It ain't August yet

But we're back!

I opened a bottle of the School's Out Stout (# 161) and it gushed, geyser-like, all over the kitchen counter. Yuck, what a mess. Worse--the beer was undrinkable. Turns out I had five more 22-oz. bottles. They were all gushers. What a loss! Such a lovely brew, undone by, I assume, a sanitation problem.

Back to the drawing board for this fall. I pledge that the next brew I concoct will be cleaner and better organized. I figure gushers are a reminder not to be sloppy, and to put it all together patiently and precisely. Frankly, I'm surprised more beers aren't tainted when you consider the number of chances bacteria have of invading vessels and tubing and whatnot during the process.

There's a good piece from BYO by Alex Fodor on foaming. I'll be sure to keep this in front of me when I'm formulating the first batch of the season.



a.d. III Kal. Aug.