Day 104

So, right now in my closet I'm harboring a host of burbling containers of yeasty anaerobic fermentation goodness. We owe so much to our little friends, the yeasts.

A quick rundown of current brew projects:

• Summer Ale (in the big carboy w/ airlock) - Should be nice and light. I bought the grains from San Francisco Brewcraft, a fine establishment where one might find all things good in the world, given that their main ingredients are barley, hops, and yeast. Whenever I go there, there's always this guy who hangs out in the back corner of the store, sitting in a leather easy chair that groans under his weight, wearing denim overalls with one strap unbuttoned. The other employees refer to him as "Griz," and I have a hard time imagining him in a past life without his silver beard and ponytail. Anyway, I asked for something summery, and Griz wrote up the grain recipe for me. He dubbed it "Lawnmower Ale," wrote the ingredients on a sheet, and one of the other guys at the store measured out the prescribed quantities of grains into a bag for me. Once I got the brew going, I added a whole crudload of dried fruits, persimmons (from my grandma; they were already starting to ferment) and nectarines (sulfur-free from Berkeley Bowl). Prescription: Sip on a co-op roof during an especially golden afternoon.
• Hard Pear Cider (green wine bottle on the left) - Made this one real quick and dirty; it's pear juice + champagne yeast, but in a fancy looking bottle. Also, it's pretty fancy pear juice too (organic pear nectar of ambrosial origins, to be exact). Let's see what happens. Might need some aging. Prescription: Serve during a vegetarian dinner for two.
• Applejack (brown bail-top bottle on right) - A holdover from last semester (Fall 2009 vintage) when I made about 5 gallons of hard apple cider. There was a bunch left over that I didn't have the storage space for, so I concentrated it using the time-honored, pioneer-tested method of freeze distillation. Initial tastings concluded that it could use some aging to eliminate the rather unpalatable rocket fuel taste. Prescription: Toast to the new year on a mountaintop.

So that's what I've got in the pipeline. I think brewing my own alcohol has been a pretty enlightening experience since I first started about a year ago. In that time, I think I've gained a fair understanding of what the responsible consumption of alcohol looks like. It's helped that brewing beer is such a huge pain in the ass (in terms of time and cleanup). So much so that I actually try to enjoy my brew whenever I happen to crack one open, usually after a long day at work (it makes me feel so grown-up). It also helps that my attendance at the Forestry Club Bean Feeds (chili and beer night with the other Forestry majors) have made alcohol tertiary in terms of relative importance to interesting people and good food in my hierarchy of successful socializing. I could fit the times that I've been properly drunk on one hand, and it's always the company that determines how much of a good time I have. I look forward not to the actual consumption of the alcohol I have hidden away in my closet; what I really anticipate are the all wonderful people I'm going to share it with.

Day 78

Yesterday I had the pleasure of entertaining Ramon, childhood summercamp friend and bicycling compatriot.

I ate probably one the best meals I've had in a long while at Cheeseboard. And I mean "best" as an equally weighted average of deliciousness and caloric content. As of late I've been running on half rations, as I try to make it to spring break without having to go food shopping.

At dusk, we went up to the Big C on the hill that overlooks the Bay, talking as not-yet-fully-formed men sometimes talk to one another, when the space is quiet and the beer ample.

"So she's an artist... and you never suspected that there might be anything emotionally unbalanced about her?" he asked.
"I'm still very new to this game," the other said.

Day 35

Just got back from the Forestry Club Bean Feed, that most sacred of monthly rituals. The high priestesses and priests of Forestry descend from on high, bearing pots of chili and bottles of honeydew, that the peasantry might rejoice in the passage of another month, and herald the beginning of another. The hot beans and a cold brew were a welcome change from the nightly marathon homework sessions.

Last night I made my way through the first hundred pages of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I like the wandering passages that aren't in a hurry to go anywhere in particular.

Day 31

It's time for the spring thaw. The image of a browning holiday wreath in the trash is somewhat of a contrived, though convenient metaphor.


My army of terra cotta beer bottles. They will accompany me into the afterlife. I just filled and capped all of them, and they should be ready in time for my birthday/Kyle's birthday/end of school/moving out of my apartment bash. Maybe I should refer to my birthday as my brisday. That is a much more vivid image, though a birth is pretty gory too, when you think about it. I don't really know why my parents opted for the extra incision. I guess the people at the hospital figured that if they already snipped the umbilical cord, they might as well lop off the foreskin while they were at it. Maybe they did it at no additional charge as some sort of promotional deal: "Free circumcision with every birth." I guess if that's the case, I can't really blame them, my parents. I mean, who wouldn't take a deal like that?

Old man Salinger is dead now. He died just the other day. Just in case you were too much of a moron to know.


Tonight is curry night! Yang makes a mean curry.

Day 18

I'm a very busy man, so I only have enough time to express today in picto-form.


Richmond Shoreline


Brown Nut Ale

Old hops.

Zoomed in for texture.

I need to leave right now - I have a tea party to attend to.

Money spent: $114`.98
Miles ran: 0
Currently reading: Circle of Reason by Amitav Ghosh