HOW BEER IS MADE

Beer is made from four basic ingredients: Barley, water, hops and yeast. The basic idea is to extract the sugars from grains (usually barley) so that the yeast can turn it into alcohol and CO2, creating beer.

The brewing process starts with grains, usually barley (although sometimes wheat, rye or other such things.) The grains are harvested and processed through a process of heating, drying out and cracking. The main goal of malting is to isolate the enzymes needed for brewing so that it’s ready for the next step.

The wort is boiled for about an hour while hops and other spices are added several times.

What are hops? Hops are the small, green cone-like fruit of a vine plant. They provide bitterness to balance out all the sugar in the wort and provide flavor. They also act as a natural preservative, which is what they were first used for.

Once the hour long boil is over the wort is cooled, strained and filtered. It’s then put in a fermenting vessel and yeast is added to it. At this point the brewing is complete and the fermentation begins. The beer is stored for a couple of weeks at room temperature (in the case of ales) or many many weeks at cold temperatures (in the case of lagers) while the yeast works its fermentation magic. Basically the yeast eats up all that sugar in the wort and spits out CO2 and alcohol as waste

products.

Barrel  for collecting CO2

Bottling equipment

You’ve now got alcoholic beer, however it is still flat and uncarbonated. The flat beer is bottled, at which time it is either artificially carbonated like a soda, or if it’s going to be ‘bottle conditioned’ it’s allowed to naturally carbonate via the CO2 the yeast produces. After allowing it to age for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months you drink the beer, and it’s delicious!

Part of the bottling area

STONE BREWERY TOUR

Paul and I took a tour of Stone Brewery in Escondido along with Ray and Betsy.

Founded by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, Stone Brewing has come a long way since opening up in San Diego, California in 1996. It has been listed on the Inc. 500 | 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list 11 times, and has been called the “All-time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate magazine twice. Stone Brewing is the eighth-largest craftbrewer in the U.S. and with breweries in Richmond, Virginia & Berlin, Germany.

Stone Brewing has come a long way since opening in 1996. It has grown from a small microbrewery with just two founders into one of the largest craft breweries in the United States, employing more than 1,100 men and women. From the beginning, the goal has been to brew outstanding, unique beers while maintaining an unwavering commitment to sustainability, business ethics, and the art of brewing.

There is a Bistro that is part of the complex along with a landscaped patio outside with a walkway around the patio with fire pits and an outdoor bar.

Part of the outdoor bar.

Stone Brewery entrance

LA JOLLA COAST AND COVE

LA JOLLA COVE

It is always enjoyable to walk along the La Jolla coastal cliffs and look down on the cove, beach and rocks below.  The sea lions and seals may be seen basking on the sand or rocks.  They can be quite active and vocal as well to the delight of  visitors.

The most obvious difference between sea lions and seals is that sea lions have external ears.  Sea lions also have larger and stronger front flippers that enable them to “walk” and climb up cliffs  which is why they’re so visible around La Jolla Cove. Seals move around on land by wiggling on their stomachs. They have smaller, webbed front flippers. Sea lions are brown and seals are darker grey, brown or almost black with speckled skin. If you hear barking, that’s definitely a sea lion. Seals are only capable of low grunts. Seals are typically solitary animals but you will see them in large groups here in La Jolla. Sea lions often pile up next to each other.

SAN DIEGO BAYFAIR POWERBOAT RACES 2018

San Diego Bayfair is a world series of powerboat races  on Mission Bay.

It  has a long and rich tradition in Mission Bay Park. The first race was staged in 1964 thanks to the foresight of the great Unlimited hydroplane racer Bill Muncey. Muncey was the driving force behind Bayfair and getting the racecourse built to host the event.

                                                   

The 2.5-mile racecourse, which was named after the late Bill Muncey, is the longest and fastest racecourse on the H1 Unlimited hydroplane circuit. Driver Dave Villwock set the World Lap Speed Record of 173.384 mph in 1999 at Bayfair. Villwock has won a record nine Bill Muncey Cups, including his first ever Unlimited hydroplane race victory on Mission Bay.

The photos of the powerboats were taken from Mission Bay Campland which has a nice beachfront.

WALKABOUT AUSTRALIA

Walkabout Australia is the newest addition to the San Diego Safari Park.

It is designed to represent Australia’s rural landscapes, animals, plants and signs of human habitats along back country roads.

 One walks along a path in a grassy habitat where one may encounter gray kangaroos and red-necked wallabies.

A stream flows into a large pond where one may find magpie geese.

There is a large Zuest Station building to represent the wool sheep shearing sheds found on many of Australia’s sheep ranches.  Techniques of wool processing are exhibited. Snacks are available as well. 

Future  additions to the exhibit will include the Cassowary bird and other Australian inhabitants.

THE BAJA GARDEN IS ON THE TRAIL AFTER VISITING THE WALKABOUT

Nearby attractions include the Condor Ridge with Condors and a few other birds along the trail.

CONDOR

There is a good view of the Safari Park from an overlook.

AN AMERICAN EAGLE IS ON EXHIBIT ALONG THE TRAIL NEAR THE CONDORS

80th BIRTHDAY

My family treated me to a special birthday dinner at Juniper and Ivy which is located at the north day of Little Italy.  The menu features many small plates which are fun to share with a group .

GOLD AT SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART

Nancy Lorenz: Moon Gold is the first major solo museum exhibition to showcase the art and alchemy of New York-based Nancy Lorenz. Having trained in the conservation of Japanese decorative arts, Lorenz continues to employ traditional lacquering and gilding techniques as points of departure in her studio practice. This collaboration with the Museum will features new works by the artist inspired by Japanese masterpieces from the permanent collection.

Among the painted works in the exhibition will be what Lorenz calls Pours, abstract compositions involving gestural applications of water-gilded gesso. Varying in scale, these paintings turn on the tension between arid fields of pigment and sumptuous cascades of gold, silver, and platinum. More intimate, though no less beguiling, will be a group of decadently adorned boxes.

Elsewhere, corrugated cardboard is transformed into a ground for gilding. Abstract scratches and striations coalesce into a landscape composition, an evocation of sea, sky, and slanting rain. This motif, studied from nature in the artist’s sketchbooks, remains a recurring theme in paintings large and small, and in the panels that together form folding screens.

We also visited a gallery at the art museum that featured paintings by American artists.

Portrait of Mrs. Henri by Robert Henri

painted by Mary Cassalt

Below the Towers of Towers Falls, Yellowstone Park  by Thomas Morgan

                                   A bougainvillea in full bloom near the Museum of Art.