In the past for New Years Eve we have usually had another family or two over to celebrate with us, but this year we decided to have a low key night at home. It actually ended up being more fun than any other NYE night, which just goes to show you...less really is more.
Once again, I was thrilled to have my brother here to celebrate with us. His daughter Sophia had stayed over for a few nights earlier in the week, and her mom kindly let us keep her just one more night so she could ring in the New Year with us. The kids were SO happy to have her here, they just love spending time with her and she is an absolute joy to have in our home.
Matthew and Mike had big plans for the night - they had decided to brew a batch of beer and pitch in the yeast right after midnight, their first batch of home brew in 2011. They set up shop in the garage, and even though it was freezing (literally, it was like 28 degrees) the kids and I had a great time helping them. I don't know all the home brew lingo, or the exact technical explanation for what they are doing, so instead you get my very simplified version of the events.
I do know that this converted cooler is called a mash tun, its where the grains go to soak in a nice hot water bath. Here Matthew is dumping in the last of the bag, and Sophia is stirring it all around:
Killian took a turn stirring:
And so did Rowan (the kids really liked this part!):
While the grains were soaking, we headed inside to get dinner ready. I had wanted to do a bunch of finger foods, but in the end simplicity won and we made pizza's instead:
After dinner, we all headed back out to the garage, this time to watch the liquid from the mash tun be poured out (a process that I am sure has a name much more sophisticated than "poured out").
The spent grains, about 11 pounds of them:
Mike, doing more of that pouring stuff:
I love this picture because it really captures the essence of the beer brewing process. Detailed instructions, plenty of hops and of course, you cant brew beer without simultaneously drinking beer. Looks like the someone needed a refill!
Dumping more water into the mash tun, to filter through the remaining grains:
And finally, a few hours after we started, the beer is ready to be boiled!
At this point, the kids were needing to run around a bit, so they bundled up even more and headed outside for some pop-it throwing fun. A word of advice...don't mess with Rowan when she is in pop-it mode:
She looks so serious in that picture, but she really was having a great time! After the kids went through their boxes, it was back inside for more beer brewing. This time, the kids got to dump in hops and stir them around the bubbly mixture:
Killian was really excited to dump in the first batch, he loves to help:
The girls were so cute, all cozy in their daddies sweatshirts:
After all the hops were added, and the beer had boiled for the specified time the guys had to cool it down quickly to the correct temperature. I don't know what this thing is called, but basically its a big copper coil that you run hose water through, and the coils get cold and then help cool down the beer.
The guys are making a Black Butte Porter clone...it certainly looks dark enough to be the real thing:
After a few temperature checks:
The guys were ready to strain the hops out (the sludge at the bottom makes the beer look brown in his picture, but trust me..its as black as the night sky):
And add the lid to the primary fermentor, where the beer will sit and ferment for 3 weeks before it is bottled:
Two happy dudes, and their brew:
It takes about 5.5 hours to brew beer, so at this point we were really close to midnight. We all bundled up once again to head outside, and do some fireworks with the kids. We had some good ones left over from the fourth of July, and the kids could not wait to get their hands on them:
Killian is old enough to do roman candles by himself, but Rowan and Sophia needed the help of their daddies:
I somehow managed to get this picture at just the right second, it looks so cool!
Rowan was either really excited about the New Year, or delirious because she was up at midnight. Either way, she was one happy girl:
Just before midnight the kids got out pots and plastic serving spoons from the kitchen and clanged and banged their little hearts out:
They ended up breaking each of the spoons, which didn't really bother me (I wasn't about to be upset about a good excuse for kitchen gadget shopping) but it really upset the kids. I think being so tired finally caught up with them. Luckily, just in time, it was midnight, and Matthew set off the two huge cake fireworks we had. The fireworks were beautiful, and it was such a great way to celebrate the start of a new year in our lives:
As soon as the fireworks were done, the kids practically begged to go to bed, and we headed to bed ourselves. We had a wonderful New Year celebration, and I cant help but feel so positive about this coming year. I have an amazing husband who is my very best friend and supports me unconditionally in everything that I do. I have beautiful children, who fill my heart with love and bring happiness to every single day. My brother is *home*, and I cant even begin to express how happy that makes me. We are all in good health, we have all that we could ever need and more, and 2011 is going to be simply the most fantastic year we have ever had. I hope the same is true for all of our dear friends, our family, and all those who share in our lives. Happy New Year!!
