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Grimm Brothers Brewhouse’s Magic Mirror

Published December 25, 2012

In the autumn of 2011 when returning from a trip out west Erik and Kristi brought me a bottle of beer from a brewery I’d previously never heard of, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in Loveland, Colorado. This beer is a limited, imperial version of their Snow Drop ale (a Köttbusser, made with honey and molasses) that’s been aged in oak, and apparently only 1200 bottles were produced. Erik had told me that it’d be good aged, so I put it on a shelf in the basement and let it sit for a year.

Earlier this week I figured that Christmas would be a good time to open it, so after family doings were over and dishes were done I opened it up. You can see it here, poured into a Poto MBA glass that I acquired at the Triple Trail Challenge. Refrigerator temperature was a bit too cold for this beer at first, but as it warmes up I’m really enjoying it.

I think that this beer is quite good, but reading various reviews online there don’t seem to be many people who share my like of it. All of the reviews that I’m finding are 2011, though, so I suspect the recommended aging did the trick.

Earlier this year Erik and Kristi went on another trip out west and were kind enough to bring me another tasty looking bottle of beer from the same brewery; a smoked smoked wheat ale (Grätzer) called Sooty Brother. I love smoked beers and I’m really looking forward to this, but it’ll wait for another day…

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Big Fat Larry

Published December 22, 2012

This afternoon I picked up a new tire for my fatbike from Trails Edge: an ultralight version of the Surly Big Fat Larry (BFL). While this tire can have chain clearance issues on the rear of some bikes, it’s right at home up front in the Enabler Fork that comes stock on my 2012 Salsa Mukluk 2.

I’d never really cared for the Endomorph tire that came as the stock rear tire on the bike. While it was fine on sand and hard pack, on even marginally slick surfaces it’d unexpectedly jet sideways if even the slightest bit of power was applied, so I wanted to do away with it. As a possible solution to this I decided to try a BFL up front, and move the original Larry tire from the front of the bike to the rear, fitting it backwards for increased traction while pedaling. With this tire acquisition I was able to do so (photo).

One common trick on fatbikes is to put a very knobby rear tire on the bike to ensure that it doesn’t lose traction in the rear. This would be appealing for pure snow and trail riding but I frequently ride this bike on paved and hard pack surfaces, so I’m not sure this would be good for me. The super-grippy Nate would work well for this, but I can only imagine how quickly paved surfaces would wear on it, not to mention the tremendously increased rolling resistance. The Larry tread seems to be good for all around use, so I went with it.

When moving tires around to fit the BFL I was surprised to find that the original tires from the bike were both wire bead. At ~1370g the BFL isn’t a light tire, but the ultralight 120 TPI version with a folding bead ends up being a bit lighter than the narrower wire bead 120 TPI Larry’s ~1430g that had been on the front of the bike. The Endomorph which ended up getting removed from the bike is ~1420g, which makes the overall loss from the bike a whopping 50g, with 10g being transfered from the front to the rear. While it isn’t much (0.3% of the overall mass of the bike), I’m not going to complain about losing mass when going to a much larger tire.

Fitted to the Mukluk’s Rolling Darryl rims I measured the BFL at 4-3/16″ when inflated to 20 PSI just after installation. The BFLs are known to stretch quite a bit as they sit at higher pressures (in three hours it was up to 4-5/16″) so I’m not sure what the final size will be, but this is already quite a bit more than the original Larry’s 3-5/8″. It’ll be interesting to see how much it stretches overnight.

Here’s a few more photos of the bike and Big Fat Larry tire taken today:

· Surly Big Fat Larry tire, ultralight version (folding bead), as shipped from QBP.
· Surly Big Fat Larry on a Rolling Darryl rim at 20psi in a Salsa Enabler fork. There is plenty of room to spare.
· With the Big Fat Larry on the front of the Mukluk I moved the regular Larry to the rear, and reversed it hoping for greater traction in the snow.
· Current state of my Mukluk, with a Big Fat Larry front tire, reversed Larry in the rear, bash guard, trigger shifters, and lights. Weight is 35.38 pounds as shown.

