#37 Learn How To Brew Beer

Hey guys! I'm back! Thanks to some really good friends of mine, Ciara and Devin, I got the opportunity to learn how to brew beer, which is number thirty seven on my never-ending bucket list. This whole process was quite the science experiment, and unfortunately I was only there for about half of it because the night Devin was brewing was the same night "The Sound of Music, Live!" premiere was on, and Lord knows I can't miss a chance to laugh at an attempt to remake a classic.

So here's my understanding of brewing beer, which I'm sure Devin will have some corrections or additions for because let's face it, I'm sucky when it comes to this stuff.

1) First the malted barley is soaked in hot water to release the sugars, and if I remember this step correctly, Devin had this cool sock-looking thing that was comparable to stockings to soak the malted barley in.
2) The sugar-malt stuff is boiled with the hops in order to season it. The hops grows on these giant tree-like stalks that kind of look like something out of a Dr. Suess story.
3) After all of this cools off, yeast is added and fermentation begins. I got this handy dandy definition online because as we all know, science and Bridget do not really mix. I'm trying, people, I really am! Fermentation in brewing is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions.
4) After this process if over, you can begin to bottle the beer

So I'm pretty sure this is the super condensed, cliff notes version of this, but I do have to give a super big thank you to Devin for teaching me, because it actually was way more interesting than I thought it was going to be, and there's a lot more to it than I anticipated! Also, thanks to Ciara for making an awesome dinner for us and just for being awesome as always. I'm sure I sound like a huge idiot trying to explain this whole process, but it also wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

Now that we've checked that one off the list, the new number thirty seven is, "Read Fifty Shades of Grey," which will no doubt be an interesting experience. A friend of mine actually suggested that I read this, so shout out to Melynda for giving me something super uncomfortable to read for the sake of blogging.

Until next time,
Bridget

#73 Get My Cartilage Pierced

Hey everyone! I've had a really successful week in terms of this bucket list. I actually completed two items on my bucket list, get my cartilage pierced and learn how to brew beer! The beer brewing post is taking me a bit longer because that process was much longer and their was so much to it, so I'm going to double check my facts before I make that post. My friends have been so supportive of me doing this blog, and so have a couple of my readers who have sent me messages related to some of the stuff I've been doing. Thanks to everyone who's been supporting me, and anyone out there who has stumbled upon my scribblings. I love you all for it!

Anyways, I came home for the weekend because my roommate and I are pretty much weary of the world. This past week I felt very defeated and down, I guess because my finals are coming up and academically, I've had a rough semester. We decided to come home to my parent's home because I'm only two hours away from campus, and how a complete girls weekend. I've been absolutely relaxed and just grateful to get away from it all, even though there's only a week and a half left in the semester. We were at the mall doing some Christmas shopping, and my roommate Amanda exclaims, "Let's go get our ears pierced!" just as we walk out of Sephora. I looked at her and I was like "Really? Are we actually doing this?"

We ended up at Claires, and Amanda got her first holes done while I got my cartilage on my left side pierced. It doesn't hurt as much as everyone told me it would! I've heard the absolute worst stories about getting your cartilage pierced and I can honestly say, it was not that bad. It definitely hurt more than getting my first holes pierced, because it was more of like a lingering stab in the soft bone of my ear. That being said, I love the way it turned out, and what I love even more is how spontaneous this decision was. It was such a spur of the moment thing, and I did it with a very good friend of mine and I feel like it turned out great. I will always remember how we did this together and how much fun it was to just do something and not think about the consequences later. Anyways, I hope you guys like it. I promise I'll post my beer brewing extravaganza post asap!

See you next time! (Pictures below!)