Catching up.

Sorry I haven't written in a month. Katie kept saying that she was going to update and I kept waiting for her to do so, but she never did! So here I am.
Work has been going ok. April was busy here and there. This weekend should be crazy with both CU's graduation and mothers day happening at the same time. I am preparing myself mentally to be busy!
The weather has been kind of up and down lately. A few nice days here and there, but we have had accumulative snow (in may!) and rain and generally cooler days when compared to what temperatures we should have.
We've been climbing in the gym some, and I have started doing some weights and various exercise to help improve myself. I have been feeling pretty strong for the most part.
Two weeks ago we had a pretty warm day so we decided to get up to RMNP for a climbing day. It was alot of fun! Definitely cooler there than here, so much so that in the shade it was cold, but tshirts sufficed when in the sun. I really love it up there. I think it would be awesome to have a cabin somewhere up in the woods. Though I guess that is a pipe dream as we don't even own a house.
Anyway, the things that felt just out of reach last time we were there felt pretty easy this time, though I still did not finish the line I have been working on. So I guess that is a good sign that I am getting stronger.
In fact, I climbed in the garage the other day and sent two of my long time projects, both on my first tries of the day. So that is a good sign as well.
Katie's new job seems to be going very well. They are giving her a title and she will be salary, which will be good since she won't have to worry about being laid off or having severely reduced hours in the fall. She will be the service manager at the north shop and inventory control manager for both shops once the second location opens. That is good to hear. She should be getting the official offer from them at some point in the next week, so hopefully they are good to her. She is worth it.
I have given away the last of my malt extract beers. Though Katie and my coworkers both seemed to like all of them, I was never really 100% happy (or even 75% happy) with how they turned out. I think I have been getting much better results with all grain recipes. Some of my coworkers have even offered to buy beer from me. I keep responding to that with the obvious legality issues. One of them suggested that I look into getting a liquor license, which I did today, and it looks as though that will be way too expensive for me. Plus I imagine that I would have to undergo some sort of inspection and since my "brewery" is both on non commercial property, and really has no physical set up, I am sure that wouldn't go over well.
However I have been thinking of a possibility where people could donate money to grain purchases and be rewarded for their donation with a share of that or subsequent batches. Sort of a brewing coop in which I would be happy to do all the work since I like to do so. I am still not sure about the legality of this, but at the same time if I am dealing with friends or people I know directly, I don't think there would be much trouble.
We have been getting Gunner out the the dog park at least once a week for the past few weeks. It is great, because he obviously enjoys it and it really tires him out. It's pretty funny because he has little to no interest in the other dogs and people there, unlike most of the other dogs at the park. All he wants to do is play fetch. I am not sure how he got so good at it, but he will bring the ball right back to you every time and drop it at your feet. I remember working with and trying to train Calvin to do so and it never quite worked out. He would bring the ball back, but then run away from you so you would chase him.

Nicer days.

Boulder Canyon looking east.
Finally we are having some nicer days! Yesterday we set a record high. Katie and I both had off so we went to Boulder Canyon to climb.
We got a bit of a late start because I had to take my motorcycle in for the 10000 mile service (at 10700 miles - a little late). But we eventually made our way to Boulder and up the canyon. We had been at a spot a month or two ago and it was way too cold to climb. We went back to that spot and did a few routes.
I personally still feel quite scared when I am lead climbing outdoors. Strangely enough, I didn't feel this in SoIll. Maybe it's because here you feel so exposed. Literally climbing a cliff from a 10 foot wide section of flat rock overlooking a 100 ft drop and still several hundred feet down to the road after that. I guess that makes it a little scary and hard to concentrate and not have that fear.
One of the routes we did in Illinois was very run out - only 3 bolts in 50-60 feet and here they are every 8 feet or so. Yet in Illinois I felt perfectly calm. There you are in the canyon that is only 50-60 feet deep with big towers and trees all around you.
Anyway I did get a few good pictures..

Clouds above the ridge.

Katie cleaning our first route of the day.

Katie at the top of a scary 5.9.

Katie cleaning another route.
I heard from the motorcycle shop today and there are a few things they want to repair in addition to the service. Looks like this is going to cost me some money. Ugh. Oh well.
I have also started another blog to deal with my brewing adventures - rosebrewing.blogspot.com. I plan on also featuring reviews of commercially available beers that I drink. This one will be reserved for bikes and boulders and other goings on in our lives. I have added Katie as an author, so expect to see some posts from her as well.

and so on.

Finally got out for a ride this past week. We had three beautiful days in the 60's and then got snow yesterday. It looks like we only got 4 inches or so here, but I read parts of Boulder got 25+! Crazy.
I have been able to ride my motorcycle more often lately. I am still not able to ride every day since due to the weather, but at least I am off the bus sometimes. It started right up when I got it out of storage (the garage), so that is good. Hopefully within the next month I will be able to sell it and get a new ride.
Work has been alright. Things have slowed down a bit after a busy February. It is nice to have some slower nights, but I made really good money last month.
It has now been a year since we adopted Gunner! I am really happy about that and I think he is too. He has really come along way from the scared dog we got on day one. I think alot of his fear issues have been resolved, though he still has some odd tendencies here and there. Katie got him a new toy and I gave him his Kong with PB and food for dinner. I am very glad we got him and I can't imagine life without him!


