So, I’m sitting in 
Donald‘s garage right now, working on my latest creation, a Mackeson’s XXX Stout clone. Donald, Janelle, Dan, and I went to out local homebrew supply store yesterday, and while I picked up supplies for this batch and my next one (a McEwan’s Scotch ale clone), Donald and Janelle decided to upgrade to the Cadillac of brewing equipment: a nice 60-quart brew pot, with built-in thermometer and spigot. Add to this a nice wort chiller and a couple of other items, well, that’s why we’re brewing at his house today 🙂 I’m all jealous, I might add, but I really appreciate his sharing his equipment. Pictures should come later, once Dan arrives with the digital camera.
So, after homebrew supply shopping yesterday, Dan, Janelle, and I went over to Thomas and Sherry‘s place. We were joined by Rich and had an enjoyable evening playing a bit of poker, followed by a rousing game of Dork Tower. Much fun was had, and we packed it in around 11:30.
And today, we brew. Well, for now, anyway. After this batch, we’re going to make a Guinness clone for Donald, then the Scotch ale will come later this week. And of course the MFF staff meeting tonight. Busy busy busy!
I need that 60 quart pot. 🙂 They’re awfully expensive, though.
Actually, a large pot is the only thing stopping me from all-grain brewing at this point. I have everything else…just gotta finish plumbing the cooler.
It’s mighty damn sweet. With the wort chiller, we cooled it down to 95 degrees in 15 minutes. Not great, but we’re also dealing with 65 degree ground water going into the hose. For this next batch, I’m going to try a two-stage heat exchanger, running the garden hose through a cooler filled with ice water. That should cool down the input water a good bit, which will in turn bring the wort down faster as well. We’ll see how that works…
Not sure I’m ready for all-grain just yet. I’d like to taste some samples of all-grain vs. extract brews to see if it’s really worth the hassle.
Sounds like quite a setup. Good luck playing with the new toys and with the MFF staff meeting.
I’m curious to know how much of a tongue-in-cheek homage Steve Jackson’s game “Dork Tower” is based on a game I remember quite well from my youth known as “Dark Tower”.
“Dark Tower” was this electronic game where the object was to take moves around the board, explore ruins, buy things from market, build an army and then eventually storm the ‘dark tower’ in a final bid for victory.
by looking at the “Dork Tower” main page the board setup is eerily similar, and the only ‘difference’ is the plastic electronic ‘dark tower’ center has been replaced by a cheap cardboard standup of the ‘Dork Tower’.
In any case, sounds like a fun game. bring it to AC 2005! I’d like to play!
Matt/Danruk
Yep, it is indeed a parody of “Dark Tower,” and they even have a loving remembrance of the original game in the Dork Tower rules. The gameplay reminds me for all the world of Talisman (another fun game), but much simpler.
I’d bring it to Anthrocon except, unfortunately, it’s not mine! I wouldn’t mind picking up a copy, though – something to look for in the future. (Well, there’s also the small problem that by the end of the day at Anthrocon my brains are complete mush and it’s all I can do to carry on a conversation, let alone play a game 🙂