Not sure about this Rock Candy guy, but found on-line absolutely first rate, and much better illustrated, more technically accurate and complete how to by John Palmer. Now that guy can do technical writing w/o apologies, or getting too fake hipster to make it palatable. I learned a bunch myself. Good stuff, there.
Hey, back then when I had the space, and a machinist and an electronic tech for best buds, putting together a 15 gal set up with 3 cut off kegs, freezer chest climate control, pumps, a yeast bank with sterile hood etc was all like so....out there.... Now it seems almost routine--which is great in terms of getting the craft out there, but maybe a little overdone with the one to two kilobuck and upwards almost-turnkey-systems I see advertised. Sort of takes the fun out of it when any wank can just write a check or whip out the VISA. At least I had to read a book or two and interest my friends with "beer" shares.
Now I want to go retro: one step mash in a bag/kettle, and hell maybe even ferment in bags--big ones, 6 mil supported by whatever cheezy drum can be had for a song. No secondary except whatever happens in the Corny's.
But as mentioned we'll do the conventional gig here for a while. I do get the engineering thing--challenge, mystique, yankee ingenuity and pride of ownership, etc. but when you get to 50, life seems to short to be expending entire days doing brewathons. And it is a great hobby!
Well not sure how "enriching" the mushroom hobby is--to make a viable and legal biz venture takes capital/commitment on a par with a brewpub. But certainly there are interesting non-commercial side canyons to explore.
I'm just a fungo-phile at heart I guess. I really want to try my hand at Sake after reading Taylor's site. Its all fun.
On deck: Pumpkin ale--wheat malt maybe? A mellower wheat yeast for just a hint of clove on top of the 1056? Pumpkin meat: Mash, boil, both?
I'm sure there's a pumpkin thread up on this board somewhere....
