Because you can never have enough hobbies.....

So tomorrow my dad and his buddies have their annual apple cider making party - only dad has other plans for his cider. Last year he considered making apple wine with his share of the crushed apples, only he didn't make his decision quite in time. When he visited a local supplier for home brewing he discovered he needed to rethink his strategy. I'd like to say he plotted and planned and researched the whole endeavor in the 'off season' but that would be stretching the truth to the extreme. I must admit, though, earlier in the week, he started gathering up plastic jugs for the annual event and then last night announced that he was still mulling over the possibilities of wine. (Can you identify the two puns in the previous sentence?) This morning, when he mentioned it again, Mom and I realized he was serious. So we found the number to Princeton Homebrew (located in Trenton) and he called to find out their hours so he could go get the yeast, pectin and other pertinent chemicals necessary for wine making. As you can see above, he - or more accurately stated - we returned home with slightly more than just the chemicals.

When Dad mentioned he was headed to the home brewer supplier, I made a fateful last minute decision to join him for the ride. I think Dad was a little relieved I decided to go because as the owner started discussing specific gravity and fermentation processes Dad's eyes glazed over and he started relying on the fact that he conveniently did not wear his hearing aids and therefore could rely on his daughter who once spent ten years teaching chemistry and biology to really know what needs to happen. Beyond the 2 new 6 gallon containers you see on the counter in the first photo, we have a hydrometer to measure the density of our product, a surface stick thermometer for the plastic tub, tubing and siphon to transfer the liquid from the primary container to the secondary container at the proper time as well as a bottle filler when the final step occurs and the necessary yeast and chemicals we went to go get in the first place. We didn't need to get bottles, caps or a bottle capper - they are already stored in the cellar from days long gone by when we used to make root beer. Actually, therefore, in the end, starting this hobby isn't all that bad, because its not like we really had to buy EVERYTHING in order to get started!

So, without even intentionally looking for blog material, I think a few entries have been handed to me in the next several weeks as Dad and I foray into being amateur oenologists.