Apples and Steel

Lots of pretty cool happenings around here. After years of suffering the insufferable in corporate gyms, I finally found a good deal on a rack, barbell, and weights and got my home gym started. Have already broken it in with a couple of lifts, and clearly I need to adjust the Feng-Shui of the set-up and build a platform as well. Loving it, though. Happy Father's Day to me.

My awesome wife also got me a legitimate pair of weightlifting shoes for Father's day so I can finally squat without my knee exploding every few weeks.

I haven't competed in a Highland Games since June, and I will be back at it in Huntsville, TX the first week of August. Looking forward to coming off a long rest and a couple of training cycles to get my throws locked in. I am really trying to emphasize hammers and sheaf, as I have really been disappointing in those events. Caber is a monster I need to conquer, but that might take a whole off-season.

Here's me throwing the 20 lb. sheaf in my front yard. It's feeling more natural every time I touch it.

I am down to the last few pints of my very first all-grain batch, the "Ill-Advised Pils." I am happy with this beer overall, especially the color and clarity. I am a believer in secondary and cold storage/lagering more than ever after this batch. My gripes are a touch of diacetyl, and a little unwelcome bitterness from using whole leaf hops and leaving it to sit on them for far too long. I think this is a good start to getting a regular, easy-drinking beer ready for tailgaiting season, though.

Next up is a hard apple cider I decided to try making on a whim after talking to Forest Rogness, owner of Austin Homebrew Supply. It's super simple: 4 gallons of apple juice, 2 lb. of dried malt extract and Belgian wit yeast. It's now in cold storage and I am gonna try force-carbonating and kegging it for kicks. Boom.

Gearing up (to get get drunk)

Lots of training and preparation for highland games right now. First games are on February 25-26 in Fort Worth, and I'm feeling strong and ready. Picked up some nagging training injuries, but nothing that should hold me back. One more week of pure strength training and I will switch gears to an in-season program with more emphasis on speed and maintaining strength.

Finally got my fork ready for sheaf too.

Got the 16 lb. practice sheaf stuffed and sewn shut (thanks, honey) but I'm not going to show it because it's um...not...aesthetically pleasing.

Had a pretty busy day with booze yesterday. Finally got the cabernet sauvignon I have had aging in the closet into bottles. Looks and tastes pretty good, but definitely still needs a few weeks in the bottle to finish. Bottling this stuff reminded me why I went to kegging for my beer: saving immense amounts of time.

Finally got my Highland Games Ale in the keg last night and force-carbonated it today. It's pretty much a Scottish Export 80/- with a tiny tweak to the hop profile. It tastes pretty hoppy, which isn't exactly what I was going for. Maybe spending the rest of the week in the keg will smooth it out.

In other beer news - the kind that doesn't require work on my part - I received my first shipment from the Great American Beer Club! A free 12-pack! Ashley's dad and stepmother gave me a two-month membership for Christmas. Hopefully I will get some of these brews up for Tasting Tuesday sometime soon.