Since I had the scale out I decided to weigh a few parts of the bike and see how it adds up. Here’s what I came up with:

Front Wheel w/ ultralight (folding bead) Big Fat Larry Tire: 7.62 pounds
Rear Wheel w/ wire bead 120 TPI Larry : 9.2 pounds
Tube: ~450g
Larry Tire (120 TPI, wire bead): ~1430g
Big Fat Larry Tire (120 TPI, folding bead): ~1370g
Endomorph Tire (120 TPI, wire bead): ~1420g
Complete bike as seen here with front and rear lights: 35.38 pounds

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Damaged Craftsman Hex Wrench

Published December 19, 2012

When working on Danielle’s old bike a couple days ago I ended up damaging my 6mm Craftsman ball-end hex wrench. I was attempting to remove her old pedals and the wrench simply spun, then was pushed out of the fastener. After this the ends of the wrench were damaged.

Hopefully Craftsman’s lifetime warranty will apply to this and I’ll be able to get a new one, since this is now pretty useless.

UPDATE: Turns out that Sears’ replaced the entire set. I was missing a 3mm too, so this is a nice benefit.

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Motobecane Fantom 29er For Sale

Published December 16, 2012

Up for sale is Danielle’s old bike, built around a 15″ Motobecane Fantom 29er frame. (Geometry can be found here.)

I’ve listed it over here on the MMBA forum, but for those interested the highlights are a Shimano 9-speed drivetrain, Rock Shox Tora air spring fork, and BB7 brakes. This is quite a nice bike, but it didn’t fit her so we want to be rid of it.

Asking price is US$400 and more photos can be found here.

Please email c0nsumer@nuxx.net if you are interested.

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Beer Filtering: First Attempt

Published December 16, 2012

Ever since I began brewing beer I’d heard about filtering my beer to remove haze. While I know that filtering is not necessary as with sufficient skill one can produce quite clear beer without it, it held some appeal to me. After learning that a number of local breweries filter their beer to remove haze and produce sparkling, shiny, clear beers that still have quite a bit of flavor I became even more interested, so after cleaning the beer lines and getting some more stuff kegged I decided to order the parts to give it a go.

To get started I tried filtering a rye pale ale that I brewed a few months ago and kegged just after cleaning the lines. It was already partially carbonated so it foamed a bit during the process (nucleation in the filter and due to pressure drop), but there it wasn’t nearly as much of a problem as I’d expected. I used a 5 micron filter for this batch (the 1 micron filters hadn’t come in yet), and this left the beer a every so slightly hazy, but it looks way better than it had with just aging and letting settle in the keg and it still tastes great.

The process I put together (based on lots of info I’d read) uses a Pentek 158116 filter housing with two liquid-out ball lock keg fittings connected to each side. The housing is sanitized then fitted with a filter that has been dipped in sanitizer, the filter is fitted between two kegs (full keg on the in side, empty on the out), the empty keg’s safety valve is opened, and CO2 is applied to the full keg to push the beer through. I started out with 2-3 psi, but near the end I had to increase this to around 10 psi as the filter became clogged. Periodically throughout the process I’d open the top of the output keg to check the level and foamyness, closing it back up to keep the system relatively closed.

This worked out very well, and I only had a bit of foam blow out through the safety valve right near the end of the process. This lost foam likely resulted in a loss of only a couple ounces of beer, and the filter housing itself probably lost half a pint.

Next time I try this I’ll chill (but not carbonate) the beer in a keg, then force it through the filter to another. I expect that there’ll be no foaming then resulting in even less hassle and mess. The next time I try this will be with the two beers I’ve got brewing now (a golden ale and a red ale), perhaps with 1 micron filters if they arrive in time. My desire is to get crystal clear, sparkling beers that still have good flavor in a relatively short period of time, just by filtering it.

Here’s a few photos taken during this filtering experiment:

· Two kegs, Pentek 158116 filter housing, 5 micron water filter, and connections necessary to filter beer.
· Mostly-carbonated rye pale ale being filtered.
· Since the beer was already carbonated it foamed a little out of the pressure release, but not enough to cause problems. There was very little loss overall.
· Side view of the filter after processing five gallons of beer.
· End view of the filter, from the top, after processing five gallons of beer.

