Tag Archives: Beer

Have We Done Enough?

October 17, 2017 Munchkin 1 Comment

This post is written for Gnome. We’ve spent the last week or so cooped up in the house (more rains and wetness all around). He asked me yesterday, “…have we done enough dear…I don’t think we’ve done enough…” GUFFAW!!! Shrieky Fury Munchkin!! Okay this is what we’ve done in seven days: canned 57 jars of sorghum, canned 114 jars of black beans, made two lots of soap, planted chrysanthemums and fennel out, made soursop cider (56 bottled and under pressure), made sorghum and jackass bitters beer and making coconut castile soap as we speak! WHAT!! I told Gnome that he needed a reality check and that we were doing plenty. I think I ranted, raved and shook my fists at him enough for him to get the idea!!

So this is what we have been doing…

Oh and gathered some wild papayas to make relish:

Studying the life cycle of butterflies for fun too:

Now I do recall when we worked in the Emergency Department in good old Royal Darwin Hospital that the average number of patients seen per doctor was about 25 in an 8 hour shift. He used to see about 40 patients in a shift.

We’re not running a hospital my dear! It’s just a few ducks and geese flapping about. No emergencies here. Remember that we chose this life-style to live a more tranquil life. You know…the spiritual quest thingy-me-bobs that we go on about…and the philosophy and all that stuff….

Anyway, after my silly little rant I went outside and was backed into a corner by Chiney-goosie and Rebel-goosie (yes, they have names!). They sneered and threatened me, pecking fiercely at my ankles; I had to fight them within an inch of my life (just exaggerating a bit but they were behaving like hooligans). Anyway, I ran back to Gnome and wailed,

“Oh Gnome!! The geese cornered and attacked me!!”

Gnome’s response: “Oh that’s great dear, it means that it is breeding season soon.”

WRONG ANSWER!! And then I started Fury Munchkin again….

Amusing, Belize

Ready For Christmas?

December 23, 2015 Munchkin

Christmas.Gnome

Phew…another busy day today in town! Crazy day with patients, in between dashing into very busy shops. It was so funny, in the Chinese supermarket, waiting in line and watching everyone buy “Christmas Goodies” including Aunt Gemima’s lemon cake mix, marbles, Pringles and basically anything appearing “luxurious” and decadent.

I walked into the Chinese restaurant:

I looked over at the wall of beer and I said to the Chinese girl:

“Are you ready for Christmas?”

And she replied with a sheepish smile:

“Yeah!”

Well, I suppose with 1898 bottles of beer she is all geared up for Christmas! Are you Ready For Christmas?? Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Belize, Medical Related, Plants

Chili Each Day Keeps The Doctor Away.

October 15, 2015 Munchkin

Hello everyone!! It has been raining all day today so thankfully, our rain water shortage has been temporarily solved. The rainwater tank is almost half full and we have another full tank as back-up. Phew!! We are so pleased!!

Anyway, onto the subject of chili peppers…yesterday, was town day and it was a hectic run-around of seeing patients for the whole morning, meeting up with people for lunch and the usual in-between hailing of passerbys and acquaintances. Not to mention, the rushing around for supplies in between a packed day. By the time I got home at 4pm, I was exhausted. At this point, I started feeling lethargic and then it got worse because I started feeling sorry for myself. One thing led to another and I developed a headache, sore throat and a low-grade fever. I immediately recognised it as the beginnings of the ‘flu (or some sort of viral infection). Gnome knew there was a problem when I reached over to the computer to write a Blog post and I simply couldn’t even muster up the energy to type out the WordPress address. Gnome admonished me gently for being such an awful patient and told me to have a teaspoon of chili sauce, in a drink immediately.

Munchkin Sick and Feeling Sorry for Herself!

I happened to have a glass of beer in front of me (therapeutic dosage to warm myself up of course…honest) so I stirred in a teaspoon of chili sauce and downed it. As soon as I drunk it, it really hit the spot and the I felt an immediate release in my sinuses and head. I felt so much better.

Gnome’s Medical Prescription: Beer

And one teaspoon of Chili sauce:

Culpeper describes this experience very nicely:

“…will so pierce the brain by flying up into the head through the nostrils, as to produce violent sneezings, and draw down abundance of thin rheum, forcing tears from the eyes…”

I went to bed soon after this, feeling nice and toasty. And so today, I still feel tired from fighting off the ‘flu and my energy levels are considerably lower. However, I have managed to keep the other symptoms at bay (fever, headache and cough) with a teaspoon of chili sauce in miso soup three times a day. By no means is this an instant cure-all but it does cut short the length of an ailment and lessons the symptoms so it is worth doing. I will probably continue this regime for the next 3 days at least. I have noticed that with natural remedies, it is not usually a once off dosage but rather a course.

Also, Chilis have nutritional value which can aid in mounting a proper immune response: vitamin A, C, E, B6, Potassium and Manganese and Riboflavin.

