The Great Grape Crush of 2008

We finally got our shipment of California Grapes, delayed by weather - specifically by Hurricane Ike that hit Cincinnati. . . Yes that’s right, the Ohio Valley was hit by a Hurricane around 2 weeks ago. Never thought I’d say that in my lifetime. . . Luckily, we sustained little damage and never lost power. Not so for many people who had lost power for over 7-10 days. . . craziness.

But back to the grapes. . . .They looked great and most of them are happily fermenting away as we speak. Three of us usually make wine together, and between the three of us we are making a Chardonnay, Muscato (Muscat), Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our big shipment of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon is coming in at the end of October. . . . and it is arriving frozen. They pick the grapes and flash freeze them within a few hours of picking, so we know they will be fresh. Can’t wait !

Until the next post, Cheers !

Go Guest !

Guest is a local (Ohio) band that has been around 10 plus years and they still absolutely rock the house !

Ryan "Buzz" Bussey designed a really nice shirt for their 2 upcoming shows. Thanks Buzz for a great design and the referral!

Here their band rep Louis Kontos drove down from Columbus to pick up shirts. The shirts turned out great and everyone is happy !
Friday Guest is playing in Columbus and they will be in Athens, Ohio Saturday night! Check out their myspace profile at :
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=66510205

Cincinnati needs to get these guys to come play a show soon.

Ten Fiddy is here! !

It’s been a while since I have posted. 2 weekends ago we were at Bill and Jill Levenderis’s wedding in Oxford. We saw a bunch of old friends, ate some great food, and heard some phenomenal music by a band called Guest.

My friend Rob from Wisconsin brought me a ton of Ted Fiddy. . .an Imperial Russian Stout from Oskar Blues in Boulder, Colorado. Its as thick as oil coming out of the can, with a great nose of chocolate, malt, coffee, cocoa and oats – rated 100 points out of 100 by http://www.ratebeer.com/ . Some friends and I will be disecting these beers in an attempt to clone. . we'll see how it works out. . .
But I’ll be tucking away quite a few of these babies away for aging for sure. Thanks Rob !

We took pictures, which I’ll post later . . . I’d hate to be the person cleaning up our hotel room. . .

Listermann Mural

Baby steps. . . .a little each day. . .

Watch as soon as I am done. . . .someone will hit it with Graffiti. . . knock on wood. .

Going Into The Sign Business

Several days ago I began the Listermann mural. We set a projector up in the middle of the street, put out orange cones, and attempted to direct traffic around the project while I was up on scaffolding tracing the image with a sharpie. Fun !

As I was up on the scaffolding, 2 police came racing out of nowhere. . . . and I thought we were in trouble. Turns out they were curious what we were doing. . . and they wanted to know how to make beer! Dan Listermann chatted with them for the next 30 minutes while I finished up the tracing.

I started painting a few days ago and its going slow. The white pops out pretty nice and I think it will look great when it’s done. . . .

And the sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside. . . .

Spraying the black and the finished sign.

Mr. Ming exhausted after helping. . . . .

“Off The Beaten Path” is officially open for business ! ! This new retail store is owned and operated by Johnny and Shelley Helfinstine in Oxford, Ohio. . . .and today is their grand opening. -
I finished the sign last night and Johnny came by early this morning to pick it up. I think it turned out pretty nice. This is just a temporary sign until we can get permits for the big Storefront Sign (10 feet by 2.5 feet).

Veggies, Meat, and Cigars!

The vegetables are starting to come. This year we have 6 or 7 different kinds of cherries, romos, and the beefy slicers. . . .also some jalapeno peppers and some green peppers . . . .all much tastier than the ones in the store. This was our first year for cucumbers and they were very easy to grow. Next year we’ll plant more.

Over the weekend we grilled salmon and veggies. The next night I got a hankerin for Caribbean Jerk marinated Rib eyes ( thank you Food Network and Bobby Flay) and rib eyes were on sale at Meijer’s, so we had a super late dinner on Saturday. These are the rib eyes with a store bought Caribbean Jerk marinade spiced up with some fresh thyme and mango. Thanks to Krista’s mom for hooking us up with all this food !

Every once in a while I’ll enjoy a nice cigar. I’ve been trying to stock up my humidor and it it’s slow going. . . .my father’s humidor, on the other hand, is looking good in these pictures! All the yellow labels are cigars from Spain that he brought back. Man are they tasty! Thanks Dad!

