Okbrewer

Alright! More good ideas! Thanks, y'all! Bob R in OKC

Thanks, Emma and Owen, for the great suggestions! Bob R in OKC

My daughter's high school drama club will be taking a trip to Broadway for Spring Break. My wife and I are going along to chaperone. A few of the meals are included in the package price, like dinners at Planet Hollywood and O'Casey's, but there will be a lot of free time, especially during the morning and early afternoon. I want to be a good chaperone and recommend some places to go for lunch, places that are HS kid friendly, good pizza to not-too-pricey higher end LOCAL places (they go to Applebees or Outback here in OKC!) Any suggestions!? Also, if there any other 'must see or do' things, please let me know. We will be staying at the Novatel "in the heart of the theatre district". There will be about 35-40 on the trip, but we will break into smaller groups, so I may have 8-10 with me. Thanks for any suggestions! Bob R in OKC

Wow! Has it been that long since this thread started!? Anyone else have success with this or subsequent mead brewing!? I made a batch of base mead last weekend, 24# honey for a 9 gallon batch and used Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne) yeast, also added some yeast energizer and nutrient. It took off rather quickly and is bubbling away nicely. I will likely split this into at least 3 batches, adding fruit, juices, and/or spices. I'll let you know how it progresses. Bob R in OKC

All those mentioned are good, but I would also suggest Goose Island's Fest Beer! Nice malt and hop balance, and quaffable! Locally, tiny Krebs Brewing (in Krebs, OK) makers of Choc beer, have a fest beer they call Choctoberfest, it is also a very tasty beer, if not entirely a true O'fest. Bob R in OKC

UGH! I tried that but had a reaction to it! Bob R in OKC

Fibonacci's serial Avogadro's Avocado salad Nobel's Dynamite Hot Wings! Bessemer Processed Cheese Food Curie's Curry Fermi's Atomic Burritos (available in 2 sizes: Fat Man and Little Boy)

Kohl's carries the Foodsavers and bags and other supplies. So does Tuesday Morning, but with varying regularity. Both stores have locations in the KC area. Bob R in OKC

Like many things, Rauchbiers are an acquired taste. But once you do acquire the taste, look out! I happen to like smoked beers. Try some with a bowl of chili! Schlenkerla is the premiere example of a German-style rauchbier. It is smoked with beechwood. Alaskan Smoked porter is an award winning domestic example that is smoked with alder wood, I believe. Other regional breweries have recently jumped on the smoked beer band wagon are making some nice beers. Here in OK, Coach's Brewpub in Norman recently made a smoked porter that was very good! Save the peat smoked malt for Scotch Ales or Scottish Strongs, or just plain Scotch! Bob R in OKC

Original Oreos, no double stuff or chocolate covered, the Original please! Walker's Shortbread Mother's cookies, I like all varieties but the double chocolate, they seem very dry. of course they all have to be DUNKED in coffee or milk! Bob R in OKC

Geez! I could claim five beers just from one brewery! In fact, that brewery would be De Dolle! I like all their beers, Arabier, Oerbier, Boskeun, Stille Nacht, Dulle Teve, etc! Let's see! Then there would be Rochefort 6, 8, and 10! Of Course Westmalle beers would make my lust, er, list! And most lambics or Gueuzes would make my list, too! Oh heck, let's just say all the Trappists and Abbey beers! I can't narrow it down to just five! I LIKE ALL BELGIAN BEERS! (Well, I'm not too fond of Stella Artois!) Bob R in OKC

My electric oven/microwave combo recently quit working properly. It was 20 years old and needed updating anyway! I replaced it with a Jenn-air double oven like this one: http://www.us-appliance.com/jjw9627a27je.html We had to have the opening increased a bit but other than that it fit fine in the existing space. The upper oven is convection capable. It is 27" but it seems much bigger! The hidden heating element in the bottom and the recessed convection fan make more space available inside. Also the unique oven racks give you several positions for various baking dishes. The touch controls work great and give options for preprogramming and other uses like proofing and drying. The touchcontrols are also behind a glass front and not a plastic film. Temperature is pretty true right out of the box. Gets up to 550F. The convection oven has the auto conversion function which automatically converts standard temps. to convection temps, but that can be bypassed if desired. I like mine! In fact, we are going to get the French door refrigerator that matches! Bob R in OKC

Crate and Barrel has these: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=160&f=17374 We have a store here in OKC called Garden Ridge that has all kinds of glass ware, is there a similar store near you? Bob R in OKC

