Ever have a job you wanted to start, but just didn't feel up to it? That was me in early January after the holidays. I figured I'd wait a week or so until I felt better before starting work on the gas line.
Well, I just didn't have the energy. Starting January 30th I started having low-grade fever. On February 7th the fever went north of 101 and I started the first of three rounds of oral antibiotics. After each course, the fever returned.
The big number arrived by voice mail Monday. Depressing. Bewildering. Large.
I put out a plea for the number of another plumber on the yahoo email group. The first response was back-channel from a DIY (do-it-yourself) Falcon who ended up changing the course of the brewery construction.
The none-too-delicate suggestion was that I stop typing so much and pick up a wrench.
If some of you are hoping this means I won't continue to prattle on endlessly about every valve and coupling, guess again. The total blog reads may suffer, but not more than you, dear reader.
No word from the plumber. The dogs have stayed in the yard. I have to admit, life would be simpler with propane.
It's been a busy week, but not for the brewery. My plan to let the plumber take some time evaluating the BTUs has worked splendidly. Not a peep.
I have had time to ponder the advantages of propane. I had the feeling some brewers I communicated with were rooting for propane, kind of like someone might root for a sports team. Looking back, I can certainly see advantages.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
My own double fantasy is getting a brewery going again while keeping my dog in the yard. Strangely, the two dreams continue to revolve around each other.
(addendum: The line "Life is what happens..." is from the song "Beautiful Boy" from John Lennon's 1980 album "Double Fantasy", http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon )
Sitting in the backyard, watching the sparge water gently seep
through the grains and pour into the boil kettle that sweet, caramel
colored wort that will be beer in a few weeks. Meanwhile, the luscious
scent of bratwurst and warming buns lets us know lunch is almost ready.
And no heavy propane tanks to lug around. Let the Gas Company do the work!
Wham! Back to reality! According to our plumber, I can't afford
to supply half a million BTU's, just in case I need them later. I
really have to figure out how many I'll likely need and pay to install
My dad and I used to brew at least a half dozen batches a year. But
not anymore. Why? It's too much work.
We gather the ingredients, including propane, the day before. And
then on brew day we construct, deconstruct and reconstruct each piece
of the system for each stage of brewing. By the end of the day, we're
both exhausted.
If only we had a system that was already put together. One we could
just wheel out and just start connecting hoses to. One that ran off
