This afternoon I donated the use of my kitchen to Paul's lambic-making operation, in exchange for some of the product. He had picked the berries a couple days ago (some of which I used to make a yummy pie), and came over to make the beer (which I insist is not beer, because I do not like beer, but I like lambic) this afternoon. It was a very messy process, which I was prepared for, since I've witnessed beer-making in this kitchen before, but I think the product will turn out well. Of course, we'll have to wait about six months to find out, since that's how long it has to sit and ferment. Fortunately, Paul lugged the jug back to his apartment, so I don't have to house it for all that time. :)
While Paul was boiling beer and fiddling with his laptop I laid down on my futon for a cat nap. My front door was open for a cross-breeze, and my futon is along the wall next to the door. I was woken quite suddenly by a loud knock on the door. It was my new friend Jon from the other side of the hall (I met him a few weeks ago when he paused at my door to remark on Alice's immense size), who walked in and said, "Hi. Wanna go rappeling?" We'd been talking about climbing the night before, and I had mentioned that I'd love to get back into it, so I guess he was giving me the opportunity. I was still rather dazed from my sudden awakening and didn't really comprehend. I said, "What, right now?" "Yeah, right now!" Ummm.... I've got somebody in my kitchen making beer at the moment.... So I couldn't go, but that's probably just as well.
After the beer was done Paul and I went out to the garden and trimmed the mite-ridden leaves off the zucchini, pulled up the cabbage that bolted a week ago, and planted a bunch of new seeds for fall and winter crops. Unfortunately, Paul got a little overzealous with the hoe and churned up a couple of areas where I'd planted carrots and basil and wildflowers a couple of weeks ago. I had shown him where I'd planted the seeds so he would know where to water, and where not to plant anything else, but apparently he hadn't paid full attention. So I don't know if those things will come up or not, but we'll see. I have hopes. All in all, I'm pretty darn happy with the progress the garden has made and the delicious produce it has provided.
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I wasn't very involved with the process, but it didn't seem that complicated; just messy and time-consuming. It's a lot of boiling and adding more ingredients and boiling some more. The recipe was originally for raspberry lambic, but the blackberries were free. It made 5 1/2 gallons, will sit in a giant glass jug for a month, then something happens (magic?), then it sits for five more months and then it's ready to bottle and drink. That's really about all I know. I'm not sure if I can get the recipe, but I'll see what I can do.
Alright, here's what Paul says about the lambic: "The recipe I used was adapted from the Frumentacious Framboise Belgain Lambic recipe from "The Home Brewer's Companion" by Charlie Papazian." It looks like you can get that book for $0.38 on Amazon. :)
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