Are Pyrex Carboys Flame Safe?

In short, the answer is no. I wasn’t any part of this experiment, but happened to walk in on the tail end of it for the best part.
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Question: “Your making beer, why didn’t you boil in a stainless steel kettle like everyone else? “
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Answer: “Because glass looks way cooler”. Especially when it explodes, sending shards of glass flying through the air. . .

Danna nana nana nana Danna nana nana nana, Batman !

We saw the new Batman movie on its opening night and the theater was as packed as I have ever seen it. Glad I got my tickets online, so we zoomed into the theater and found some seats. . . pretty much the last 2 seats together in the house. Then I proceeded to wait in the concession line for 15 minutes and missed most of the previews.
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I won’t give away any of the details, but I will say that it’s the best movie I have seen in a while. And at the end everyone clapped and went nuts. . . . definitely worth the money to see.
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As we were leaving the movie, the line for the next showing was out the door. A few guys waiting in line( I think that had been drinking) noticed my Homebrewing shirt and started yelling and screaming. We had a conversation about Cream Ale (since we’ll be brewing and selling some at the store). Pretty good group of guys. . . .as are most homebrewers !

Good Beer Radio ! ! !

A few weeks back I was fortunate to take part in Pod Cast radio show called Good Beer Radio. It was held at my local homebrew shop called Listermann’s, where I help out (work) on Saturdays. They had a great line-up of guests, including John Palmer, who wrote “How to Brew”; Steve Wilkes and James Spencer of Basic Brewing Radio (another Pod Cast Radio show); Jeff Bearer of Craft Beer Radio; Dan Listermann; Bonus Beer Bob and the Host of Good Beer Radio, Jeffrey T. -
The show usual features the tasting of commercial beers, but this show was dedicated to homebrew, so there were 20 or so beers that they went through and tasted.
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My buddy Phil and I sat and watched some of the show. Originally I thought we’d sit there and watch the show or help out if they needed anything, but I was asked to sit in on the show when the group tasted an Imperial Bourbon Barrel Stout I brought ! Pretty exciting stuff ! ! !
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Here are the links to the shows. . .
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http://www.goodbeershow.com/
Download show #156, then go to 33.34 to listen to them taste my Imperial Bourbon Barrel Stout.
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The other podcast shows can be found on these websites. . .
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http://www.craftbeerradio.com/
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http://www.basicbeerbrewing.com/

Pictured from left to right. . . John Palmer, who wrote “How to Brew”; Dan Listermann; Bonus Beer Bob; James Spencer and Steve Wilkes of Basic Brewing Radio (another Pod Cast Radio show); the Host of Good Beer Radio, Jeffrey T.; and Jeff Bearer of Craft Beer Radio.

Cheers !

Preparing Screens

Well, this is a blog about T-Shirts, right? Guess I better put some shirt stuff on here. . . Last night I prepared a screen to do the Listermann T-Shirts. We'll do a complete line of shirts, as well as some tote bags ( for carrying beer of course!)
Here's a photo of my ugly, wet mug after washing out the screen. It's a messy job. . . .Notice the Hawaian swim suit complete with St. Alphonzo's T-Shirt. . . . ?

Just Another Brick in the Wall. . .

Thanks to my good buddy Phil, the "Listermann Mural" has begun. He lent me his extremely powerful Honda power washer to wash the side of the building.

I started scraping on Sunday, and will continue to do so throughout the week. Then I'll lay a base coat of paint on there and finally, paint the mural last.

Cricket - the dog

My parents dog is CRAZY ! She's an over sized German Shepherd that is 2 years old and only beginning to calm down. My parents are gone for a week so my sister Brooke is "babysitting".

Here she is sitting on the couch being a goof. . .

Fire, Food, and Fun !