Chef's fourth birthday was also the other day. He is such a sweet cat with tons of personality. I was looking at the little kitten pictures we have of him. Such a cutie. He got big so quick.
I am still working on my application for cu. It looks like I won't be done in time for fall. At this point I have yet to even look at the Fasfa, still have to get transcripts and so on. Starting in the spring would also give me more time to save up some money.
I currently have three batches of beer fermenting. The wild beer has been aging in the garage for a bit over three weeks now and I will bottle it this week. Two weeks ago I made a Grisette, which is a Belgian style similar to Saison, but of lower alcohol. This one should end up in the 3.5-4% abv range. It was made to be a light, refreshing summer beer. It will have the fruity and spicy yeast character of a stronger ale(along with refreshing hops), but you'll be able to have a few without getting wrecked. It is currently in the secondary fermenter with some oak cubes and chips.
This past week I brewed a now more traditional strength Saison, that should end up around 6+ percent alcohol. Unfortunately I knocked my hydrometer on the ground by accident so I didn't get an initial gravity reading. I used a different kind of mashing procedure called decoction mashing. It worked very well, however I made one mistake in my calculations and that was to use 212 as the boiling point of water. Here that number is around 203. Oh well, now I know for next time.
Anyway, I wanted to make both of these now so they will have some time to age before the summer comes around. I used the same yeast for both, so all I had to do was empty the primary fermenter and dump the new batch in.
I am going to transfer the Saison to the secondary in which I have the wild beer, adding some oak as well as a wild yeast and bacteria blend, in addition to not cleaning the fermenter out. This should give me a very complex and somewhat sour end product, which is how Saison once was according to my research. I also got some whole hops to dry hop with. Should be pretty amazing.

5 years!

Well, today marks five years since the last day of my cancer treatment and at this point i am considered 'cured'. It feels good to be alive. So many good things have happened in my life since then.
I decided to celebrate with a special beer. This is a bottle of Unibroue 10, a belgian style strong ale brewed by Unibroue to celebrate their tenth anniversary in 2002. I must have bought it sometime shortly after. I remember reading their information and them saying it could stand up to ten years or more of aging. While I did try a bottle back then, I made a promise with myself that I would hold onto this bottle for as long as possible. It is marked 3-3-2002 so I made it 8 years. It tastes great. It is a good occasion to have it and celebrate, but sad because I know I will never have another.

Pasta d'oh!

Since I know my sister just got her pasta maker, I figured I would post the dough recipe I use.
1.5 c semolina flour
1.5 c all purpose flour
1 t salt
1.25 c warm water
Mix all the dry in a bowl, add the wet, and mix until it starts to come together (there will still be loose, dry flour). Dump this out onto the counter and knead 3-5 minutes until the mixture is smooth. You may not incorporate all the loose flour, that is ok. At this point, you can cut the ball into four pieces, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed (if used in the next week or so) or freeze. If you are going to use it immediately, let it rest about ten minutes.
I start by rolling it on number one for about ten passes, folding the dough over on itself after each pass. From there on, I will send it through 3 times per number setting up until five. You will probably have to add some semolina flour to the outsides of the dough to keep it from sticking to itself. When you get to five, let it rest uncovered for about ten minutes. I have been using the fettucini or thicker cutter to cut into pasta.
To cook it, have some boiling salted water ready to go. It'll take only 20-30 seconds to cook. Add your favorite sauce, meatballs, sausage, etc. YUM!

And then.

The past two weeks have not been good for climbing. Transportation wise, I can get there on the bus, but it just takes so much time. Last week I seem to have acquired a slight cold, this week I have to be at work at 2ish three out of five days (which means leaving the house around 1230). Plus I am not feeling all that motivated.
I think the winter is getting to me. This year has just been cold and more cold. Our ten day forecast finally has a few days in or near fifty with lows in the high twenties, which means my hope of starting to ride my motorcycle again in a few weeks seems feasible. I am thinking I should have enough saved up by mid april to get something new.
Last time I mentioned the beer I had going had yet to start fermentation. Shortly after I wrote those words, it did. And boy did it ever. It was maybe the most active fermentation I have seen so far! Yesterday I racked it to the secondary, taking the specific gravity and having a taste. The sg went from 1.063 to 1.006 in six days. Right now that is in the neighborhood of 7+% abv. Taste wise, it was really good. Alot of those fruity esters you would typically find in a Belgian beer, some light tartness, and a light sour/funky aroma.
10 lb Pilsner malt
11 oz Wheat malt
5 oz Acidulated malt
2 oz Crystal pellets @ 90 min
.5 oz Crystal pellets @ 2 min
5526 - Brettanomyces Lambicus
Ferment at 78 degrees for one week, move to secondary and temperatures below 55 for 2-4 weeks. It is currently in my garage where I am sure the temps will fluctuate a bit, but should remain in the 40's.
I think when it gets warmer I am going to start riding my bike to work twice a week or so. I won't have to leave all that much earlier and I can start getting in shape.
I am also working on my application for CU. I still may be able to get into the fall semester, but we shall see.

Cont'd.

I decided that if I don't see any fermentation by tomorrow, I am going to grab a different yeast and see what happens. I think I will turn it into a saison.
Katie got a new job. It will be part time for the next month so she is still going to stay at her current job. After that I believe she will move to full time at the new place. They are opening a second location in Boulder so she would be part of the opening team. She got some really good references from past employers so that is good.
The weather this winter has been pretty crappy. Last year we had our fair share of warmer days (50deg+) during the winter, but this year is all cold. For instance, today and tomorrow we will be around 20 below our average. I was hoping to get out my motorcycle in a few weeks, but I am not sure when that is going to happen. It would be great not to have to take the bus again, though at least I don't have to pay for it.
And the snow. We haven't gotten bombed like those of you on the east coast (not yet anyway!). But we are getting enough in small 2-4 inch storms to be annoying. There is snow in the shaded parts of our yard that has been there since the beginning/middle of December!
Guess that is about all for now. Smell ya later!