Once again, I was thrilled to have my brother here to celebrate with us. His daughter Sophia had stayed over for a few nights earlier in the week, and her mom kindly let us keep her just one more night so she could ring in the New Year with us. The kids were SO happy to have her here, they just love spending time with her and she is an absolute joy to have in our home.
Matthew and Mike had big plans for the night - they had decided to brew a batch of beer and pitch in the yeast right after midnight, their first batch of home brew in 2011. They set up shop in the garage, and even though it was freezing (literally, it was like 28 degrees) the kids and I had a great time helping them. I don't know all the home brew lingo, or the exact technical explanation for what they are doing, so instead you get my very simplified version of the events.
I do know that this converted cooler is called a mash tun, its where the grains go to soak in a nice hot water bath. Here Matthew is dumping in the last of the bag, and Sophia is stirring it all around:
Killian took a turn stirring:
And so did Rowan (the kids really liked this part!):
While the grains were soaking, we headed inside to get dinner ready. I had wanted to do a bunch of finger foods, but in the end simplicity won and we made pizza's instead:
After dinner, we all headed back out to the garage, this time to watch the liquid from the mash tun be poured out (a process that I am sure has a name much more sophisticated than "poured out").
The spent grains, about 11 pounds of them:
Mike, doing more of that pouring stuff:
I love this picture because it really captures the essence of the beer brewing process. Detailed instructions, plenty of hops and of course, you cant brew beer without simultaneously drinking beer. Looks like the someone needed a refill!
Dumping more water into the mash tun, to filter through the remaining grains:
And finally, a few hours after we started, the beer is ready to be boiled!
At this point, the kids were needing to run around a bit, so they bundled up even more and headed outside for some pop-it throwing fun. A word of advice...don't mess with Rowan when she is in pop-it mode:
She looks so serious in that picture, but she really was having a great time! After the kids went through their boxes, it was back inside for more beer brewing. This time, the kids got to dump in hops and stir them around the bubbly mixture:
Killian was really excited to dump in the first batch, he loves to help:
The girls were so cute, all cozy in their daddies sweatshirts:
After all the hops were added, and the beer had boiled for the specified time the guys had to cool it down quickly to the correct temperature. I don't know what this thing is called, but basically its a big copper coil that you run hose water through, and the coils get cold and then help cool down the beer.
The guys are making a Black Butte Porter clone...it certainly looks dark enough to be the real thing:
After a few temperature checks:
The guys were ready to strain the hops out (the sludge at the bottom makes the beer look brown in his picture, but trust me..its as black as the night sky):
And add the lid to the primary fermentor, where the beer will sit and ferment for 3 weeks before it is bottled:
Two happy dudes, and their brew:
It takes about 5.5 hours to brew beer, so at this point we were really close to midnight. We all bundled up once again to head outside, and do some fireworks with the kids. We had some good ones left over from the fourth of July, and the kids could not wait to get their hands on them:
Killian is old enough to do roman candles by himself, but Rowan and Sophia needed the help of their daddies:
I somehow managed to get this picture at just the right second, it looks so cool!
Rowan was either really excited about the New Year, or delirious because she was up at midnight. Either way, she was one happy girl:
Just before midnight the kids got out pots and plastic serving spoons from the kitchen and clanged and banged their little hearts out:
They ended up breaking each of the spoons, which didn't really bother me (I wasn't about to be upset about a good excuse for kitchen gadget shopping) but it really upset the kids. I think being so tired finally caught up with them. Luckily, just in time, it was midnight, and Matthew set off the two huge cake fireworks we had. The fireworks were beautiful, and it was such a great way to celebrate the start of a new year in our lives:
As soon as the fireworks were done, the kids practically begged to go to bed, and we headed to bed ourselves. We had a wonderful New Year celebration, and I cant help but feel so positive about this coming year. I have an amazing husband who is my very best friend and supports me unconditionally in everything that I do. I have beautiful children, who fill my heart with love and bring happiness to every single day. My brother is *home*, and I cant even begin to express how happy that makes me. We are all in good health, we have all that we could ever need and more, and 2011 is going to be simply the most fantastic year we have ever had. I hope the same is true for all of our dear friends, our family, and all those who share in our lives. Happy New Year!!