Roll out the Barrel

It's been a while since my first batch of beer and, today, my car's turbo went 'pop' and so I was... delayed getting home. Also, stress for getting to work tomorrow. Hopefully car will be fixed in time for fun and shenanigans on Wednesday evening (after work) in seeing the Pet Shop Boys.

Much pootling makes berry bad beer barrel badly.

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Over the weekend the tribe wen to a wedding down south. We missed the huge storms, the Biblical lightning and all other things that make storms exciting (well, we may have had them overnight but I was too tired to rouse myself to see them) and just had rain. Until we made the wedding where it was hot. Damned hot. It's so hot I could've put stuff in mah shorts and cooked it. Done a little crotch pot cooking. I say, were you born on that sun? It's hot. So hot, I saw this little guy in orange robes burst into flames, it's that hot. And wet. That's good if you're with a lady but it ain't no good if you're in the jungle.

Aaaanyway. This meant that adding the flavour was late. By about a day. And that flavour was strong. I mean, no sooner had the sachet been added than the kitchen became pungent with the aroma of very strong raspberries and sugar. Ouch. Still, I resolved that I would barrel the concoction this evening having nipped across to the Beer Shop for a brush to make sure that my barrel was clean. I remembered a smear of yeast that somehow had remained after being rinsed and washed the last time. Then the car went pop so that didn't happen.

I brought the barrel out anyway, in an effort to keep the beer on track. But that smear has... well, I filled the barrel with water and there's stuff in there looks like goose-poop - all wibbly and jelly-like and strange. And it reeks of yeast. Reeks. So... yeah, I can't wash it out. I've tried adding boiling water but I lack a brush long enough to get in the barrel and scrub the sides and no Heath Robinson method of rigging one up. It's not like I can get in the car, it's in the garage, for a while either. Poor timing. I'm not free to mosey on out to get a brush until Thursday anyway (and that after a late night watching the Pet Shop Boys). Ladies and gentlemen of the beer brewing world (and people who feel the need to read what I done write) I think I may have killed this fruity batch.

We'll see. When I do sally forth for beer making supplies I shall buy in the necessaries for Batch 3 and see if I can't improve on this time around (which shouldn't be too hard). Assuming, of course, that a popped turbo won't wipe out the gains made from examining this year. *le sigh*