chromosphere

…Chiswick.

The Vintage will be put into “store” for several (18…?) years. The XX (see Ron’s post for details), which I really didn’t expect to get my hands on at all, may not last quite as long, but it’ll be a long drawn out process of drinking them to see how they slowly mature, starting this Christmas I think.

In homebrewing, I have brewed 20 batches of beer this year (so far), of which I was highly commended in the CBA national competition in Skipton in Strong Ales and took a first in bitters over 1045 at Sutton in the London and Home Counties competition in November with my “Yew Tree Ale” (Pale, wheat, caramalt, Munich, WGV & fuggles, WLP005). Both beers made their debut at Badger’s stag in Wales – went down just as well (if not better) with the boys as well as with the judges

No complete disasters yet either this year – and maybe even time to get one or two on at Christmas too if I’m lucky.

The first sample of a 7.2% Belgian Dark Strong Ale I brewed way back in mid-April. It has been conditioning for the last few months and it is now getting very smooth indeed. Excellent carbonation; slightly peppery; some faint banana with some dark fruits (though could do with more to be more like a Rochefort); hints of roses in the aroma; warming alcohol and slight, but pleasant sourness in the finish.

Not too bad at all. And looks great in a good glass.

I have been incredibly slack on the blog. I’m just popping on to say: “Dammit Yahoo!” – http://www.ygroupsblog.com/blog/2010/03/24/updates-in-your-groups/ – Enabling this for everyone is a real pain in the arse!

Grrr!

The snow has gone!

Recent beer – a brew marathon:

• Dark mild – racked into keg and fined; 13 pints remainder bottled (somewhat cloudy!)
• Belgian Blond – dropped 65 points in 8 days. Chimay yeast=wow.  Crash cooling, should be a good one.
• 80/- – probably mostly done inside 4 days. Give it a while to tidy up though. Smells caramel and roasty.
• Mad Boris RIS Mk II – the most foam I have ever seen; 35-40L at least. 1.088 OG rapidly dropping still!

Flipping cold. About -9C last night (and -17.7C the other side of Oxford), and more of the same tonight.

But the cold weather has bought some unexpected visitors – notably there were a few reed buntings (pictured) flying around the garden all day (first time I have seen them here), as well as a late visit from a pair of siskins who haven’t been around for ages. Yesterday, a local great spotted woodpecker popped in for a while. All this as well as a load of chaffinches, goldfinches, robins, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, blackbirds, song thrushes, a pair of yellowhammers, wood pigeons (grrr) and the local house sparrow colony.

Nice.

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Welcome to 2010. This year’s upcoming stuff:

• Annular Eclipse over Africa, India and China on 15th Jan
• Total Eclipse over the Pacific on July 11th (and quite a long one too)
• Total Lunar Eclipse on Dec 21st
• The Winter Olympics
• The World Cup

I won’t be going to watch any of these events (though I might just sneek a peak of the lunar eclipse if I’m up early in the morning and it’s clear). And, if I can help it, I may avoid the World Cup on TV almost entirely too…

In brewing news, my Southwold bitter just lasted the holidays, my East India Pale Ale (Amsinck, 1868 – from the Durden Park book) has finished and is in the keg, and I have a big starter of yeast recultured from Chimay Red to play with in the near future.