Friday, April 27, 2012
I'm back. It's been ages since I last wrote, but things are churning
so badly now, I might burst if I don't channel this somewhere.
I've
finally embarked on the path of my career. Did yet another medical
posting last year, even though I've done it before. Got my schedule
changed yet again and then again. And finally started on the main course
earlier this year. I must be honest - I am enjoying psychiatry. But
once again it's the administrative bullsh*t that gets to me.
Right
now I'm being brought to the brink of the crossroads - just prior to
changing postings. At least I have some insight; I know I tend to be
upset every time I change postings. It's some form of adjustment
problem, an anticipatory anxiety. But I was flung a piece of shit right
before. I'll see what I can do about it. It really makes you think about
how people are like.
And then there's the exams. Surreal, isn't it, to have
to plod your way through examinations at this age! I suppose it does
mean something that recently I've been wishing that I could win the
lottery. Time to buy my first ticket? I find my defence mechanisms
regressing of late.
I wonder how things will progress. I'm glad life doesn't just
revolve around work, or I'd become more neurotic as time goes by. I
guess I'm lucky in the sense that I do have options, and I'll keep that
in mind. It just takes a good opportunity to come by.
It's a slow, lonely road. Oh well.
As for the rest of life itself, I've been spending time with
family, brewing, gardening. The usuals. People have been ill recently,
which adds on to the stress. We might be taking a step forward in life
too. Brewing's great as usual - loads of new toys to tinker with, and
new friends. Just repotted the Sarracenia. Need to settle car issues.
Wenky
7:15 AM
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Feel like putting one of those countdown scripts on the blog! But it's such a long way away, that I bet it'll be somewhat depressing to see the numbers each day. Will be on nights this whole weekend, gross. =(
Wenky
6:45 AM
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Monday, July 25, 2011
There's really quite a bit of improvement, although I find that my higher mental faculties seem to have been masked out somewhat. Like I don't really care to analyse more. So maybe it's not too good a thing after all. In any case, this experiment will go on for at least 2 weeks.
It's good too, for right now I'm feeling really stretched out by work-related nonsense, and YX is too. Weekends seem to flit by way too quickly, and we find ourselves wishing each Sunday night that we'd wake to find that it's the weekend all over again. Must life be so difficult? Yes, I suppose, if we want our material comforts. Almost at the end of the halfway mark, but there's still a long, long journey to go even after these 6 months. Ever and anon, the same thought creeps in to seize me - what if I've had enough, what if I quit? Still waiting for that big break in life. Maybe I should take to buying a lottery ticket each time I pass by the mamashop.
Lychee beer wise, it's still fermenting away slowly. We'll see how it turns out! My pipeline is running a little dry - 2 kegs of Eclipse II, 1 keg of Hunnymoon, and the Haus Pale Ale is on tap now. I'm half-thinking of doing my first all-grain stout, but I'm worried it'll turn out sweet again like my previous extract batch. In any case, next up in line is a clone of Bell's 2 hearted ale. I've got the Centennial hops (a great deal off ebay!) and the Pacman yeast; I just need to find an opportunity to sneak in a fermenting fridge and I'll be set. I'm not too happy with the current fermentation temperatures - the yeast tends to throw out too much fruity esters. That's what happened to the Haus Pale Ale - it tasted a little like an American hefeweizen.
Wenky
6:50 AM
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Friday, July 22, 2011
D3 SSRI
Quite a bit going on at work, and once again I find myself filled with doubt. There's always an easier route.
Brewed Eclipse II 2 weekends ago, and we just cracked one open to compare with Eclipse. Eclipse II used the exact same malted grain bill, but swapped out the 150g of chocolate malt for 300g of Caramunich III. It's nice and bready on its own, but appears less rounded compared to Eclipse - we're attributing this to the extra month of conditioning that Eclipse got. In any case though, subsequent batches of Eclipse will be brewed with Eclipse II's recipe.
Currently fermenting away too is an experimental batch of lychee hefeweizen. The base is a simple hefeweizen using 3kg pils malt and 2.5kg wheat, and I used a true Bavarian hefeweizen yeast this time (previous ones were done using Belgian/Hoegaarden yeast). It's almost at the end of primary fermentation now, so it'll be racked this weekend onto 5kg of fresh lychees for secondary fermentation. Hope this one turns out well!
