Last Saturday was all set up to be an ultimate man day of sorts. I had a plan to knock off a list of guy things all day long while enjoying the 85 degree weather. The day was going to start bright and early at 5:30 by firing up the smoker so a brisket could get nice and tender by dinner time. After the meat was taking in some second hand smoke I was going to brew a batch of Hoppily Ever After Hefeweizen so I could finish up before hitting the links for a couple hours. After trying to do my best Bubba Watson on the 2nd playoff hole of the Master’s impression from the woods on almost every hole, my plan was to come home and enjoy the smoky goodness of brisket burnt ends, Alton Browns barbecue beans, and a beer or two on the patio with my wife and friends. All in all it was looking to be a great day to kick off an early summer.
Things started off great with my alarm going off at 5:15 with the sun already coming up and birds chirping. I got the charcoal going, brewed a french press of Spring Dog Roasters FTO Sumatra and waited for my mash water to heat up while throwing the tennis ball for the Spring Dog. Soon the brisket was on, the beer was mashing, and Ellie and I did some work in the garden. By 9:00, Eric stopped by for coffee before work and we got the beer boiling and beans on the smoker. My day couldn’t have been much smoother up to this point, all my temperatures and gravity numbers were spot on and I was going to be done and cleaned up by noon so I could maybe even build the coffee table I promised Alyssa months ago. Eric left for work and I chilled down the beer while I made up barbecue sauce for later. The last two steps before cleanup involved setting the beer on a higher spot to whirlpool and let the the hop waste settle out and then transfer into the fermentation bucket. I set up a high patio chair to put the kettle full of chilled beer on and gave it a good stir. While the trub settled out I took advantage of the waiting time and took a shower. The most labor intensive part of my day was done and it would be smooth sailing from there. Golf, barbecue, and in two weeks, tasty German wheat beer. After showering I ran downstairs to get the last equipment I needed to transfer the beer and as I was walking up the stairs I heard a big crash. I instantly knew what it was. While letting a choice word or two fly Ellie and I ran outside only to see this…
I have absolutely no idea what happened. The kettle had been sitting on that chair for at least 30 minutes with no issues and then right before I was going to start transferring, it’s on the ground. Four hours of work and all that beer down the drain. Even though the rest of the day was great and the brisket turned out well, my ultimate man day was tainted by 5 gallons of spilled beer.
Spring Dog This! 