And far too long, really, since I did anything with this blog. It's high time I started updating it again, I think. Life has kind of been tossed into the air of late, and shows no indication of landing before Midsummer, so my updates may be rather spotty, but I'll do what I can to keep things moving.
Without further ado, here's what I've been up to lately:
I'm busy doing a translation of a late-period (~1575) German book on beer. I've got a rough version of one chapter down, and hope to do at least two more of the five total. (The first chapter looks like a long-winded intro; the last chapter seems to rehash the first. I'll do quick down-and-dirty runs through those, to double check, and revise my goals as needed.) Among other things, there is a discussion of the ingredients of beer (water, barley and/or wheat, and hops--yeast is mentioned as an aside in one paragraph, not as an "ingredient"), as well as the characteristics that define good and bad beers, and what I've been terming a "beer tour of northern Germany," listing over 100 towns/villages and the types of beer that are brewed there.
I've also been playing with other things that I'll be detailing here. Even if they aren't exactly beer-related, I feel they fit with the overall theme of the blog (hand-crafted, artisanal-type things). I'm moving into cured meats, and will be posting about them from time to time; I've done a reasonable (and simple!) duck-breast prosciutto, and am currently sourcing pork bellies to make bacon.
All this, and I've done a little brewing, too. Given the above-mentioned "up-in-the-air" factor, not nearly as much as I'd like, but there's been a little. As soon as things settle somewhat, I hope to get firmly back into the swing of brewing at least monthly. I also hope to be able to expand things somewhat on that front; I'll fill in info on that in a future post.
Thanks for sticking with me, and it's great to be back!Labels: introduction, plans, projects