Wenky
6:50 AM
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Friday, July 01, 2011
有多可笑。不知不覺，失去了真我。到底是別人或者是自己在改變中？ 有時候真的欲哭無淚，只好獨自關閉在自己的幻想中； 因為幻想具沒有情感，也沒有他人能窺探。要跟誰提起呢？要跟誰分享？別再自欺欺人了。心中的孤單即使以千言萬語也是誰都不能理解的。
不必為還沒發生的事情而苦惱。要活在現在，享受和珍惜現有的。
Wenky
7:34 PM
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Thursday, June 23, 2011
1. Inside the box
It's a question of whether this is shutting the clouds out, or closing the mist in. In either case, it's desolation.
2. The varnish
Just had a proper taste of the dunkelweizen which was bottled last weekend! Yx is a fan of dunkelweizens, so I made one for her. It was difficult to get hold of any tried and true recipes though, so it was quite an experimentation. In the end, I went with a grain bill of:
3kg pale malt
2kg wheat
150g chocolate malt
150g roasted barley
It was a single infusion mash at 65C for 1 hour, and I deviated away from using traditional hops - instead, bittering was done with East Kent Goldings, with a flameout addition of 12g of Spalt Select for aroma. Also, I used a Belgian wit yeast (think Hoegaarden) instead of regular German hefeweizen yeast. The result was yummy, but I'll let it carbonate a bit more before I write up full tasting notes!
What's next then? The current inventory consists of :
American pale ale - 3 mini-kegs
India pale ale - 8 bottles
Stout - 12 bottles
Hefeweizen - 1 mini-keg
Dunkelweizen - 2 mini-kegs
In other words, 2 regular house parties and I'll be cleaned out. I'm shooting for another IPA - maybe a Stone IPA clone?
Wenky
7:09 AM
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I'm feeling extremely pissed off right now. Once again it's about the administration at the place where I am currently working at. Seriously they need to be less fancy and start being practical. I'm feeling very unhappy at work. If these morons keep this up, then they have no grounds to complain that people are leaving the public service - where weekends are not compensated for, annual leave is not a right, and where people find fault in things that you do. It's a vicious cycle, of people leaving and deteriorating working conditions. Friends are truly the ones that keep you alive at these times, but sadly friends cannot sustain you forever. I'm still glad I kept to my path. And I am not ashamed to tell people that my goal, at the end of it all, is to go into the private sector. And why? Because then I can practice for real, and not put up with dimwitted, unevolved apes.
Wenky
7:22 PM
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Monday, June 20, 2011
7 am on a Monday, and I'm still at home blogging. Had a most horrendous call on Saturday due to a sick respiratory patient and admissions. Thankfully my dear friends Lionel and Ruimin were crazy enough to go out of hospital for dinner, and brought back noodles and durians - yes, durians - for me! In any case, I only managed to have my first bite of dinner at 9pm.
On a brighter note, we attended Beerfest Asia on Sunday! Alas, due to a bad mix of circumstances, we could only go on the last day - which meant that a lot of the beers I actually wanted to buy were already sold out. I missed out on Brewdog's Punk IPA, and Stone's Ruination and Arrogant Bastard ales. We did manage to lug back a few sixers of other beers though - YX found joy in a saison, while I grabbed the last 3 bottles of Stone's IPA. Thankfully I also managed to buy Rogue's chocolate stout - they use pacman yeast in these, and I'm looking forward to culturing the yeast from the 2 bottles of stout to use in brewing!
Wenky
7:06 AM
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Wednesday, June 15, 2011
I can feel subtle changes in myself, and I don't like it. This tends to happen when I start working - after a full day dealing with rubbish at work, I find myself unable to give very much more back home. This is when I really feel like my life revolves around work, which is bullshit. It should never be the case. There's a break coming up in July, which I'm really looking forward to. It'll be a good time to re-calibrate my attitude towards work. I'm amazed by people who can stick to their ideals and slog away for years - for me, I just can't wait for the end of the road.
Wenky
6:38 AM
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Tuesday, June 14, 2011
6 weeks down. 4 1/2 more months to go.
Wenky
6:58 AM
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Sunday, June 12, 2011
Just had a junk food/beer party with Dawn and Rita and Edmund. Great times! Going to brew a Dunkelweizen next, and came up with a pretty nifty yeast system. YX got these 2 large sterile bottles for me, which I added a malt agar and cultured yeast on. What happened was that the yeast slowly ate up the malt agar, dissolving it in the process and ended up forming a layer of very concentrated liquid yeast. I added some 10 mls of sterile wort into it before pouring out the yeast to make a starter, which is now happily fermenting away. I've left the agar bottle out for the yeast to grow again, and hopefully this cycle can continue indefinitely as long as there is agar left and if it does not get contaminated.
