Beer and Guns

So a quick update on my beer making and hunting rifle buying...  

So my first batch of beer did not taste very good. It was beer, but apparently beer yeast has a 4 month shelf-life (the yeast I used was 3 years old). Old beer yeast becomes wild yeast. Since it is still yeast it will ferment the beer, but it creates a sour taste. It basically tasted like sour liquid bread beer...if that makes any sense. I've since bought new ingredients and will be starting on a new batch this weekend. I'll call this new batch 'Christmas Bock' (the last batch could be called Sour Stout) since it is supposed to taste like an American bock, similar to a Shiner Bock or Amber Bock. Bocks are my favorite type of beer as I like the richness and smoothness.  

So after doing some research I found out the Remington 770 is not very well made. The inner parts are made up of inferior materials in an effort to make the rifle sell for less. After research and going to a number of gun shops, I'm now leaning toward a Savage 111. The 111 is supposed to be the best price and value for a hunting rifle. I haven't pulled the trigger (sorry for my bad gun humor) on buying one yet. I need to get my bank account back up from Christmas shopping and not working all month. I did get my hunting license and purchased a wild boar tag in anticipation of my first pig kill. My goal is to have a party for the purpose of serving wild boar and homemade beer. I will keep you posted...

Snowed In

Well, we weren't exactly snowed in but it made for a very fun day. Snow does not happen very often in the hills of the Bay Area so you have to take advantage of it when the snow does fall. I'm glad I have my own business so I was able to stay home and play with Moses all day, though truth be told I have not had work all of December (one of the downsides to landscaping). 

Here is Moses, ready to do work...

Tree Fort- Stage III Complete

So I have the tree-fort about finished. All that is left is to cut out more windows, paint it camouflage, and cut out a door and build a platform for the zipline. Moses had his 4th birthday last weekend and the kids had a blast playing in it. One of the dads tried climbing inside the tree ladder, but only a kid can fit inside the tree ladder. Which is cool because the only way to get into the tree-fort is through the trap-door at the top of the tree ladder...

Hunting for a Hunting Rifle

I have guns, but most are for home protection and play. I do not have a hunting rifle. I didn't grow up a hunter, but I am slowing working into it. It is hard to be a hunter and a daddy, but I'm determined to figure it out and bring home some meat. My only purpose for hunting is for meat. It is all about meat! I want to kill a wild boar or deer and fill up the freezer. 

I am a member of the NRA. Sometimes they seem a little over the top, but they pale in comparison to the people trying to take away our gun rights. My thought is you need to fight fire with fire. Alright, enough of the politics and back to guns. The NRA rated the top rifles and the Winchester 70 and the Remington 700 are the top two rifles they recommended. I researched both, but due to my budget I might end up going with the Remington 770 (similar platform to the 700) with .30-06 caliber. The NRA also ranked the calibers and the .30-06 was the most adaptable for different types of hunting. I'm realizing this post has too many numbers, which might translate to being boring, so I'll stop....

I will have a tree fort update by the end of the week (hopefully completed).

Making Beer

I'm into making things by hand, at least once to give it a try. The problem is making time for it. I wish it was the early 1900s and I was living on a farm where I caught, killed, and grew all our food. I would have the time to fix the truck and build a table. It is hard nowadays because one has to hustle to make a living. If I spent the time required to live off the land I couldn't pay the bills. 

This is my excuse for taking so long to brew beer. My wife bought me a beer making system for Christmas 3 years ago and I'm finally just brewing it. I remember getting the kit, being excited and then overwhelmed with the research and process . I sucked at chemistry in high school. If the teacher used beer making to teach chemistry I might have got it down, though I now realize making beer isn't as hard as it seems. 

I'm three weeks into a five week process and will be bottling in one week. The problem is I'm using ingredients that are 3 years old. I kept the yeast in the refrigerator, but I'm not too optimistic about this first batch. There are some tests the brewmaster takes during the process and my numbers are not adding up. I'm figuring I'm going to have the worst beer or best beer ever. After my beer is ready I'm going to drink two bottles; if I get a little buzz and I don't kill over, then I'll pass them out to friends. This was a good trial run to get comfortable with brewing and hopefully I'll get better at it as I go.