Passing the time at work

One thing I've noted about myself and my hobbies, is that I am meticulous in outlining needs, costs, plans. For example, I spent a large chunk of my shift writing out recipes in my beer notebook, then taking post-its and pricing out from my Midwest catalog all the ingredients for each and every item. I also keep a running inventory list of equipment I own and what I need to buy, who I give bottles to and how many. Because I carry both my wine and my beer notebook with me I have taken to dating any changes I make and then cross-checking them with the other. I have a computer inventory of all of my wines, types, yeasts, fermentation and racking dates, and how many bottles each batch yields. I'm going to build a new spreadsheet for beer soon.

I don't keep this good of track for things that go into writing my dissertation. Obviously, I know where my priorities lay.

So I was cruising the internet and reading through various forum posts on the Midwest brew-wine forum, which is my second favorite forum, after winemakingtalk.com. I spent hours reading the online version of the magazine Brew Your Own. I wrote out a few extract recipes and played with the brew calculator and chatted to know one in particular about the greatness of learning to make beer and wine. No one being my co-workers who have gotten used to listening and asking questions periodically. It keeps them on my good side and guarantees that they continue to reap the benefits of my new hobby by getting free bottles of wine and eventually beer.

While making an inventory list for a brown ale I found on the Brew Your Own site, it occured to me that I should really consider upping my budget for the month from 50.00 to 75.00. I would love to have it at 100.00 but I don't make enough at my job and I really can't justify spending that much on a hobby right now. I might reconsider in the fall when I'm teaching again and have a little extra cash. I priced out how the brown ale not made from a kit would cost me around 30.00. That is not a bad deal. I guess when I get enough beer made the cost will even out because I'll be entertaining more at home instead of going out.

I wonder if I could exchange beer for meals by inviting my friends over for potluck?

The kit I just brewed was from Northern Brewer called Nut Brown Ale. Those are the pictures from various points during the preparation. I think next time I brew I'm going to have a friend come over and take pictures of me working so I can post them in a step-by-step blog post.