5 Gal Brew kettle

Yesterday my friend brought over a stainless steel stock pot that I had in the past used to make a big pot of gumbo in. This and the propane burner he brought was all that was missing before I could take on my first 5 gallon batch of true brew. I would have done it today but it decided to rain, and I can't fire up that burner in the house! So instead, I will clean my house and get the kitchen ready for the big brew day. I think I have a lot of planning to do such as how and where am I going to cool 5 gallons of wort weighing up to 45 pounds for starters. Eventually I will get a wort chiller. Even still, moving it around may be a back breaker, literally.

So instead, last night I went to Thrash Zone, a beer bar in Yokohama that I found about in this blog. Well Thrash Zone carries almost all of the Stone Brewing's beers, even one on tap! Now being from San Diego, Stone was (is) my favorite microbrewery. I plan on making a clone of their Arrogant Bastard ale as soon as I get all of the ingredients, now on order. At the Thrash Zone, I had a pint of the Stone Ruination IPA and what a shock to my system that was. I've been away from Stone beers for a while now and the hit my system with a double IPA was a bit much but very enjoyable. The bitterness was unrelenting but that is why you drink a double IPA right?

I would have had a bottle of ABA also but the IPA on my empty stomach said I'd better get something to eat or I would not be able to walk out of there. So ABA will have to wait until the next time. Even so, at ¥1300 for a pint of Ruination or ¥2000 for a bottle of ABA, I won't be able to indulge as much as I would like to. When I was in San Diego, I used to grumble because ABA was getting close $4.00 for a 22 oz bottle! How living in Japan changes my perception of what expensive is! I now know what I will be doing on my next visit to San Diego :)