Five Ring Ale

We are brewing.  Okay, well, Chris is brewing.  I am just his lovely helpful assistant.

We should have beer in a few weeks, if we are lucky.  The house smells like beer.  When I opened the package of hops, it smelled like harvest all over again.  Chris wants to save the grains and hops that we removed and use them as potpourri.  I am not completely opposed. 

In honor of the Winter Olympics, we named it 'Five Ring Ale'.  We have 2-3 weeks (I think) before we get to find out if it is drinkable or not. Fingers crossed.  We have to let it ferment before we bottle it.  That will be the fun & messy part.  Oh joy. 

I would not have guessed that Chris would take over my kitchen.  Apparently so.  Here is proof...

We underestimated our time by about 3 hours (We are still waiting).  The heat up and cool down took a little longer than expected.  I did manage to do 4 loads of laundry, watch 3 of my 5 Sunday night shows along with some Olympics, and crave every imaginable sweet thing.  I did settle with apple slices with almond butter and a salad dressed with olive oil.  Poor me?  Don't feel bad, I did enjoy a wonderful treat of Jamba Juice today.  It was the best thing I have had since last Wednesday!  Delicious. 

Things we need to buy for brewing:
-copper wort chiller
-new hydrometer
-new thermometer that reads between 100 degrees and 80 degrees.