Yes, I know it has been a while. Lest ye think I have lost the taste for the habit, i have been so busy that I have not had time to post. I have 3 on tap, 2 in wait, a Belgian in the carboy, and an Amber just waiting to be brewed.

I have upgraded from a canning pot to a proper brew pot, with a fancy thermometer that screws into place.

I even crafted some 1/4" copper tubing into a home made wort chiller.

Most importantly, the head shakes and the "oh, not again" look from the wife has developed into irritation at the impact crater I supposedly leave in my wake as I brew. To rectify this, I purchased a Brinkmann outdoor cooker. Now the birds and squirrels will exhale loudly as they think "does it ever end?"

I have also come up with some lists to remind me of what tools and buckets, etc, I need for different tasks (i.e. brew day, yeast starter, kegging and/or bottling day). I will post some of these because I periodically lose track of the binder I keep those in.

So let's start with the freezer. It turns out I was never in any risk of having the beer freeze. After lagering, I thought I would turn the cold up a little, so I turned down the temp on the thermostat. After a week or two, I thought I should probably make it colder. Another turn of the thermostat. Still not cold enough. Screw it, it's going down into the high 20's. No change.

Turns out there is some sort of freon link, and as freon has this nasty habit of dispersing the ozone layer, you cannot get it at the neighborhood hardware store. So I am evaluating options. For now I will have to deal with beer at 47 degrees. And get back into bottling.

That's all for now. Next time I'll cover what's in production and consumption phases.