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45NRTH Wölvhammer Winter Cycling Shoes

Published December 16, 2012

These shoes may just be overkill, but since I love riding in the winter I wasn’t able to pass them up. This afternoon while stopping by the Northville Trail’s Edge shop to pick up Danielle’s new bike I saw that the 45NRTH Wölvhammer boots were in stock and I decided to try them on. For the last year or two I’ve been using a pair of Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX shoes that I bought used from my friend Bob for a very good price. They work okay, but aren’t quite as nice as I’d like, and after an hour or so without chemical warmers my toes still end up cold.

I wasn’t intending to purchase some of these boots, but after trying them on and looking them over I was sold. Retailing for $325 they aren’t cheap, but I think they’ll be worth it. I haven’t had a chance to try them on the bike, they seemed quite comfortable and rather warm while trying them on, very much like heavier normal cycling shoes. They are heavily insulated and even have an aerogel insole to cut down on heat transfer through the metal cleat. (Much more tech detail here.) So, if everything goes as I expect they’ll be perfect for longer cold weather rides this year. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll be able to wear then on a cold weather ride to my parents house for the holidays, just as with last year.

To cut down on sole wear I fit all of my shoes with Crank Brothers Shoe Shields beneath the cleats. For these boots I had to file one corner down on each shield (photo), but this wasn’t hard to do and allowed everything to fit nicely. This was a bit of a surprise, but it’s a much better option than trimming the soles themselves.

Now that I might still hang on to the PI shoes for not-that-cold-of-weather rides, but that remains to be seen. If they don’t get worn it wouldn’t be terrible if I were to sell both these old PIs and my old Sidis. There’s no point in keeping functional (albeit worn) bike shoes around the house when someone else can make good use of them.

Here’s a few photos that I took of these shoes:

· 45NRTH Wölvhammer winter cycling shoes, side view.
· 45NRTH Wölvhammer winter cycling shoes, bottom view.
· Crank Brothers Race Cleats along with Shoe Shields on the bottom of the 45NRTH Wölvhammer shoes. The Shoe Shields needed some filing to make them fit.

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Finally, a Daylight Ride

Published December 14, 2012

Being so close to the solstice the days are getting mighty short, and finding the magic combination of daylight, decent weather, decent trail conditions, and available time has been quite difficult lately. Everything worked out right this afternoon and I was able to head out to Stony Creek for a daylight ride. The El Mariachi felt like a rocket after a few weeks of riding only the Mukluk or trainer, and it was really good to get out.

I rode one lap of the 6/12 Hour Route, then rode the paved path over to the Fitness Trails, through there, then back to the trailhead. Most of the trails were in great shape, with only a few greasy corners and uphills. Some of the two track had its normal wet spots, but it was all quite acceptable for a 50°F day in mid-December. I was able to ride comfortably wearing only summer time gloves, normal shoes and socks, a short sleeve jersey, and knickers. It wasn’t bothersomely cold until I spent ~20 minutes standing around in the parking lot talking with someone.

The photo above was taken while moving, looking southwest along Stony Creek Lake from along the gravel path which comprises the Fitness Trail route. While it’s just basic, flat, wide gravel trail I think it’s one of the most scenic parts of Stony Creek and wonderful looking year round.

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Beer Line Cleaning

Published December 10, 2012

About a month ago ran out of beer in my Kegged Beer Cooler and I hadn’t really gotten around to refilling it. This past weekend I was ready to rack some new beer in, but I noticed that the lines had some residue in them, so I wanted to clean them out. (This is good practice, as it keeps the lines clean so the beer doesn’t become fouled by whatever might have ended up in there.)

A bit of online reading showed that there are generally two ways to go about doing it, either something to push the liquid from one end through to the other, or a pump to recirculate the liquid. Being a bit lazy I figured the pump would be better, as I could set it up and let it run for a while instead of having running a few containers full of liquid through the system.

