30 and 31

I haven't talked about beer here in a while. Hell, I haven't talked about much of anything because I'm a terrible blogger. So I thought I'd take some time to blog late on a Friday afternoon and avoid doing some work.

Last week on my Friday off I bottled the hard cider I brewed. It's number 31. Yep, I've made 155 gallons of beer, mead, and cider at home! Anyway, the cider was made from a kit I got at a brew store and it turned out pretty good. The flat cider I drank last week was pretty tasty at least. Not too sweet and not too dry. We'll see what the carbonated product tastes like next week.

And speaking of flat, Rudd Beer IV (#30) was flat down at the beach on Memorial Day weekend. But it has carbonated up nicely and has turned into a pretty good beer. I don't know who kept all that was left over from the beach, but if you haven't had a bottle lately, you should try it. I don't know if it's the carbonation that has changed the flavor or what. Carbonation really does change the perceived taste of any drink. I've told Casey and Dennis this so many times that they probably want to shoot me, but the bubbles actually activate pain receptors on your tongue. If you don't believe me, stick you tongue in a carbonated beverage for about 10 or 15 seconds and see what happens. I think that "bite" from the pain receptors firing may have offset the bland sweetness of #30 when it was flat.

In conclusion, there is a new brewery we need to tour down in the greater Fuquay-Varina area. Check out Aviator Brewing Company. I've heard good things about them from a few people but haven't taken the time to drive by and drink some of their beer. Maybe we can get a group together to go on their tour one Saturday.