Wenky
12:54 AM
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Saturday, June 11, 2011
I cheated and drank a bottle of Bee Cave Brewery's Haus Pale Ale which I only bottled 1 week ago, and already it's very very good! Will be doing this recipe again for sure. Nice and easy to drink, with a beautiful light colour. Maybe it's because I didn't have breakfast before drinking it at 10.30am, but I'm getting a bit of a buzz from it. =) It's only 4.5% ABV.
Wenky
10:44 AM
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Saturday, June 04, 2011
Infection! My last 2 batches of all-grain beer had been getting infected, and I'm seriously wondering why. Thankfully it's only a Brettanomyces (wild yeast) infection, and not bacterial - it's safe to drink, just that aesthetically it's awful with bits of yeast floating at the top, and I lose control over the original yeast's flavour profile. Brett is not always bad though, as it can add some depth and character, but I'm going to try to find out why they've been infected. I'm suspecting one of 2 things - the spout from the brew kettle (where the wort exits the brew kettle into the fermenter), or the tea bag which I use to dry hop in. For the next batch, I shall sanitise the spout (oversight on my part!) and also soak the tea bag in sanitiser first.
Back to Bee Cave's ale - remember the low starting gravity and hence the low alcohol %? Ah. I actually brewed to my usual 23litres, but just re-read the recipe and found that it's for 20litres! One of those Duh! moments.
Wenky
6:43 AM
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Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Time to grow up.
It's hard.
Wenky
10:36 PM
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Second batch of all-grain beer is now clearing up/conditioning. I used Bee Cave Brewery's recipe for an IPA, and will be expecting something like only 4.5% alcohol for this batch - probably lautered the wort out a little too quickly this time! Did a taste test 3 days ago, and EWWWWW! It tastes of bananas! It's been awfully warm these days, so I'm guessing the yeasts got stressed out and started producing lots of esters. Also, this was Nottingham yeast reused from the last batch of high gravity stout, so they may have mutated somewhat. Cripes. I'll be leaving it to clear and dry hop till the end of the week, hopefully it'll improve. Thinking of doing up a Bell's 2 hearted ale clone next.
1 month down, 5 more to go.
Wenky
6:49 AM
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Friday, May 27, 2011
Almost 1 month down. 5 more to go before I get back on track. This last month had been peppered with annoying shit, which once again reminds me of the inefficiencies of the public system. I have about 10 different passwords to remember (why can't they just consolidate every damn thing?), the leave application process is ridiculously complicated, and I'm spending hours each week doing administrative odd jobs. I'm thoroughly upset, and each day I still ask myself why the hell I'm doing this. Oh dear.
On a happier note, I've switched to all-grain brewing - i.e. brewing from scratch. OK, not quite from scratch, since I don't grow and malt my own barley and grow my own hops. But now the brews start from crushed barley rather than tins of malt extract, and though this adds 2-3 hours to the brew day, it's a lot more satisfying. My first all-grain batch, an IPA, ended up being slightly infected with another yeast but thankfully it's still more than drinkable. The second batch, also an IPA, is now fermenting.
Just some notes on the oatmeal stout made in early March from extract. Something went wrong along the way, I think. It finished quite sweet - not cloyingly so, but it would have been better drier. I'll let it age a few months to see how it turns out.
Wenky
7:03 AM
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
5th day at work, and I'm already feeling drained. Yes, I'm now the bitter, disillusioned old bird - quite literally. And when you look at the call roster and see your female counterparts actually doing registrar calls already, it really slams home the fact that you're so behind everyone else. 5 years. Is it worth it?
But now I need to worry about getting past 6 months. It's awfully lonely at work, with few people that I know. I'm trying hard not to get sad.
On the bright side, YX got me a really nifty ipod dock/speaker for my birthday!!!! =) I'm so thrilled! It's the JBL On Stage, which I've always been eyeing but never could bring myself to buy. Now I can have great music in the room!
Wenky
6:39 AM
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Thursday, May 05, 2011
Just restarted my hospital rotations again yesterday. It's been quite a struggle over the last few days trying to come to terms with it. I think along the way, doubt and seduction had been seeping into my thoughts. There are 5 more long years ahead, and I'll be drawing a lower salary than I could have had, all for a lot more work. And to what end? But I shall have to remind myself that the alternative is not what I really want. I'm ok with working out there, but it's no what I am passionate about. Oh well. At least I have a back door available, should I ever decide otherwise.
