lot of fun to go back to the brewery that is effectively my hometown brewery and to finally get around to doing the tour of the brewery.  For those of you how do not know about Custom BrewCrafters, they brew original, custom beers for exclusively for local bars and restaurants in the Rochester and Buffalo areas.  They also have a four year-round releases, and a couple seasonals at a given time, that are under their brand name.  Got some goodies to take back to Media with me - a few CB glasses and some solid beers.

Custom BrewCrafters' Krysztoff Baltic Porter (from their Signature Series) poured in one of my new CB glasses.

Fast forward to this past weekend.  Had a nice low key (for the most part) weekend with Theresa. :-)  Saturday, I was able to get the first brew of the year in the fermenter and I'm looking forward to tasting how this one is going to come out.  I decided to brew a concept that I have been thinking about for awhile - Banana Bread Ale.  Essentially, the base is very similar to a pumpkin ale, but is steeped with ~6 lbs. of roasted bananas instead of pumpkin, and is spiced with cinnamon and a little vanilla.  Planning on getting it into a secondary fermenter this weekend or next to let it ferment for another week or two before bottle conditioning the new brew.  I'm really hoping the flavor comes out the way I want (like banana bread) when all is said and done.  This one should come out ~5.5% ABV.  


The next brew in line will be with my buddy Keith and will probably be an ESB of some sort.  This one is his turn to choose the recipe.  We both were looking for a good session beer to brew up next.  We will probably be getting this one brewed up this weekend or next.


Been doing some thinking lately about some brewing goals for the year.  The two main ones are:

• Brew 10 beers this year (a mixture of solo brews, and brews with Keith)
• Enter some sort of brewing competition by the end of the year

The second one is a bit of a stretch goal but I think it would be a lot of fun to enter a brewing competition.  As far as beers I am planning to do this year, here a few of the highlights that I'm planning - blueberry wheat (probably brew this one in March/April timeframe), an oaked black IPA, an acorn squash beer brewed with maple syrup (planning on brewing this as a fall brew), and a couple hot pepper brews.

After brewing up the Banana Bread Ale on Saturday, Theresa and I went out with our friends Aubrey and Josh for Josh's birthday.  We both had a blast hanging out and having a few beers to celebrate! :-)

Josh and I having a couple beers at Sligo for Josh's birthday :-)

Looking forward to another pretty low key weekend this coming weekend, relaxing with Theresa! :-)


Song of the Day: "Guilty as Charged" by Gym Class Heroes (feat. Estelle)
Beer of the Day: Krysztoff Baltic Porter by Custom BrewCrafters