Fatlo.af

I’m not speaking in some complex series of riddles, designed only for the most trained mind to decipher. I speak quite literally in english, potentially with a hint of sarcasm and a dash of cynicism for taste. In no uncertain terms, the horse has left its stable and is now doing god’s work with the dog’s brother and the monkey’s uncle.

Ok, well that last one was cryptic, actually if it had a meaning then it would be cryptic, since it has none its just gibberish. The title has a meaning though, the Fatloaf Brewery has started its fermenting process and will shortly give birth to a healthy baby lager, somewhere in the region of 23 litres.

As previously discussed, FatLager will be the first off the ranks, I will be discussing with the other brewmaster, Paul, to determine what the next batch will be, I will also be purchasing some more bottles to handle this beer as well.

The hard decision will be if we continue to make the beer while the first and second batch is growing, mentally and physically, into a beer we can all be proud of, or do we wait, like anxious parents to see if what we have produced in this unholy union is retarded or not. At which point we distance ourselves from ever saying we’d produce our own beer and take up Paul’s idea of buying an ant farm or bees or something with more activity.

I’ve also discovered that Paul has a shorter attention span than previously thought. In the instructions for the kit it explains that bubbles are likely to be apparent when the yeast goes to town on the wurt (see, I’m using brewing terms now), this didn’t happen, or at least not when Paul was around. His only recourse for this was to think about tipping it out because it clearly wasn’t working. I dispelled this by reading some more information found on the interweb and all that was happening was normal. The beer equivalent of an ultrasound, the hydrometer, proved this.

Last Friday was the most australian of all days, Australia Day. Do New Zealand have a New Zealand Day? Do they just jump on the back of our celebrations and call them their own? These questions are important.

I spent Australia Day Eve competing in what I’ve coined No-Limit Anti-Monopoly. Bill got this game a while ago and wanted to give it a shot, we started with 4 people, myself, Bill, Paul and Kylie. Kylie bailed after an hour or so and we all kept going, for 9 hours. That’s right, we finished at about 6am on Friday morning with Paul being determined the winner. I’m sure Bill pouted all the way home.

If we play it again we’ll establish some better rules and a Limit Anti-Monopoly set of guidelines. I think it will work out for the best.

This weekend brings about the nuptuals of a good friend, Andrew Xenides. Myself and Paul are groomsman and Gavin is the best man, again. He’s the designated best man in these situations it would seem. We’ve got a bit of a rehearsal this afternoon with kickoff happening Saturday afternoon south of the city.

My best wishes go out to the bride and groom, I hope it all goes splendidly. If it doesn’t, we’ll blame it on Gavin. He’s grouse, it won’t matter to him.

Sunday will also be a glorious day, to counter my impending hangover I will be bottling the first batch of FatLager with Paul. It will be put down for a couple of weeks to mature but it will be an anxious time for all.

I will keep you posted.