Wenky
6:42 AM
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Friday, March 11, 2011
It's unbelievable how fast time flies. Another 6 hours, and we'll be aboard a plane to Manila. I'm dreading the Manila part of this whole trip though, their airport sounds formidable by all accounts. Anyway, we'll be arriving at Palau in the unearthly hours of the morning. We packed REALLY light for this trip - the bulk of our luggage is actually equipment, while the clothes can actually easily be stuffed into a single day pack. Here's a pre-trip itinerary:
11 Mar - Singapore to Manila, then Manila to Palau
12 Mar - arrive in Palau at 2am, then off to a motel for the night. We'll check out at midday and head off to our chartered boat. I wanted the sailboat, which was cheaper, but the captain recommended the newer boat.
13 Mar - 18 Mar: 5 whole days of sailing about! I'm expecting rain at this time of the year, sashimi on the boat and quite a bit of seasickness.
19 Mar: Based on land in Koror, Palau. Let's see if we can get any land activities done.
20 Mar: Another unearthly flight, outbound at 1am towards Yap.
21-25 Mar: 2 dives per day at Yap
26 Mar: Land activities at Yap
27 Mar: Freaking unearthly flight at 1am AGAIN, back to Palau
We'll be out in the wild for the next 2 nights, kayaking and setting up camp as and when. Survivor Palau at its best.
29 Mar: At last, a decent enough flight time at 9pm, back to Manila. We'll be staying for the night in a small hotel.
30 Mar: Outbound domestic flight towards Legaspi, followed by a 1.5 hour van ride to Donsol. Next 2 nights will be spent with Mount Mayon and whalesharks (I hope!)
1 April: Back to Singapore
I'm hoping the weather will be kind.
Wenky
8:47 AM
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Friday, February 25, 2011
This deserves a post. It's starting to feel like madness, but I'm making my first step back to working in hospitals today. It's not official, of course - at some point in life, I rather think that having the luxury of leisure time starts being valuable above a lot of other things. Anyway, I'm just helping out for 9 days. Doing a friend a personal favour if you will, with good remuneration. Just got the patient list via email ... alas. =(
Also officially received my freedom back, on the 22nd.
Wenky
7:23 AM
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Sunday, February 06, 2011
Ah ha, my favourite part of the brew - tasting notes again. The stout and IPA were all but wiped out over CNY. I realised that different people have a different preference to the style of beers. Here's a quick list for reference.
Those who dig hops:
Dad
Brother in law
Those who dig malt:
Father in law
Younger brother in law
Yx's 5th uncle
For me, I love my witbiers. Wei helped out with the last batch of orange honey wheat. Fermentation was in 2 parts - the first 24hrs there was bubbling and all, but after it settled down prematurely, I added a pinch of Fermaid-K and gave the fermenter a shake, and the result was EXPLOSIVE. I suspect this was due to the addition of honey. The yeast probably preferentially ate up the simple sugars from the honey first (the lazy beasts ..) and subsequently started using up the oligo- and polysaccharides from the wheat wort. Anyway, the entire fermentation took 6 days, with a few shakes now and then. The fermentation was so vigorous, I actually harvested the krausen off the top for another batch.
Initially the wort's colour was a horrid dark brown due to the rewa-rewa honey, but post-fermentation colour is approximately 4-5 SRM. Initial nose was yeasty, but this settled down significantly 1 day after bottling. Taste was, as expected, phenolic - lots of banana and some clove-like esters, with no discernible bitterness. I suspect this batch won't last too long in the fridge. My only grouse is the colour. I'm shooting for 2-3 SRM next time by using a lighter-coloured honey. Also, the orange zest was NOT significant. We added the zests of 2 oranges; next time, we'll use 5.
I actually washed the yeast cake, and brewed a second batch just half an hour ago- this time, I'm doing a quick-and-dirty one using 1 can of Cooper's wheat kit plus 1kg dried wheat extract, with no added spices. This kit-and-kilo batch took just 45 mins to complete. Amount of ice was 5L, boil volume 4L, topped up to 23L with starting temperature of 20C at these proportions - perfect!
I'll probably stick to these 3 styles for all future brewdays. An IPA, a wheat, and a stout.
Wenky
9:23 AM
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