It is still raining here in Toledo…yay!! Have a Good Night everyone!!

Belize, Fermentation

Rice-Banana-Coffee Beer Tasting.

April 9, 2015 Munchkin

Do you remember the Mystery Beer which was made about 2 months ago? Yes, the one that involved lilac sheets! This was bottled last Wednesday and at that time, I had a quick taste and I have to admit that I just noted the “burnt” flavour from the coffee but nothing to get overly excited about.

Well, here is the tasting after one week of bottling:

Colour is red amber and very effervescent; small sized bubbles with moderate fizz. Clear with good head.

Smells like strawberries! Lovely fresh strawberry smell, like walking through a strawberry field. There is a lingering berry sweetness.

With the first sip, there is an immediate delicate and distinct taste of strawberries! There is a mild sourness and the last flavour component is the coffee taste which compliments the whole experience.

Wow, this tasting is truly amazing! I can not believe that a beer can develop such complex taste components in just 7 days. It has captured the taste of delectable strawberries even although this fruit is not an ingredient. The rice and banana combined has given this unique and fruity taste.

After this tasting, I thanked Gnome for his love and discipline in making beer (and his general practices in life). It is quite interesting to note that Gnome does not drink much and in fact, makes fermented beverages because he actually enjoys the whole making process.

Thank-you Gnome For Your Fermentation Magic!

Amusing, Belize, Fermentation

Washing Machine On A Car, Iguanas and Mystery Beer.

April 1, 2015 Munchkin

This title sums up up the last three days since we have missed a couple of daily posts. Firstly, we have been on the road again and as usual played our “Fridge on a Pick-em Up” game in which there is a points system allocated to various white goods, and assorted loads spotted on the back of pick-up trucks. The fridge gives the highest score of 1000 points hence the given name. Well, look what we managed to find on our travels!! Gnome says, “This Changes Everything.”

This is white goods on a car…not a pick-em up! With the eye of faith, the driver who is on the left-hand side has his arm up to help secure the load…we know that because we overtook him (but, I was in too much of a tizz to get another drive-by shot) and he had no free hands to give the customary cordial wave.

Gnome commented rather blandly,” We are going to have to change the points system.”

Hmmm…yes, indeed we do!

Onto the next thing: It has been pouring down the last 5 days in Toledo. This sudden, unexpected wet spurt during the dry season is called “The Iguana Rains” because the rain is supposed to soften the earth for the iguanas to lay their eggs. This happens every year without fail…but we have noticed that every year, people forget about this anomaly and scratch their head wondering why it is wet during the dry season. And, as if by magic, we had a lovely iguana appear on our water tank today; I am sure he/she knows what the rains are for!

He was nice enough to pose for a second picture since I saved him from our Shaneeka-Doggie:

And, last but not least: do you remember when Gnome was making a mysterious fermented drink that required my nice lilac sheets?

The mystery beer was unveiled today with a tasting and bottling:

Gnome is happy with the clarity:

The Beer is Rice-Banana-Coffee all rolled into one! Who would have thunk it!! Still tastes very young with a roasted aroma from the coffee.

Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food

Beer Tasting With Friends and Pumpkins.

March 9, 2015 Munchkin

Our friends, Erin and Jim came to visit our farm today and did an impromptu maize beer tasting. It is interesting to see other people’s perspectives and they thought that it was a pleasant tasting sour beer, much akin to “Lambic” with the taste of fermented apples. We were very pleased to hear that it was compared to a well-known traditional beer! We now wish that we didn’t gave away so many bottles of the beer earlier on when we thought that it was a failure. We live and learn…we will hoard every single drop next time…that is the Scottish coming out in me!

On another note, we are harvesting pumpkins so, we will mostly be eating pumpkins. Aaaahhhh, what a gloriously uncomplicated life we live!

Belize, Fermentation

A Maize Beer Tasting.

March 7, 2015 Munchkin

Gnome brewed a New Year’s Eve Maize Beer and tonight we have decided to do a formal tasting:

Colour is dark amber and very effervescent; small sized bubbles with excessive fizz. Clear with good head.

Smells like the first whiff when you open up a can of sweetcorn. Also, reminiscent of fermenting apples and it definitely smells sour.

With the first sip, there is an immediate sweetness then a sourness; it is foamy like champagne. It tastes like a sour beer; unusual tasting and not your typical beer-like taste.

We squeezed the juice of a fresh lemon into it to see if this would improve the taste; we found that it gave it an overall smoother and well-rounded taste. It helped to balance the sweet and sour components. More drinkable with lemon juice.

It feels like it needs a fruity taste to round off the sourness..like pineapple, peach or strawberry. Next time, Gnome will add fruit to the maize beer.

