Trouble Brewing

I had planned to brew on Sunday. I say planned. Planning being the operative verb. I pulled out my equipment (kettle, fermenter, spoon, ingredient kit). My great plan fell apart in assembly. My fermenter is a bucket with a spigot near the bottom. The spigot needed to be attached. I put it on and threw some water in to be sure of its watertightness. It was not watertight. As I started toweling up water off the floor, I noticed that one of the plugs near the baseboard was wet. Not good. It began to smoke. Really not good. Three inch flames shot from the outlet. Bad. The fire extinguisher kept for such occasions didn’t work. Yikes!

The circuit breaker tripped and the flames ended in an instant like they started.

So, I brewed a batch of American Wheat ale on Monday. In addition to the kit’s ingredients, I added a hint of fresh ginger, which should give it piquancy. As the reporters say, ‘it remains to be seen’ as to whether the batch turns out decent or not. One dog hair can spoil a batch and with my golden retriever, Peaches, wandering through the house, that can happen.

Yet, I still have a house for Peachy to wander through. Whatever I get, it’ll be sweet.

Published by Norm Benson

My name is Norm Benson and I'm currently researching and writing a biography of Walter C. Lowdermilk. In addition to being a writer, I'm an avid homebrewer. I'm also a registered professional forester in California with thirty-five years of experience. My background includes forest management, fire fighting, law enforcement, teaching, and public information.

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