After my computer’s power supply dying earlier this week and barely being at home, I managed to spend half my weekend catching up on my todo list - hooray!

My liqueur attempts seem to be going well. I’ve pulled the first two rackings off the Apple and pear schnapps, and can probably pull another two(?) off before I’ll be faced with coming up with an ideal blend of each racking for a final product.

I’ve also pulled the leaves out of the mint liqueur, but have done nothing as of yet with the coconut - and I’m not really sure how I’m going to go with that one as it’s not really like a soft fruit of leaf like the others are. On a related note, my partner bought me some chilli plants for Christmas which have been going nuts in the sun… I’m hoping once I get some fruit I can do a chilli beer and chilli liqueur of sorts. Fun times :)

I’m also planning on growing my Naga Jolokia seeds, which I think I mentioned in a recent post - which will pack considerably more punch. Maybe some kind of hot sauce will do nicely for those.

In the meantime though, I’ll have to settle for beer. Owing to my beer fridge debt I took the time out to stock up again with some: Miller’s Chill; Millers Genuine Draft (at the recommendation of a colleague); Three Kings Cider; Tooheys 5 Seeds Cider; Bintang (I know, I know…); and…. James Squire IPA.

.. the IPA is an interesting one, I’ve heard a lot about it and I’ve had a few without really realising it. It’s short for India Pale Ale and it’s a bit different for me. I’m not generally a fan of the sharp bitterness of it, but wanted to give it a chance and especially try it with some appropriate foods. One thing though, it’s definately great in summer - wet and cold… so don’t be too suprised to see some foody posts coming up in relation to the IPA.

So that’s about it for now, another rambly post that leads nowhere… I’m contemplating kicking off an apple cider once I offload some more wine, as well as trying out a strawberry liqueur.

Oh, and daily bike riding to my new job to offset all that delicious beer :)