Monday, December 11, 2006

The coolest Dad ever

Michael has a thing for yeast products. He created a sourdough starter (basically a lump of dough with lots of natural yeast used in place of the powdery dried yeast bought in the store) by fermenting organic flour on our balcony for a couple weeks last year. "It's fine," he assured me, "as long as the starter doesn't get any nasty red streaks in it." Not quite the most reassuring comment, but the starter has faithfully leavened many a loaf of delicious homemade bread for us.

This summer, after aquiring a couple oak barrels from Freecycle, Michael decided to expand the home economy from baking to brewing. His first batch of homemade beer was a success, gagued by a non-beer-drinking friend's comment upon tasting it: "This beer made me almost want to take another sip!" Tonight is the start of Michael's Homebrew #2. While he held Gabriel at dinner, he mused about what our son's friends would think in the years to come: "Hey Gabe, what did ya do last night?" "Oh, nothin' much, just brewed some beer with my dad..."

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