Beer and bears

Rocky, a/k/a Baby Bear

Last weekend we brewed up a very strong Scottish ale.  The wort was very sweet so we know it has the potential to turn into a strong beer with a high alcohol content.  The cooking releases starches from the grain, which yeast consume in the fermentation process producing alcohol as their by-product.  The fermentation usually starts within 24 hours and produces a nice bubbling in the vapor lock.  It seems that we added too much yeast, which combined with the fact that we used a lot of grain caused the fermentation to get out of hand.  When it began bubbling out of the top on Monday afternoon, I moved it into the shower stall of guest bathroom because it looked like it was going to overflow. 

That's a beer with a head on it.

That move was certainly my best idea of the day and probably the best of the week, month, or maybe even of the year to date.  We left it in there when we went out and returned to find that the outlet had clogged and the build up of pressure had caused the top to blow off the fermentation bucket.  Fortunately, all the mess was contained in the shower stall.  We had a good laugh about it, but we might not have been laughing as much if it had exploded all over the office.  Lesson learned.








Riley and Rocky, Momma Bear and Baby Bear

 

Rocky eating

Tuesday was a rainy, crappy, depressing day.  My van was in the shop (inspection and brakes), so all I could do was stay at home and work.  Everyone was hunkered down, as bored as I was.  Wednesday I was similarly stuck at home but at least the sun was shining again.  I got a few pics of the fosters playing in the dog yard.

Barack and Augie

I've taken to calling the new little rottie mix, Baby Bear rather than Rocky, and I'm calling Riley Mama Bear because I usually couldn't remember Riley anyway.  We don't have a Papa Bear rottweiler around here at the moment, but that's ok, although it would make for a great looking set of dogs.



Riley and Herc

Booty meeting Rocky

Rocky a/k/a Baby Bear, is a cute and sweet little thing.  He looks just like a rottweiler but in miniature.  He gets along fine generally with the other dogs, but he had a rumble with one of the males, probably Augie, one day last week.  He has a bit of a Napoleon complex when he meets other male dogs, which caused me to question his status as a neutered dog.  When I introduced him to Trooper he copped an attitude that Trooper didn't care for and that's when I decided to investigate.  I checked underneath and sure enough, he's not neutered. 



Hercules and his ball

I've never seen a rottweiler with a low hanging scrotum.  They carry their equipment high and tight.  Consequently, a cursory glance often causes people to say they are neutered when in fact they are not.  This is the second "neutered" male rottie I've taken in that actually had intact, fully functioning testicles.  That's something I'll need to get taken care of next week.

He's a sweet boy, looks like a teddy bear, and after he's neutered he will be.

All the fosters want to play with Trooper.  Sometimes he wishes I'd just let him go back inside.