I ended up purchasing a cheap Pacific Hydrostar (read: house hydroponics brand) submersible pump from Harbor Freight, fitting it with a 1/4 flare to 1/2 MIP brass adapter from Warren Pipe and Supply. This allowed me to connect the screw-on ends of the beer lines (after removing the ball lock fittings) right to the pump and push the cleaning solution through them. Doing so required ignoring the warnings about not pumping hot liquids nor cleaners, but the pump didn’t have any problems doing so.

Prior to using the pump for cleaning I removed the suction cup base and inlet filter material, as I figured these wouldn’t provide any benefit, and might just foul things a bit more if the soft rubber and plastic had issues in the caustic cleaner. I then ran the pump for a few minutes in a sink full of Oxyclean and water, then in another rinse of straight water to clean it out. This made a noticable difference, as the plastic no longer had an oily sheen and lost the typical Harbor Freight cheap Chinese machine oil funk that permeates the store.

After connecting the pump to a beer line, I then submerged it in a bucket of BLC Beer Line Cleaner, fit a return line (1/2″ thinwall) to the end of the tap and back into the bucket, and powered it up. A few times during the cleaning process I’d cycle the tap handle to be sure the cleaner found its way into the nooks and crannies around the shut-off ball and O-ring. Each line was cleaned for 15 minute and leave the lines looking practically new.

Once the lines were all clean I wanted to sanitize them, but with the cleaner being a base and the sanitizer acid-based, I thought it best to rinse the system with water first. So, a brief cycle of water went through each before I ran the sanitizer through, with a bit more tap handle cycling to be thorough.

After this the lines were great, so I hand-washed and sanitized the liquid out ball lock connectors and put it all back together. Now it’s ready to dispense more beer!

Here’s a few photos of the cleaning process and pump:

· Harbor Freight’s Pacific Hydrostar submersible fountain pump with a 1/4″ flare to 1/2″ MIP adapter, ready to connect to beer lines.
· Detail of the gunky residue that had built up in some of the lines.
· Cleaning the lines with a submersable pump connected to the beer lines, return line connected to the tap, and some warm caustic Beer Line Cleaner.
· Using the pump without a return line to rinse the taps with sanitizer.

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Another Poor Riding Choice

Published December 6, 2012

 

 

 

 

About once per season I make a poor riding choice, resulting in a need to do a bit of drivetrain maintenance. Today was another one of those days.

I set out after work to ride at River Bends, and after finding almost the entire old (existing as of two months ago) single track to be in fine shape I headed into the newest section. Jeremy had warned of the conditions there, but his post was from yesterday, we’d had some dry weather since then, and I had a fatbike, so I figured it would be okay. I was wrong.

There seemed to only be around 500′ of real problem trail in the whole 0.7 mile section, but this was enough to get clay sticking to my tires and sending everything going wrong. Conditions weren’t of the sort which would cause a problem for the trail but it definitely caused some bike problems. There was no rutting and no sloppy mud; just sticky clay which was a bit worse in places where the surface had been churned during recent trail construction work.

With a fatbike because the chain is so close to the rear tire, mud hanging off of the side often gets scraped off on the chain. This in turn gets carried into the chainrings, then on to the derailleur and into the cassette, and soon enough the whole thing is a mess. Combine this with a greasy corner in which I fell and laid the bike down packing the derailleur full and I was done. I rode one pass through the entrance trail afterward, but shifting wasn’t working right.

I’ve rinsed off the bulk of the clay, scrubbed the chain, and now it’s sitting in degreaser. This weekend I’ll have to find some time to properly clean it, as I’m hoping to ride the fatbike quite a bit this winter and I want to keep it as it was. With the forecasted rain it looks like cleaning time won’t be hard to find, though… Most of my riding will probably end up being on the trainer.

Beyond the one above, here’s two more pictures showing the build-up from the chain cleaning off the tire: build-up on the rear derailleur and chain-packed dirt in the cassette.

(…and yes, I realize how much this post seems to contradict the message in the one right before it. Ruts weren’t left, the trail wasn’t damaged, and the rest of it was fine for riding. I’d just lifted a bunch of crap from some select sections of trail and packed them into my drivetrain. I’m rather looking forward to things freezing solid so this will no longer happen.)

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