I love a good #weekendexperiences (founded by @galenkp,) #sublimesunday (inspired by @c0ff33a) and #beautifulsunday (initiated by @ace108) 3-fer reason to post a story about how the week ended!
What better way to end the week than brewing beer and walking dogs?
First things first! The Prompt!
"Alcohol...do you drink it in moderation and to be sociable, simply to get drunk as quickly as possible, or not at all?" is one of the choices on
This one seems to have been written for me as The Blockchain #beerologist!
The answer to that one changes eternally. When I was young, sport drinkin' it was and the best parties were where many pints were consumed and someone embarrassed them self with excess. Moderation is a slippery slope but I like to tell myself I practice it. No more sport drinkin' for me except on increasingly rare special occasions though I rarely do without. It really is about the sociable and the art of enjoying different types of alcohol which is probably just thinly-veiled alcoholism!
I could drink less and I certainly could drink more but it is really about the human connection and how a pint can lube a conversation as well as it can your golf swing.
So, Sunday!
Strangely coincidental, this Sunday was predominantly about the beer. Not entirely about the sport drinkin' but not without a little excess! These were a couple pints sampled in the pursuit of tasting every beer in the region. After a bit of work, and a late cup of coffee, we broke in the early afternoon with a couple light ones. You can see in the background what was really on the agenda.
It was brew day. A big one actually as a busy end of summer has crammed our brewing between a couple weekends of travel and there was beer to be made. I love how we start the brew from freshly crushed grains and the base ingredients like it has been done for hundreds of years. We cheat a little by purity standards as there is wheat and oats in this New England IPA but I prefer the hazy body and smooth sweetness.
Besides that, we are hopping the shit out of our standard IPA as one should. When the boil is finished and the wort is transferred to the fermenter, you can see the ridiculous amount of hops that settles in the brewer and cakes together on the mesh bottom. That is sport hopping!
By the time we were done, we had brewed 60 litres of Amber, another 60 of this NEIPA that will ferment a couple weeks. In addition to that, we cleaned 15 kegs and kegged another 60 litres of amber and IPA. We should have our September taken care of with draft beer!
The Hay!
While there, I learned a little about high-quality Canadian hay from New Eden Hay Most of this hay goes to central and southern united states to feed mills and large scale farming operations. First cut hay is high in carbs and some of the second cut is loaded with alfalfa which is higher in protein and good for those athletic horses like at the Kentucky Derby. Who knew?
Dog Wars
It wouldn't be a true end of the week for my regular followers or my little dood if it didn't include some time at the park. Leash free, plenty of other dogs to wrestle with and familiar trails to sprint make for the time of his life. For me, it is a chance to get out, unplug, breathe some fresh air and enjoy a little slow pace sublimity.
I also enjoy pausing to look a little closer at the small details and bold colours. The breeze is still warm but summer will soon end and I will see my breath on this walk.
Jamming!
Before I let the week end, I snuck in a little jam session at a friend's house. He moved a bunch of his studio into the back yard and asked the neighbours for a little forgiveness so we could play some music. Something special about live, out-door, impromptu music celebration to cap off a great weekend.
As it does seemingly every weekend, the sun eventually sets on each weekend. This one was after a big brewing day with a little beer, some outdoor fun and bonus live music! Adventure doesn't get any more sublime or beautiful than that for me.
All Hail the Weekend Warriors!