Krista and I went to visit some good friends of ours up near Oxford, Ohio. . .Johnny and Shelley. They have an awesome house with a huge barn and lots of land. We cooked hot dogs, bratwurst, couple of giant pieces of beef, and veggies, along with potato salad. Johnny knows how to do it up right. . .
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Dave Sabo, meat master extraordinaire, smoked the beef. Then we had a giant fire, Sabo wrapped some salvaged copper wire around a giant stick and stuck it in the middle of the fire. When we lit the fire it gave off some pretty neat colors. . . He'll go back the next day and grab the wire and turn it in for scrap. . .
His wife Shelley is opening up a retail store in Oxford called “Off the Beaten Path” and have asked me to help them design a sign and logo for their business. Here’s what we came up with and I think it works well with their theme/philosophies on life. . . Stay tuned for pictures of the actual construction of the sign, and if your ever in Oxford, check out their shop ! The Grand Opening is sometime in August. . . !

Rock Lobster !

I went swimming at the pool over the weekend. I wanted to get a tan, so of course I did not put on any sunscreen, despite the advice of my girlfriend, her sister, and numerous other persons.

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So bottom line, I am a lobster. I won't disgust you with photos of me. . .instead here's one of John Candy in "Summer Rental". . .its a good comparison. . trust me. . .

Website is up and Running !

Its not much to look at yet, but the website is up and running !
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Need shirts made, need a design, give us a call, check out the site !
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http://www.cincinnaticustomtshirts.com
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Below is Patrick and Chuck, a couple of fellow home brewers. Look how excited they are !

My Tomatoes Ain't Tainted

My tomatoes aren't tainted. . .because we don't have any yet.

Meet the Kids. . .

These are our babies, we have had both of them since they were kittens. Mr. Ming (the tiger cat) is a big boy, weighing close to 23 pounds, follows me around like dog, scratches at the porch door when he wants to go out, goes nuts when I poor a glass of milk, and sleeps at the corner of our bed everynight.
Opal (we call her Tee), is only slightly smaller than her big brother, and loves to hide under beds, jumps in the shower to let water drip over her head so we have to pet her to dry her off, and likes to give little love nibbles when your laying on the couch asleep. . . .

One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, Smelly Fish. . .

After a glorious weekend in New York, I came home to my house reeking of rotten fish. . .
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My poor fish had met its maker, and to get back at me for spending years of his uneventful life in a square glass box, he bloated up like a stinky watermelon, and secreted a mass of slime which clouded over my tank like fog on a lighthouse. . . in no doubt trying to take his fellow tank mates with him to the other side. . . .

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Don't get me wrong. . I am sad. . . but pissed I have to deal with this stinky mess. . . .

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So long Pat Jr. . . . . you will be missed. . . .

I want one. . .

Went to Krista's cousin's for a graduation party. They had a beautiful house with a wooded lot and a pond. The pond was loaded with giant fish that would practically jump up and take food from your hand. Look how blue this water is ! I want one. . .

Were Not Winos . . But the pictures say otherwise. . .

I got together with a fellow co-worker and bottled some wine last night. Every year three of us go in on grapes shipped from California to Ohio and we make wine. . . .mostly Red wine.
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The wine in the oak barrel is a 2006 Zinfandel from the Sutter Ridge region in California. It’s been in the barrel for approximately 1 year, 4 months.
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We ended up with 9 cases (split 3 ways) and filled a few carboys for further bulk aging.

We named the dog Indiana. . . .

We went to see the new Indiana Jones movie on Sunday over Memorial Day weekend. Man, was I excited to see this movie. I have been waiting for 15 plus years to see a sequel. . . As a movie connoisseur I won't give my true "in-depth" opinion of this movie because this blog is supposed to be fun and upbeat. . .

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I will say that it was fun to see this movie and nice to see Indy on the screen again.

HOSTA-lavista Baby. . . .

It's a little late to be splitting up Hostas right now, but we had no other choice. These babies are getting huge ! If you don't know about hostas, they are a great ground cover, nice and leafy, and they can get big. They prefer shade but can do all right in partial sun. . . .

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If you are poor and can wait a few years, all you have to do is plant a few of these guys and each year split them up. In a few years you'll have hundreds. . .

Thirsty?

Here’s the finished beer! . . . We were up until 2:00am banging around and keeping the neighbors up. . .heh, heh. . . .
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Total amount - 4 kegs of a Pale Ale (similar to a Sierra Nevada with more hops) and 4 kegs of a Brown Ale (similar to a New Castle Ale)
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Many thanks to my friend Phil who let us use his garage as storage and his time and kept us fed.

Driving the cleaned kegs . . .

Gary Copper giving us a hand. . .

Phil. . . .Master Brewer. . . .

the finished product. . .