Medieval MADNESS!!!

Wondering the streets of Portland past say, eight o'clock just inst on my agenda anymore.   I mean, who doesn't long for the days of wondering around looking for some trouble to get into, a place to crash.....someone who is 18 and will but us cigarettes!?!?   It just so happened that I found myself out and about at ten one night and asked a group of "frequent fliers" where i could find the closest available machine.    Pizza Villa!   

I got a good vibe right away.   The bartender was wearing a tacky Hawaiian tee-shirt with palm trees on it - no lounge music here, just Steel Pulse bumpin on the stereo.    though there were one too many TVs, i found the atmosphere to be welcoming and laid back - a classic workingman's establishment.  

The machine was getting plenty of play when i entered and had to wait a while to get my chance, but it was a worthwhile wait - Medieval Madness kicks ass.   

Say NO to drugs

Medieval Madness is a straightforward, well designed and fun game produced in 1997 by the Williams company.     It has many of the characteristically defining components of a late 90's machine - lots of lights, tons of shots (and opportunities for misses), good soundtrack and a well developed game-play that is challenging yet easy to follow.    

I was told immediately that the "point of the game" was to destroy as many castles as possible - a good tactic, but upon inspection on the internet it seems that all shots are needed to complete final game task.   Though castles ramp up the score (2mill the first time, 4mill the next and so on) I will approach play a bit differently next time.....

Though I was mislead, I still managed to put a hurt on the machine.   On a two dollar/five credit run, i played eight games (and had two beers!).   I found that the speed of the machine was a bit slower than those i am used to, but it made for a different experience and some long multi-balls.   

I'll be going back to play this game, that's for sure.   

Pinball Wizard Arcade

On my way to Burlington VT, i took a slight detour to Pelham NH.   Though it took me nearly an hour out of the "way," it was worth every token.   Yes, that's right, I spent three and a half hours playing pinball at the legendary:

I'll just come and say it: i don't know why anyone would need 91 pinball machines under one roof, (as well as 162 other video games) but it is, definitively, the shit.   and overwhelming.   As one walks into PWA, one is faced with the ridiculous quandary: where the hell do I start?   

Four more rows of this....

So i just jumped in.   For twenty bucks you get 100 tokens - each machine costs 2 or 3 tokens - that means a lot of pinball.   I figured that if i was to play each machine that interested me two or three times (as to feel out the complexities of each) that i'd be able to make a dent.  

The more i played, the more i realized that pinball is completely overstimulating.   The only dent i got was a dent in my brain.  

One completely frustrating fact of the matter: PWA turns the ball save off on nearly all machines.   Though this is good for "official scores" and making good on all the local allowances, it makes for a frustrating few hours.   I think I only pulled maybe three Replays over the course of my time.

I found that "BlackWater 100" from Bally was one of my favorite finds of the day.   The game starts by shooting three balls to the top of the course - as the green flag drops, the tree balls are released on to the top "track" which has a set of flippers.   If one's ball or balls falls through this set of flippers it drops down a level to another "track" where lies another set of flippers.   if one falls through this bottom set of flippers, it is the end of the race.....but you get to do it two more times!   Basically, I liked this machine because it was pure madness.  With balls in multiple locations all over the board, its basically impossible.

After playing for like an hour, i took a break and played NBA Jam.   Like three times.

I played this game like six times.  Completly addicting.   and stupid.  So stupid, I played it like six times.   This one is for you Christian.   We love you UC.    Bowl less, play more pinball.    

Check out TRON next to Spider-Man.   I should have played TRON!  Dammit, I got obsessed with TRON like a week after I passed by this machine.   DAMMIT!  Well, its a reason to go back.   I have like 25 tokens sitting in the center console of the car......

Belgian triple IPA brew process.

I've started this blog upon the request of my freinds and family whom drink my brews but don't know much about the process or really about what exactly they are drinking.   well, here it is - my attempt to shine light on what i'm up to.    to start off, i'll show what goes into the brew and later i'll do reviews and tastes of both my own and other's selections.  we'll start with Belgian Triple IPA!

Personally, this is my favorite kind of beer to make. Big, yet light- smooth, with a Belgian yeast overtone that pairs oh so sweetly with cascade, saaz and Amarillo hops. East meets west baby!

This is a look into my makeshift brew process.   Though i'm no pro and I don't have a lot of resources to put into purchasing equipment, i've been making some really great beers for the last year.  
 
 

The first step is to steep the grains for one hour. As mash temp was at around 153', I added water that was 160' and regulated with the burner.    The goal of this step is to extract the sugars in the grains by process of keeping them at a specific temperature for one hour.  

After the hour is up, i did my best to strain all liquid from the grains through a makeshift process of industrial stainer.    Once all available liquid is removed, I poured on another gallon of near boiling water to rinse the grains of sugars as well as stopping the conversion process.

 once all liquid is removed from the grains, i began my boil.   the boil is the hour in which the wort is boiled with hops and additional adjuncts (sugars, spices, stabilizers) to create the final product.   during this hour hops are added incrementally to provide the adequate bitters to hide the sweetness of our malt.   


also, as used just seven pounds of grains for the mash, additional sources of sugar are needed to achieve a higher alcohol content.   in this case i used approximately 5 pounds of light pilsner malt extract.  also, i used two pounds of clear rock candy sugar to bring out keep the body of the beer down as much as possible.   


during the hour boil, i usually take the time to create a boost for my beer's yeast pitch.......

.    one potential mishap that i've made with prior beers is to not throw enough yeast on a beer that is chock full of sugars to digest.   if there is not enough yeast pitched, the yeast can get overwhelmed and you end up with a sweet beer.   in order to avoid this issue, brewers many times make a high concentrated wort for the yeast to get going before pitching it into the actual beer.      i boiled a small amount of my wort with some additional malt extract and cooled to room to room temperate.     very carefully i sanitized a old growler and air lock for a fermentation vessel.   then, I added the yeast and left it in a warm spot for the night to do its magic.

for this brew i used the best.....white labs liquid yeast.   with many ales or stouts it is fine to use a nondescript yeast, but a belgian beers defining characteristics (in my opinion) is the yeast undertones.   in order to get the fruity, spicy flavors i went for the top shelf.

    Using a sanitized bucket and straining equipment, i carefully transfered the wort and mixed it with cold water to make 5.5 gallons.    My boil yielded 3.5 gallons, so the addition of 2 gallons of cold water brings the temp of the wort down considerably.   this is a potentially dangerous time in the life cycle as airborne yeast can survive (and thrive) at these temperatures.      Cover immediately!      Sanitize! 

My transfer bucket is handy in that its equipped with a valve.   I simply place the sanitized carboy under the bucket with a short length of tubing attached to reduce spill.   As the wort is still too warm to host yeast (temps over 90 will kill the yeast.....i learned the hard way.   twice) i let it sit overnight in my cold kitchen.   this is also handy because it gives my starter the time to do its thing.  

The next day when i added the yeast starter to the wort (on the right) i was sure to keep it warm for the first 24 hours.   In this stage of fermentation it is vital to keep the wort at 70 degrees or above to ensure strong growth.    

So basically, there it is.    A peep into my passion.    A look into my love.   This insight may or may not be helpful - in fact, i may be doing some things in a totally unreasonable way....but hey, its been working for me!