Category: Magic


LIFE. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Almost a year ago I posted about being pressed for time before year’s end, and now here I am again sensing urgency – except these days urgency is compounded by exhaustion, frustration, and often feeling as empty as naked lunch.

One thing that’s been bothering me is, well, my beers. I’ve yet to brew a batch that I’m entirely confident or proud of. Good beer? Yes. Great beer? No.

Another thing, my Scottish Lee Heavy’s successful carbonation test wasn’t nearly as successful as I’d thought; not only was half the batch disappointingly under-carbonated, but the entire batch has also been affected by haze. Sure, it can be drunk, but it won’t be entered into any beer contests soon ever.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

At least I didn’t have to dump it like my good friend and beer brother, Mark. In fact, several other brewers I know have had to chuck out recent batches. I’ll count my blessings, then. Knock wood. There’s more to groan at than an occasional flat cloudy beer.

Something else I’ve been meaning to address, and was reminded of in an e-mail asking, “Where’s the magic? Your website says, ‘exploits in homebrewing and magic’.” I know, I know! One of my aims this year was to shoot and upload videos of me performing my favourite effects. But patience please until I’ve video editing software; I’ve no desire to amaze you with utter sh*te.

Finally, there’s the missus. It’s been over a year and still no luck. What do you do for someone who only wants the one thing you keep failing to do? Try try again, I suppose. But the thought of her having an unhappy birthday followed by an unhappy new year is simply unbearable. :sad:

Aye, another round of heavy sighs. I’ve gotten this far, can’t give up now…right?

So the countdown begins, only three more days until it’s *!* back to the office. But it’s been a brilliant two weeks free; I’m finally at a place where I feel caught up with 2011! Highlights of my summer holiday include: brewing more beers than I usually do in a month, getting together with old friends, and having dinner and beers at Nakameguro Taproom and DevilCraft Beer & Pizzeria.

I also managed to: outfit two of my 10L BetterBottle Carboys with racking adapters and valves; input my grain, hop, and yeast inventory into BeerSmith; construct a handful of magic gimmicks that had been collecting dust for ages; as well as clean (out) and reorganize my home brewery.

So, what’s next? Tonight is my brother-in-law’s birthday party; tomorrow I’ll be racking my two Belgian Strong Ales to secondary fermentors; on Wednesday, I’m in Yokohama for some supply shopping, and possibly maybe lunch at Bashamachi Taproom!

Inned and Outed by Beer

Almost a year ago, when I finally committed to homebrewing and started ABREWCADABREW, I also created an alter ego to manage and represent me in my beer making shenanigans. My reasoning was: why bother friends and fellows with unintelligible talk about sanitizing lauter tuns, dry-hopping primary and secondary fermentors, and calculating IBU’s – right?

As a result, Theo Clubs was born. The name was a play on “three of clubs” – a nod to my love of magic and my favourite playing card. Some of you befriended him at Facebook, but most of you knew him as the author of this website’s posts (a.k.a. me, Lee, but as the other me, Theo. Aye, it confused the both of us, too).

The point is, I never thought it would become an issue. Being the intensely private person that I’ve always been, the plan was to go about discreetly brewing beer and posting my progress here. Once or twice a year, perhaps; say, during holidays when I’d have free time. But alas, like a wort left exposed to the elements, I too have become infected. And once or twice a year has since multiplied into once or twice a month (during the colder seasons, at least).

And now there’s the issue of storage space in our home. According to my wife, my beer gear is invading and taking over every nook and cranny (I’m currently negotiating to buy a private refrigerator so I can store and regulate my fermentors). Not even my magic’s safe – I’ve recently designed several magic tricks dealing strictly with beer themes. Oh yes, indeed, I’ve been bitten bad by the homebrewer’s bug.

And throughout the journey something quite unexpected has been happening: I’ve been meeting and making friends with other brothers and sisters of the craft. And the once intensely private person that I’ve always been is slowly changing, becoming a bit more social…and no longer needing an alter ego to secret behind. It sounds silly, I know, but for me it’s quite a serious step forward considering my past (If we ever have drinks, just ask me about QU13E).

Anyway, R.I.P. Theo Clubs, tomorrow’s Brown Porter will be dedicated in your name.

Because from now on, it’s just you and Lee. ;)

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