On the Bright Side

Lets talk about the post-paternity blues. After Graham got here in December I had a solid 30 days off with him and his mama. It was a difficult time but super rewarding. And although by January 1 I was ready to be a productive member of society again, I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to return to actual work. There’s always a post-vacation drag after some time away. And there’s the fact that I wasn’t getting as much uninterrupted sleep as I had pre-baby. But I also just found myself with FOMO related to my new family.

Selfishly, I don’t want to give up time with my son. He changes every day and it feels like work isn’t worth missing those moments. Maybe some of that is me devising an excuse for not wanting to work for other people. Maybe some of it is instinctual and primal, making sure that I am able to shape him and nurture him. Unfortunately we live in a time, and Jaimie and I live in a place, where dual incomes are not just the norm but necessary. We might be able to eek it out on one salary but there would be no savings, zero financial freedom, and traditional retirement further out on the horizon; and a commercial brewery would become a pipe dream. So back to work I am and I must remain. But I digress.

On the bright side (pun intended*), the Helles reached FG and is now lagering. It’s in the keg and I’ll store it away at 37 degrees for a couple weeks before giving it gas. I’ll leave it two additional weeks at 12 psi (about 2.6 volumes) before sampling. I’m aiming for patience with this beer and a solid six weeks of lagering before I consume it. I’ll be submitting this beer to NHC for judging in late March. That will give it approximately six weeks to lager (if I count the last two weeks it’s been cold crashed) and two more weeks in the bottle before judgment day.

I don’t follow a strict lagering rule, however, Brew Your Own via Greg Noonan has a rule based on original gravity. He says 7 to 12 days for each 2 degrees Plato. My 1.048 OG Helles is 12 degrees Plato which means 42 to 72 days. Converting to weeks means a minimum of six weeks and potential of 10 weeks! We’ll see how much of this beer makes it to week 10. If we get a warm snap in March the poor beer may not stand a chance. 

Until next time.

*for you non-beer peoples, the word helles translates from German to English as bright

Link to my Helles recipe here

Link to the BYO article https://byo.com/article/the-lowdown-on-lagering-advanced-brewing/   

An oldie but a goodie because StarSan mustaches are fun