Lately I have had some great brews that were just exactly what the label said, Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout for one. Talk about an amazing desert ale. I have never had such a desert like ale ever before, it's just perfect. Wells Banana Bread Ale is another. It too, is an incredible ale that tastes exactly like banana bread. Brewed with real bananas, this brass to gold ale with minimal head is a great summer, or fall ale. The aroma is 100% bananas!

In other news we won the kegerator contest over at Siciliano's. Thanks to Russ, George, and Steve for all their incredible work on the kegerator, thanks to everyone for all the votes, thanks to Kati and Chris for setting up the contest and thanks to Steve Siciliano for the gift card. It was spent on ingredients for a Vanilla Bourbon Stout, I will let you know in February how it came out.

To the other contestants, drop me a line sometime and we'll share a pint on me.

So guys on /r/homebrewing  are always talking about what great service different homebrew suppliers have. I have used Northern Brewer and they are great. Beverage Factory has the best deals on CO2 tanks hands down. Even my local homebrew shop Sicilianos has great prices and awesome service. Everyone unfortunately only sells line by the foot. I wanted to just get a whole 50' FT of gas and beverage line. So I ordered from Micromatic. They have really cool color lines that are transparent. That way you can still see moisture buildup in the line, and have it color coded, all at the same time. Anyhow, I ordered yesterday, and I got them today UPS ground. I suppose my location may have something to do with it, but still most places don't even get it to the shipper in one day, let alone have it at your doorstep.

I recently read a post at homebrewtalk where a poster says that he's convinced that kegs have some kind of a crazy beer evaporator inside. I did not realize this until today. By the time you are done racking you probably have four gallons of beer in a keg. According to Google four US gallons = 32 US pints. Here is where the math comes in, 32 US pints + one week + magic beer evaporator = no beer. Yes it's all gone. Granted I lost a little foam trying to get the carbonation just right the first time around, but I never thought it would be gone in a week. Oh well I guess I will just have to brew another batch.

Well here she is in all her glory. There are still a few things to be done.I need to fabricate some custom tap handles, purchase and polish the aluminum CO2 tank, and install the hoses and regulator. I am also going to create a custom stainless steel shelf for the bottom. I need to connect up the drain connections as well. Expect more photos to come.

The Philco's drip tray sprayer and drain are installed. The sprayer will wash out the tray keeping it and the drain from getting sticky with beer residue. 

The Philco was getting lonely so her sister is coming to visit from St.Louis MO.