Beer Batch #3: Centennial Pale Ale + Recipe

Today was our first attempt doing the brew in a bag method (BIAB). We decided to see if it would work for future batches by making a pale ale. Our recipe was incredibly simple.

Step 1: Assemble supplies

DIY Hydroponics -- Deep Water Culture (DWC)

This week I am actually back home at my parents' house. So I decided to be useful and build them a hydroponic setup for lettuce and other greens. I decided that a deep water culture setup, similar to the one I have on my balcony would work best. The main differences between mine and theirs are:

1) They have aeration
2) Different sized plastic
3) Using smaller net pots.

Additionally, since I did not bring my fertilizer, I will be using some of theirs, some 18-18-21 tomato fertilizer. Here are the necessary and optional materials:

Grape wine from concentrate ages well

I forgot that I had a bottle of white wine left from when I brewed it last February. So I decided to pull it out and taste it. It turns out that it did age and for the better. I'm not good at describing flavors, but it makes me want to make some more wine. Luckily, I now have two 1 gallon glass jugs I can use as fermentation vessels, so I can now make small batches of wine or mead.

Boring Bar Holder

Since my tool post has no way to put my boring tools on centerline (let alone holding them), I built this holder for them.  Since all my boring tools have the cutting edge aligned with the center of the shank, all I had to do was raise the center of the shank .5" off the tool post.  The hole is .75" and the smaller tools fit with adapter sleeves.

Using the same 2"X1" hot rolled steel, I milled off a piece 1.5" long.  I really should get a saw.

Summer is almost over -- Garden update September 5

It has been a while since I showed the upstairs garden off. My second round of cherry tomatoes are beginning to mature. Here is a close up shot of the tomato canopy.

It's getting harder to water these