Go to this website: http://www.johnsgrocery.com/ at the top of the page click on "Breweriana" then go to glassware and then scroll down to "tulip. You'll find more than you need! Bob R in OKC

Chris! Thanks for the links. An interesting article, especially for those not familiar with lambics. However, the picture of the Cuvee Rene got me! If they are going to go to the trouble of trying to educate the masses about lambics, they should have done some homework on what style of glass to pour this beer into! At the very least, a champagne flute would be more appropriate for this beer! But then again, some people just "don't get Belgian beers." ( RP) Bob R in OKC

I like my Vermont Casting gas grill! It has a rotisserie with separate heating element in the back. I have used, and liked, the Webers and I still have a samll charcoal grill that I sometimes use, but I like the convenience of the gas grill. Bob R in OKC

I use unglazed 8" tiles from Home Depot as my grill 'pizza stone.' Just lay them right on the grill when preheating. I cook pizza on my grill because it got hotter than the old oven in my kitchen. The grill heats to over 600F and the old oven would be lucky to get to 500F. My NEW kitchen ovens however heat up to 550F! But I still like the grill! Bob R in OKC

Hi Chris! Looks good so far! Good info for the beginner, I like the way you keep your focus on the beginner as it is easy to forget what it was like when we were in their shoes! Look forward to the future segments! Bob R in OKC

Though not a true bock beer, Shiner is a good tasting beer. It is not one that I normally run out and buy, but if the choice is Shiner or BudMillerCoors, guess which one I'll grab? I call Shiner Bock a good 'transitional beer' in that it allows people to see and taste that a darker beer isn't necessarily heavy and highly alcoholic. It might then lead them to try something else that is different from the yellow sudsy watery stuff they used to call beer. Regionally, I point people to Boulevard (Kansas City) beers, especially their Bully Porter and Bob's '47. More locally, Kreb's Brewing Co. (Krebs, OK) has started to bottle its Choc beer and Miner's Light as well as a seasonal Choctoberfest. The Choc was my 'go to beer' last summer! Bob R in OKC

Do you really want to make the humidity adjustable or do you want to maintain a humidity level? There are devices available that are used to regulate and adjust humidity levels in walk-in cigar humidors that might be adaptable for your use. Look for an Oasis sysem. A cheaper alternative that many cigar smokers use for larger humidors is humidification beads, such as these: http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/beads_1.html They are used to maintain humidity at either 65 or 70%. A pound or so of those in a container in your fridge might do the trick. Either way, you will need to get a hygrometer to check the relative humidity. Of course in a humidor, the temperature is also maintained at around 70F. So, after alot of rambling, this may or may not work in a fridge that you want to keep refrigerated and humid! Bob R in OKC

Not much in the way of cooking or food related gifts this year, but I did receive The Cook's Book and a bottle of Laphroaig 10yo. Oh, also some kitchen towels. Bob R in OKC

Celebration is about the only winter seasonal I buy anymore. I picked up a case on sale recently for $6.30 a sixer! MMMMM! I like that beer even more when it is on sale! I had an eye opening beer last week. In September, I was in KC and did a bit of beer shopping and picked up some offerings from Goose Island. Two I hadn't had before were Demolition and Matilda. Both are Belgian-style beers. While I liked the Demolition, the Matilda knocked my socks off! (Now I look like RP!) ((inside joke)) Anyway, back to the Matilda... If I hadn't known better I would have sworn I was drinking a beer actually made in some farmhouse in Belgium! It had some nice Belgian-style funkiness, a hint of malty sweetness, some candi sugar notes and drying finish that was part balancing bitterness and part alcohol. It was a very tasty beer! However, for those of you who "don't GET Belgian beer", you might wanna shy away from this one, it is darn close to the real thing! Too bad I only got a 4 pack! Bob R in OKC

Perhaps Pierre Celis might be interested?

If your husband enjoys scotch, he might also enjoy reading about it! You might also consider a subscription to "Malt Advocate", a magazine for those of us who appreciate malt beverages. In the back of each issue they have a section called, The Marketplace, where you can order various items, such as books, flasks, and nosing glasses. You can also go to this site: https://www.maltadvocate.com/active_content/marketplace.asp to see the glasses they have available. Bob R in OKC

I'm guessing that the N2O cartridges are made of aluminum, it does not say anything on the packaging about the external construct, only the internal contents. It does have a "recycle" statement on the box. Guess I'll just put them in the recycle box and see if they get taken or left behind. Again, any more RECIPES for foams or other such delights that can be made in the cream whipper?