What Happened in December

Let's start with what I brewed. On Sunday December 21 I ran outside and brewed my NB Mild kit. It was easily the coldest brew day I have done. I thought that being able to sit by the burner to keep warm would not be bad, but I was mistaken. I ended up breaking out gloves to keep from freezing. I had a boil over, but this was due to being distracted and inside taking care of the kids for a bit. I racked this beer to a keg on January 3rd but due to a bad arm, I did not brew on the 4th like I had planned. I finished off the Wit keg this past weekend as well. I have the fermentor and keg sitting outside soaking in Oxyclean. I also have a plastic bucket out there that I need to rinse out and start another cider soon while the temps are still low and easy to control. I should try and get 2 cider batches done while the temps are down, but right now I need to finish off the keg I have on tap so I have some place to put all of this cider. The mild will be ready to tap in time for my 1/2 marathon completion party, where I can start having a beer or two more frequently during the week. I ran over a bottle of my red to the neighbor while I was off and he seemed to enjoy it as a easy drinking beer. I still find it a bit sweet and would love to dry hop it, but I am thinking about bottling an bunch of it up then hitting about half a keg with the hops. I was able to hit the Lost Abbey party at Papago on 12/18 after doing some Christmas shopping. I got Old Viscosity and Gift of the Magi on tap and it was a great party.