That explains it...

At first I wondered how in the world could an auto factory worker forget to install a brake pad in the caliper of a new car??

Then I saw this video.

We must ban hammers!!!

There needs to be a ban on hammers! If hammers were banned this and this never would have happened!! Too many senseless murders like this one can be stopped if hammers are banned! Road rage like this would cease if hammers were banned! Pizza delivery guys would be safe if hammers were banned!! And of course there would be no convenience store burglaries if hammers were banned!!
Call your congress person now and tell them we must ban all hammers! It's the only way we can stop these atrocities!! Just like they are doing in Australia!!

We must ban banjos!!!

There needs to be a ban on banjos! If banjos were banned this never would have happened!! Call your congress person and tell them we must ban all banjos! It's the only way we can stop these atrocities!!

We must ban pickup trucks!!!

There needs to be a ban on pickup trucks! If pickup trucks were banned this never would have happened!! Call your congress person and tell them we must ban all pickup trucks! It's the only way we can stop these atrocities!!

Ultra Kölsch

Ahhh...nice, crisp German Kölsch. The pale ale lager wanna be. Basically this is a Krisper Kölsch that utilizes Ultra hops that I had on hand. Ultra is very similar to Hallertauer and Saaz hops which are used for making German style lagers. Using Kölsch yeast that generally likes ~75 degree temps this is a great substitute for a lager when you just aren't able to ferment at lager temps. But this makes for a very slow fermenting beer when your house only gets up to 68 degrees during the winter months. It is especially slow when it comes to bottle conditioning. I usually try one of my beers after two weeks in the bottle and they are pretty much fully carbonated. At two weeks this one wasn't even close to fully carbonated. At four weeks it's probably just there. This is definitely one of those recipes I will brew again.


Recipe for a 5 gallon batch:

Grains
7 lbs. German Pilsner (2 row)
1 lbs. German Wheat Malt
 .5 lbs. Honey Malt

Hops
1 oz. Hallertau (First Wort Hop)
.25 oz. Ultra (15 mins)
.25 oz. Ultra (5 mins)

Specifics
Mashed at 150* for 60 minutes
Boil time: 60 minutes
WLP029 German Kölsch yeast

Gravity
Original Gravity 1.040
Final Gravity 1.006
ABV 4.5%

Fermenting schedule
Brewed on 12/31
Transferred to secondary on 1/18
Bottled on 1/27

Parti-Tyme Porter

This was a variation of a recipe from the dude that got me started in brewing. It's his "Family Time Porter" that I beefed up a bit. It was actually my first parti-gyle brew (hence the name). The porter was from the first runnings and I made an APA from the second runnings, which turned out to be rather undrinkable. Anyway, the porter ended up being a hit. Everyone who has tasted it has said it's my best brew yet. It's not quite hoppy enough for my taste but I do enjoy it.
I didn't use a secondary for this one, just a month in the fermenter then straight to the bottle.
It pours with a pretty good head but it quickly goes away with minimal lacing. Probably would have had better mouthfeel if I would have used some flaked oats like I have with my other stouts.
With the big grain bill it clocks in at a whopping 7.4% ABV. Now that is party time!

Recipe for a 5 gallon batch:

Grains
15.25 lbs. Marris Otter
12 oz. Chocolate Malt
8 oz. Crystal 80
5 oz. Black Patent

Hops
.75 oz. Northern Brewer (60 mins)
.5 oz. Northern Brewer (30 mins)
.25 oz. Northern Brewer (2 mins)

Specifics
Mashed at 153* for 60 minutes
Boiled for 60 minutes
WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Gravity
Original Gravity 1.063
Final Gravity 1.006
ABV 7.4%

Fermenting schedule
Brewed on 11/21
Bottled on 12/23
(No secondary)

Miller Lite clone

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Seriously? You make your own beer and you made Miller Lite?!" ML is one of the most popular beers served in America and I actually used to drink the stuff before getting into "real" beer. Basically I wanted to make something for guests that come over who don't normally drink beer or are used to watered down American lager like Bud Light or Miller Lite. And wanted to make it better than ML. Not sure if I'd call this better, it's different but certainly close. The color is more of a Bud or Michelob color, and not the slightly darker golden color of Miller Lite (when I waited tables this is how we could always tell the difference between a glass of Bud or a glass of Miller). You can taste the corn flavor (almost too corny) and the Cascade really shines through. Probably a bit too bitter for ML but I like it. Those that have tasted it so far have given it the thumbs up. If I brew this one again I'll probably cut the bittering hops to .5 oz, add a tiny bit a darker malt and cut down on the corn.

Batch size: 5 gal.

Grains
3 lbs. Pale malt (2 row)
1.75 lbs. Pale malt (6 row)
1.75 lbs. Flaked Maize


Hops
0.6 oz Cascade (60 min)
1.0 oz Cascade (flameout)
1.0 oz Cascade (dry hop)
(triple hopped!)

Specifics
Mashed at 150* for 60 minutes
Boiled for 60 minutes
Yeast: Safale US-05

Gravity
Original Gravity 1.033
Final Gravity 1.007
ABV ~3%

Brewed on 12/23
Dry hopped on 1/3
Bottled on 1/8

Why didn't they just shoot him in the leg or something?!

In any kind of defensive handgun training class, whether it be police or private citizen training, you are always taught to shoot to "stop the threat". You are never taught to "shoot to kill". You keep shooting until the threat is stopped, which may mean death for the bad guy.

Too many times after a police or civilian shooting that ended in death you will see comments along the lines of  "They didn't have to kill him! They could have just shot him in the leg!" Here we even have a ridiculous attempt at legislation in New York that would require police to shoot a suspect in the arm or leg instead of center mass. The article outlines why this is a ludicrous notion. There are several reasons why shooting someone in an appendage is not the best plan.

First, you are responsible for every bullet that comes out of your gun. One of the four basic rules of handling a firearm is to know your target and backstop. Trying to shoot a moving arm or leg is simply nearly impossible and will guarantee a miss, possibly hitting something or someone else behind your target. Guns only get shot out of the hands of bad guys in the movies. To try and shoot someone in an arm or leg would simply be irresponsible and dangerous.

Hitting someone in the arm or leg most likely will not stop the threat. The bad guy with a gun or knife could easily keep shooting or coming at you even after being shot in the arm or leg. The 21 foot rule states that it takes less than 2 seconds for an attacker to reach you at 21 feet. If you've shot a knife wielding criminal in the arm or leg that is 21 feet away and already headed toward you you have not stopped the threat and will more than likely end up maimed or dead.

Also shooting someone in the leg doesn't always guarantee their survival. A bad guy can die after being shot in the knee. Or, as I posted in one of my previous blog posts, die from being shot in the hip. 

Update: Hmm....Maybe the police CAN shoot someone in an apendage??