This beer was in fact tasted unofficially at Day 7 and it was a disappointment at this stage as it tasted sour and “vomit-like.” With age, it seems to have mellowed out and even although it has a sharp sourness, it has become palatable and drinkable. We can see that it would benefit from waiting a full 12 months before consuming.

Overall, we are very pleased with this tasting because we did not feel that it was up to our drinking standards at an early stage but there has been considerable improvement over time.

Belize, Elixirs, Our Products

Post Elixir Tasting.

February 7, 2015 Munchkin

It takes about two whole days to recover from an Elixir Tasting night hence the reason why you have not heard from us for a while. Entertaining people is energy intensive…

The Elixir Tasting was a success and we had the pleasure of the company of Dandelion Chocolate from San Francisco. As I had mentioned before, we changed some things around. Gnome added a bit about the various stages of the aging process of wine and passed exhibits around. We also let everyone taste a Gnome’s New Year’s Eve Maize Beer; for all intents and purposes, it was perfect with clarity, colour, one inch head with good head retention. The only problem was that corn beer actually tasted revolting! No wonder nobody makes maize beer! It has a distinctive sour and “vomity” smell which puts you off before it even touches your lips! Everyone had a good laugh about it.

In previous Elixir Tastings, a lot of the time was spent waiting for glasses to be cleaned and bussed back after each tasting. This time we put bowls on the tables with jugs of water so that people could rinse out their glasses. Gnome’s mother had mentioned to us that traditionally, Italians do not like to waste a drop of alcohol, so the taster is suppose to rinse their glass and swig down the rest of the diluted alcohol. Everyone involved was quite happy to comply with the new rule.

Everyone loved the Lemongrass Elixir as per usual. And, the next favourite seemed to be the Roselle which has a mature, well-bodied taste. Of course, everyone enjoyed the Chocolate Velvet which is always the last tasting of the evening.

Anyway, we are almost back to normal so expect to hear from us soon. Unfortunately, I have not got a photo of the Elixir Tasting to show you but, Cotton Tree Lodge has promised to furnish me with one of their photos at some point. So, I will insert a picture in the near future…hopefully!

Belize, Fermentation, Saving Money

Maize Beer Bottling Day.

January 13, 2015 Munchkin

Today was supposed to be a day of hard outside work, the coconuts still need more cleaning and weeding but…the plans of mice and men aften go astray…so the rain and cold weather decreed. The next best thing, I guess, is to bottle some of that New Year’s Eve Brown Ale I made.

It is a fair bit of work, to be honest, especially this first time that we had to wash, clean and sterilize the bottles we got from town. They were filled with old napkins, cigarette butts and I hate to think what else…

Here two cases have been cleaned, washed and filled with some sanitizing solution.

After a few hours, they have to drip dry before they can be used…

In the mean time, the maize beer needs to be siphoned into a bottling bin…

…and the priming sugar needs to be boiled…

It is only after all this is done that we can start filling the bottles and placing the caps on them.

The bottles are filled and the caps are resting on top of them.

Now we can finally use the capper to seal everything up. As a side note: A big thank you to Speedo for bequeathing his bottle capper to us…I would have hated to do this job by hand…

Capping away...almost done... — Capping away…almost done…

And here is the finished project!!

I’ll let you know what it tastes like in a few weeks…in the mean time…may all your beer be cold and bubbly!!

Belize, Fermentation, Saving Money

Mashing, Lautering and Sparging on New Year's Eve.

December 31, 2014 Munchkin

I’ve had to postpone brewing until today…it is amazing and unfortunate that people get sick around New Year and interfere with our best laid brewing plans…but such is life and I am always a doctor first. Better late than never and I get to call today’s brew New Year’s Eve Jackass Bitters Brown Ale!

As I mentioned previously, maize has a higher gelatinization temperature than barley; so high, in fact, that the active enzymes for starch conversion are denatured. This means that the usual temperature steps in mashing have to be altered so as to both keep the enzymes and gelatinize the maize starch.

The way to get around this then, is to start mashing in the usual way with the normal Beta-glucan and protein rests and then siphoning off the wort that is there, keep it somewhere safe and clean while more water is added to the grains. The grains and water are then boiled for five or ten minutes, cooled to mashing temperatures and the liquid that was taken off is added back in (hopefully with all the enzymes still intact); the conversion then is finished in the normal way.

If you want the detailed recipe and procedure followed check it out here: Bored-In-Belize: Brewing New Year’s Eve Brown Maize Ale.

I’ve only included a few photos (look at the full recipe for more) since they really all look the same…a big pot with stuff in it…

Here is the wort siphoned off into a gallon jar for safe keeping:

Jar of Siphonings Collected After Protein Rest.

Here’s a photo of sparging all of the wort before the final boiling with Jackass Bitters.

The rest of the brewing process is straight forward and follows the usual steps.

There it is, the New Year’s Eve Brew is completed!

Casa Mascia Apothecary