Merry Christmas

With my glass raised, here is wishing you all a merry Christmas.

Quick Tip: Starting a Siphon

Let's face it. Starting a siphon is a pain in the ass. Beginning brewers are always tempted to start it with his or her mouth, which is a big no no. Even attempting to sanitize your mouth with vodka, or some other alcohol will not work. You will infect your beer. There are techniques for starting a siphon that are much better.

One way to start a siphon is to fill the vinyl tubing with a no rinse sanitizer, crimping it off, and putting it in the beer. Allow the sanitizer drain into a container, to be discarded, until the beer is sucked up and pushes out the end. Crimp the vinyl tubing again, move it over to the container you are siphoning to, and take off the crimp. You only have to be careful not to let the sanitizer flow backwards into the beer.

The easiest way to start a siphon, however, is to use one of the self starting racking canes. These act as a plunger to push the beer through it until the siphon is started. I've been using one of those for several years, and will never go back.

Quitting Smoking: Reflections on the First 12 Days

Julie and I quit smoking. In doing this, we have not used any medication or nicotine replacement aids like gum or the patch. I posted about the first day a couple of weeks ago. This is a follow-up, giving the state of the situation as it stands now. To give a hint: yes, we are still quit, as hard as it has been.

In general, I have to say that it has been both not nearly as bad as I thought and more terrible than I possibly imagined at the same time. What makes it not as bad as I thought is that the urges to smoke have not been as overwhelming as I thought. I knew that I'd get cravings, but they have been quite manageable. What has been more terrible than I could imagine is the mood issues. Particularly in the beginning, I couldn't seem to escape the sense that something was missing. It was like mourning the death of a close friend. It hung over me like a cloud, messing with my moods. There never seemed to be a way to escape it either.

Through all this, I found myself trying to replace my smoking times with other things, changing my behavior patterns. Yes, we would still go outside on the back porch and hang out once and great while, but not for the hours on end like we used to. Mostly we would do it as a novelty and it always seemed a little weird not to smoke. In general, I found my former smoking time being taken up by watching a lot more TV, which to me is not necessarily a good thing. I would try to mix it up with an occasional bike ride. We even went out to the movies, which is something we do very rarely -- anything to pass the time when we used to smoke.

It is no question, day three was the worst. It actually started out okay. In fact, at work, I was thinking that I felt almost normal. Unfortunately, on the drive home, I started sinking in my seat, feeling depressed and anxious. Finally, upon walking into the house, I had a massive panic attack. Like a crazy man, I shuffled around the house in circles in my socks, with tears in my eyes, mumbling nonsense. Julie had to babysit me as I had my fit, trying to talk me down. Afterwards, she went back into the kitchen to find the dogs eating our dinner, which they had counter-surfed off the counter where it was being prepared.

Another difficult time occurred on the first weekend. The weather was lousy -- rainy, cold, and gross -- so we were trapped in the house. I would go from watching TV, to pacing around the house feeling cooped up. Between storms, I'd attempt to go for a bike ride, usually cut short by the next round of rain. The anxiety and boredom was overwhelming. I so wanted to sit outside on the back porch with the outdoor heater running and smoke, watching the rain.

With all the above said, at 12 days out, it has gotten a little easier. My thoughts of smoking have gone from constant nagging to the occasional craving. My behaviors at home have started to fall into new patterns. My mood issues have diminished to occasional minor anxiety fits.

All I have to say is, this is hard, but getting easier. I have to admit that I still miss going outside to sit on the back porch with my wife. Maybe, one day we can do that without the urge to smoke.

Arizona Daily Star: How the Hop Crisis Affects Tucson Brew Pubs and Homebrewers

The Arizona Daily Star, the local Tucson paper, published an article about the hop shortage last Sunday, December, 9, 2007. The Article was entitled, "Major hops shortage affecting price and availability of your favorite beers." Hops, for those who don't know, are in short supply, causing prices to raise up to three to four times the price over last year, and making it difficult to get some hop varieties altogether.

In the article, the Arizona Daily Star talks about how the hop shortage is affecting local breweries and homebrewers. According to the article, one local Tucson brew pub, Gentle Ben's, had to stop brewing certain styles, while another brew pub, Thunder Canyon Brewery, is going to raise prices, especially for hoppy styles. Finally, Brew Your Own Brew, the local homebrew supply store, mentioned that certain hop varieties will not be available at times for homebrewers.

The article was an interesting read. I recommend it for anybody interested in the hop crisis. I especially recommend it for anybody interested in the effects of the crisis on local Tucson breweries.

Happy Belated Repeal Day

I meant to post this yesterday -- better late than never. For your reading pleasure:

Amendment 21 - Amendment 18 Repealed. Ratified 12/5/1933.

1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Quitting Smoking: The First Day

Julie and I are quitting smoking. I know, I know. This is really difficult, especially since beer and smokes go hand in hand. However, it is something we've been needing to do. So, we set a date, and that date finally arrived, yesterday.

I was an odd smoker. I would not smoke at work. In fact, I rarely smoked at all, throughout the day, except on the weekends. Really, I would mostly smoke at home. It was something that I would do with my wife at the end of the day. After dinner, would would spend every night, until bed time, drinking wine or beer, and smoking on our back porch, talking. We would do this rain or shine, hot or cold, day in and day out. I always claimed that it was my favorite time of the day.

In preparation to quit, Julie and I spent all day Sunday smoking up a storm, sitting on our back porch as we always did. As we did that we read aloud Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking. That night I went to bed confident but a little nervous. The book had given me hope. The next day, Monday, was quit day.

Day one went okay, at first. Like usual, I went throughout the day at work and did not smoke. Though I felt relatively normal, I was apprehensive about going home. Minor bouts of anxiety proved to be my companion throughout the day.

Upon returning home, the first of the real challenges occurred. I became confused. My normal routine was to immediately go outside on the back porch and smoke as Julie prepared dinner. I'd been doing that for years. However, this time, upon arriving home, I removed my shoes, changed my clothes, and wandered aimlessly around the house in my socks. What was I to do? I wanted to go outside, but was afraid to.

Julie and I finally wandered outside to cook dinner: pork chops on the grill. So, as they cooked we sat in our normal spots and did not smoke. It was odd. The ashtray was not in its normal spot. My hands wanted something to do. In fact, I felt funny, almost intoxicated, as I looked around at my surroundings: the table, chairs, table top heater, and so on. In my minor panic, I began to question: Why even sit outside if you are not smoking? It is fucking cold out here. I've only been outside a couple of minutes and I'm bored. Am I bored or just anxious? When will sitting outside feel normal again? Will it ever feel normal again?

Julie admitted to me some of her awkwardness, too. She told me that she always timed the cooking of dinner by the number of cigarettes she smoked. We talked about how weird it was for both of us.

After a time, we went inside. With a curse under her breath, Julie dumped out her wine, knowing that we were done with the outside for the rest of the night. It had been too weird.

After dinner, we watched a movie, rather than going back outside. I have to admit, I did not watch the movie too closely, as my mind wandered frequently to thoughts of sitting outside. Would we ever do it again? When will we talk? It is only day one and I miss our conversations. I hope that this gets easier.

After the movie we went to bed. I turned the pillow over and over again trying to find a comfortable spot, flailing around. Crap, I can't sleep.

I finally got up and went to the restroom as Julie called out to me, "I cant sleep either."

I tried for another hour and looked at the clock. Dammit, it is 12:20. So, I got up, took an Ambien, puttered around for another 20 minutes, and finally fell asleep.

That was day one.