Yaktoberfest 2011 (and RIP Steve Jobs)

About a week ago, an iPad 2 arrived in the mail (my lucky wife's business card was picked out of a bowl). Oddly I suppose, this was the very first Apple product of any kind I've ever owned. Ironic, given the passage of Apple maverick-in-chief Steve Jobs just days later.  Anyhow, people all over the world are paying tribute to Jobs, so I thought I'd do so too in my own little way, by creating a post via iPad for the first time.  Installed the Blogger app on the incredibly slim and light tablet and voila, good to go.

So in need of a subject matter, I thought I'd post about the other thing I was doing at the moment -- brewing beer.  For the second time in three years, our friends in the area are throwing a homebrewing benefit, Yaktoberfest.  In 2009, several local brewers served our finest ales and stouts on a local cul-de-sac and asked people to donate a few bucks each, which we donated to Heifer International.  We bought one whole water buffalo and were proud of what we were able to put together quickly.

Last year we couldn't find a good weekend to hold Yaktoberfest, bet we vowed to try again in 2011.  And lo and behold, we're back at it.  Yaktoberfest 2011 is October 22, same cul-de-sac (you'll have to ask for the address, but if you're truly interested I can share it).  We're aiming to have about 10 different beers available this time, but maybe someone or something unexpected will show up.  We also went out and got tasting glasses and will ask people for a $10 minimum donation for glass.

I'm contributing at least 2 brews:  A "Texas Red," a very, very pretty red ale, and a Baltic Porter, which was a smash in 2009 due to its heft.  Today I thought I'd try to squeeze one more in, a kolsch.  It will be tought -- only 16 days to go, but I think if I rack in 5 days and bottle 5 days after that, I'll be good to go.  Let's hope we ferment quickly, as we usually do.

For people into beer or brewing, I tried a new type of yeast, the Wyeast Labs "punch pack."  Grains are barley and wheat; hops are Crystal (1 1/2 oz. bittering; 1 1/2 oz. flavor).

Here are a few pictures I took with the iPad.  The first shows the mash boiling.  The second shows the Baltic Porter in secondary fermentation (look carefully in the mirror and you'll see me and the 'pad).  Check back in a few weeks for a Yaktoberfest update.  Oh, and here's a great article about Steve Jobs and how he really had his fingers on the pulse of American (world?) culture as much as any politician.