Tejas for the Holidays

Well, our holiday trip this year took us to the beautiful Texas for lots of family fun and a wedding!  Our week was absolutely packed... here is the rundown.

Took our beloved Grand Bet to Dallas to run some errands... have lunch...and visit our new nephew, William Samuel Chekanovskiy.

We spent a few days in Daingerfield with Mom and Papa.  We got to sample Papa's latest wine...do pedicures...tinker around on the 4-wheeler... and take a scenic tour of our favorite farm to visit all the moo-moos...we saw lots of wildlife, including deer and a coyote.

Back in Longview, Dad and Neana kept us busy with bike rides, dog walks, and delicious Tex-mex.  We also got to visit St. John's where Reverend Jennene welcomed us; she still carries a picture of us from our wedding day! 

One of the biggest reasons (as if we ever need a reason!) for our Texas trip was cousin Mackenzie's wedding to Brandon Hunter. Connor served as an usher. It was a beautiful wedding...unfortunately, all we have is a pic from the rehearsal.  After the wedding, the whole family went out to celebrate.  We had a great time!

As usual...it was a whirlwind trip.  Not nearly enough time to do all the things we wanted to do or see all the people we wanted to see.  There is never enough time... Can't wait for our next trip. Stay tuned jack asses!

Bier Making and Bottling

Its been some time now since our last post.  We have done so many things since then....Thanksgiving......our wonderful trip to Tejas....and some brewing and bottling.  I would like to fill you in on the beer experiences.  The bottle above is from Anchor Brewing Co.  It's their annual holiday ale.  It is sold from November to January every year.  This is their 37th year and the recipe changes every year.  I plan to quaff this on Christmas Day.  Stay tuned for the critique.

With the season getting cooler here in WA our garage is perfect for lagering.  I brewed my first lager (Vienna Lager) (on the right) of the season in late October, I fermented in the garage for 2 weeks and then lagered in the brew fridge for 4 weeks.  I bottled it this past Thursday.  While the Vienna was fermenting and conditioning I brewed another lager (Munich Helles).  A Munich lager is lighter and more of a "lawnmowing brew".    

Munich Helles recipe:
10# Pilsner Malt
2# Munich
1# Carapils
.5# Vienna
.5oz Hallertau  60 min
.5oz Tetnanger 60 min
.5oz Hallertau  15 min
.5oz Tetnanger 15 min
1oz Saaz  0 min
Yeast:  White Labs German Lager (used in the Vienna)
First Runnings: 1.075
Last Runnings: 1.024
OG: 1.069
SRM 7
IBU 23

After the Vienna was bottled, the Munich Helles got racked from primary to secondary and off it went to the brew fridge to lager for the next 6-8 weeks.  I purchased some grain today to get ready for the last brew of the year.  THB is going to brew a Pilsner in the style of the Czech.  Next Saturday (Christmas Eve) will be the day.  I will keep you posted.

My favorite tree at Papa's farm.  We will post a Tejas blog soon.  Happy Holidays!!!