Bicycle Tour of Stanley Park, Vancouver

On our second day in Vancouver, Julie and I rented bicycles. The bike shop, called Spokes, was close a multi-use path that went all the way around Stanley Park -- about 12 km or 7.5 miles.

Our ride took around the sea wall. The east side of Stanley Park was more crowded, with many places to stop along the way, and the bike lanes were nice and wide, with plenty of room to pass. The west and southwest sides had narrow bike paths, with no room to pass, with large boulders bulging out into the bike lane at times. There was also a cold wind coming off the water.

Here are a few pictures from our bike ride:

Julie, on her bike, on the east side of Stanley Park, near a marina.

Me, standing next to my bike, on the east side of Stanly Park.

One of our stops on the way was at some totem poles, where we got someone to snap our picture.

This was taken on the west side of Stanley Park, at one of the few pull out stops along the way. We stopped to let some riders pass.

Our Cruise

As I mentioned before, we took a Holland America cruise from San Diego to Vancouver, with a stop along the way in Victoria. Unfortunately, seas were quite rough for a couple of days, so the ship had to slow down. As a result, we got into Victoria late, and were not able to exit the ship. We will have to visit Victoria another time. Other than that, the trip went well. Here are a few pictures:

This was during the safety drill where we had to put on our life vests and go out on deck.

We took a tour of the kitchen, were they prepared all out meals. The kitchen was huge, and all stainless-steel. Here a chef is carving watermelons.

Here is Julie's dad at the blackjack table in the casino.

Julie and I at dinner the first night.

Julie, holding the elephant they made out of towels and left in our room.

Julie and I in the bar at the crow's nest.

At dinner, on formal night.

Here are all of us, Julie's dad and mom, and Julie and I, catching a show.

They called for volunteers to go on stage, and Julie volunteered.

The entertainer at the show, who called himself Edge, who was kind of a comedic juggler, found us in the bar after the show and bought us all drinks.

Julie, dancing with her father.

Quick Tip: Brew The Same Beer Again

Note: This post has been scheduled to post while we are vacation. We will be back May 10th.

One of the hardest things to master is consistency. As a result, one of the best things you can do to help this along is brew the same exact recipe over and over again. In doing this, try to match the flavors of the last batch. This can be difficult because of all the variables: mash temp, hop variation, grain variation, fermentation temperature, and so on. By brewing the same beer over and over again, you will learn a lot about your brewing process and how it affects your beers.

After that, try changing just one thing: an ingredient, mash temp, and so on. Learning how these changes can affect a brew can be invaluable.

Sailing the Seven Seas

Julie and I will be on vacation next week. We are taking a Holland America cruise from San Diego to Victoria and Vancouver, visiting our Canadian friends to the North, aye. As a result, there will be no updates until we get back. When we get back, I should have a post or two about our trip. See you all the week after next. Until then, bon voyage.

The Beer Wagon

We bought a new computer. In doing so, I had to move a bunch of files from the old computer to the new computer. Of course, it was a trip down memory lane, going through all the old competition documentation, pictures, and so on.

In doing all this, I came across a file entitled "beercart." Upon opening it up, I found a diagram I did a couple of years back for a cart to bring to SCA events that holds two corny kegs of beer. I never built the thing, as it was too expensive. Buying the wooden wheels, beer faucets with shanks, oak barrel, picnic cooler with a plate chiller in it, just proved to be too much. Just chalk this one up to "maybe someday."

To be honest, I'm not sure the thing would even work, as it required me to cut a hole in the side of an oak barrel big enough to fit the tops of two corny kegs. To do this meant cutting the metal hoops that holds the barrel together, and I'm pretty sure it would not stay together after that. Those hoops keep the staves of the barrel in place.

Regardless, I thought that I'd post it here. The two top diagrams show a view of what it might look like, while the two bottom diagrams show sort of an x-ray view, including placement of the picnic cooler with chiller plate in it, two corny kegs, and C02 bottle and regulator. Click on the image to see a larger version of it.

Outdoor Wine Tastings

Years ago, here on the Northwest side of Tucson, there was a wine shop and outdoor wine bar called Brew and Vine. Brew and wine was special. It was never snooty. It was laid back and casual. And because of this, it became quite a phenomenon. Every Tuesday night, the Internet based company I worked for invaded the bar, rain or shine. Yes, it was the tech boom of the late 90s. People who were in the know went to that bar. In some ways, it was like Cheers, but with wine.

Since then, the Internet boom busted, and the shop fell on hard times. Sadly, it went out of business. To this day, the people who used to go to that bar still talk about it and the people we used to see on a regular basis.

Right now, it is boom time for wine shops again. Wine has become very popular and is threatening beer as the most popular alcoholic beverage in the US. We've seen many wine shops pop up all over Tucson. Unfortunately, none of them have captured the casualness in an outdoor setting, like the old Brew and Vine -- at least until now.

Julie and I have been visiting Cata Vinos, with friends. Cata Vinos is a wine shop with outdoor seating. They have tastings every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The tastings are a flight of six wines, of which you get a one or two ounce pour. If you purchase a bottle, you can open it there and share it with friends. The nice thing is all their bottles are under 15 bones, so they are very reasonable. I think that we are going to try and go Thursdays, after work, as it is not far from where Julie works.

For the first time in years, someone has captured the magic of the old Brew and Vine. We missed it. We used to talk about it all the time. And now, we can start a new wine tradition, at a new place. We are happy, again.

Moving the Brewery Outside, Part II

As I mentioned last time, I've been thinking about moving the brewery outside. To consider this, I've diagrammed what it might look like.

The images below show the different steps to brewing on an outdoor system, which I have yet to build. Basically, the whole setup is based upon a stepped, three tier wooden frame, built from two-by-fours and plywood, all sitting on casters. It should be noted that the bottom most tier is actually the ground, and between the top most tier and the middle tier is a shelf to hold a propane tank.

This first image shows the mash. In this image, the top tier does not have anything on it. On the middle tier is a 40 quart, Polar Ware, boil kettle, which holds the mash liquor, sitting on a BE410 burner from MoreBeer. The bottom most tier has my MiniBrew Mash/Lauter Tun.

The next image shows lautering. The top most tier is the hot liquor tank, a Polar Ware kettle, sitting on the MoreBeer BE410 burner. The middle tier is my MiniBrew Mash/Lauter Tun. The bottom most tier is a Polar Ware boil kettle that I use to collect my sweet wort. The whole thing sits about six foot high.


The third image shows the boil. The top most tier now holds an empty Polar Ware kettle with piece of plywood on it, to extend the height. On top of that is my cold liquor tank, a blue plastic tub full of ice and water. The BE410 burner has been moved from the top most tier to the middle tier. My Polar Ware boil kettle has been moved from the bottom tier to the middle tier, on top of the burner. Green garden hoses go from the cold liquor tank to the copper immersion wort chiller in the boil kettle, out to the yard. The bottom most tier now holds my conical fermenter, a Blichmann, 7 gallon Ferminator. The whole thing sits about six foot five inches.


All the images shown are to scale, so I have an idea what things look like relative to each other. This gives me an idea at to what my brew day will look like, and what I need to build. I'll definitely need a step-latter to reach the top most tier, to place a full hot liquor tank on it, or to pour ice and water in my cold liquor tank.

That is it for now. I'll keep you guys informed when it comes to building the thing.