Bees and Beer

   There aren't many things I like more than beer, or fear more than bees. SO I ask myself why those two things rise to the top as my hobbies. Well, truthfully beer gets you drunk - legally! Especially if I brew it at home and drink it at home. The beauty is that I'm not going to go to jail for drunk driving or have the feds come down on me like it's a grow operation. As for bees, it is more a fear thing. While I often am literally paralyzed by my own fears, I also often face them head-on. When I was a child I was attacked by 'bees' and found out I am allergic to them. It's an irrational fear, much like my fear of dogs, so it is up to me to break it. The thrill of having them crawl on my bare skin without being harmed in any way is somewhere between skydiving and a religious experience.
   So last week it was time to brew beer. I was running low again. In a future post I'll outline the basics if anyone would like, but for now just know that if you are able to can jam you can brew a wicked beer. Anyway, I was brewing beer from an all grain recipe and there are a few points where you have to wait for a while as water is heating and such, so I decided to check on the bees. Great news! The colony that was trying to swarm incessantly has calmed down. The measures I took seem to have worked. For those Beeks out there I cut cells and added another deep, Checkerboarded, and finally removed the swarm cells into a nuc and made a false swarm. They fell for it. Phew! So now I have two colonies. If you would have asked me if I would have bees right after my first disastrous try I'm sure that I would have looked at you like you had blue hair.
   When I got the hives back together it was time to check on the beer. Yup, it was up to temp. Now was time for the sparge. As simple as rinsing sounds, it is always the hardest part for me. This day was the exception. Not only did I hit the expected efficiency, but I hit it dead on. That was a first! There are few joys in life as great as when you strive to learn something and after much effort you finally taste success.
   All that I wish for anyone is to know that feeling... How sweet it is. Like your own honey.