Crunch Time

The UC Davis Brewer's Ceritificate Exam is coming up in one month. Where did the time go? Chad still has a lot of studying to do and finding a quiet moment in this household is not easy. The class is so tough, combining physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics with a whole new terminology/language - wort, lauter tun, carboys, etc. He showed me some of the formulas today for determining the correct amount of hops for bittering, and they are pretty tough. This sure takes homebrewing 5 gallon batches in the garage to a whole new level. That is why it is important to get started brewing on a bigger system as soon as possible if he is going to be doing any production brewing for the bar. To continue with what he has been doing for the past ten years is silly. It is almost the difference between cooking for 2 and catering for a wedding. While some practice is good, there is no amount that will really prepare you for an event that size, except cooking on that scale. We still have several brewery tours including Butte Creek and Sierra Nevada in early November, concluding with his exam in Davis, California on November 15. Between now and then we have our daily grind, our son's 3rd birthday, our 5th wedding anniversary, and a family reunion in Oregon. Chad is going to have cram pretty heavily. It is tough for him though - he hasn't been a student for more than 10 years.

Tonight Chad is at the bar trying to have a meeting with the partners of the Coastline (corporation). He is only a 2% owner but they would like to become an equal partner, taking on more responsibility. The only problem is, they have no immediate plan to start brewing beer for consumption. They are opening a large restaurant in March, in a new building and it is going to take all of their time, efforts and investments to get that off the ground. Chad, however, has no interest in the restaurant business and really can't afford the time and demand it is going to require. Just opening the bar where they are at now, put a lot of stress on us with him gone many evenings. I can't even imagine what our lives would be like during the opening of a restaurant. This won't be James' first restaurant opening, but I am sure it won't be much easier. The main thing is, it isn't Chad's dream. So for now, he is going to go it alone. He has known this for awhile, but it is always difficult to break with business partners when they are also your friends.

Today he brewed up 5 gallons of his American Lager, adding extra Cascade hops for a greener taste. The unfermented, uncarbonated stuff tasted pretty good so I am anxious for this next batch. Tomorrow he is going to brew 10 gallons of his IPA while I spend the day making tamales. Every few months (more often in the Spring and Winter) I get the drive to make large quantities of tamales, preparing the masa, grilling chiles and roasting meats. It takes the better part of 2 days, first making the fillings, then the act of hand pressing the tamales, but the end result is worth it. The smells of steaming corn, chiles, and meats drift out into the neighborhood. Along with burning leaves and the smell of redwood needles dampened by the nightly fog, the smells of tamales mean it is Autumn for me.