Boise Brew Minute (Episode 25) – Bill Weppner joined me to talk with Erik Antink at Heinous Homebrew (and cycles) about his latest Bavarian Wit, a partial mash recipe he created. We also discussed the coffee salted-caramel stout he brewed over the winter and how he got into homebrewing.
The second day in Poland, we wanted to venture out of town. The train ride was very different from what we were used to in Eastern Europe of the UK. The train cars were wider than usual and rather than having individual seats (or even plastic bench seats with individualized divots), there were stainless steel benches. The entire train still had a utilitarian feel. It added to the strangeness of the day trip. We were headed to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
The experience of visiting a concentration camp, even one that has been closed for over half a century, is powerful. Seeing where people were forced to exist and the belongings that were taken from them was difficult. 
Seeing the collection of human hair and dental fillings that were taken for various uses was painful. It was incomprehensible to imagine being there (in any role) and experience the misery that was perpetrated. The creativity people have when it comes to inflicting humiliation and suffering is disgusting and shameful.
The experience of visiting Auschwitz will stay with me for years and although I would recommend others visit it as well, when I try to describe it here, words seem to leave me.
As we took the utilitarian train back into Krakow, we sat silently for the first half of the ride. We decided we needed to just walk around the city for a while. There was no real destination in mind, just the idea quietly wondering around an unknown city.
Ten minutes into the walk, we rounded a corner and entered a small neighborhood square filled with booths. It was an annual honey festival and people were selling almost anything associated with honey. We sampled several varieties of honey; the diversity of flavor was impressive. We decided to buy a bottle of mead to take home with us. Later when we got home, we translated the label and found one of the ingredients was, according to Babelfish, mangle. Not entirely sure how mangle – verb; to severely mutilate, disfigure, or damage by cutting, tearing, or crushing – could be an ingredient, but when we opened the bottle, there was a fruit fly floating dead on the surface. We decided that mangle must have been the name of the fruit fly and since then, we’ve referred to any fruit fly in or near a beverage as mangle. It’s amazing how much mangle there is at picnics.
We ended the day walking back to our flat along the river trail. There, below the castle was one of the most impressive statues I’ve seen. It was a 15′ tall metal dragon standing on a rock. The best part was that it exhaled fire. In my experience, families rarely gather excitedly near piles of metal that occasionally spew fire. but apparently it’s not that uncommon in Poland.
Boise Brew Minute (Episode 24) – Larry and Rick from 8 Feathers talk about their Moonshine and Corn Whiskey. We discuss the aging of their moonshine which differentiates it from traditional moonshine. Rick also explains how the distilling process is similar to brewing beer.
One of the other interesting aspects of 8 Feathers that we didn’t discuss on the interview was about classes they offer for those looking at starting their own distillery. Additional details about these classes are on their website.
Boise Brew Minute (Episode 23) – Jerry at Crescent Brewing talks about their new coconut porter… but he still won’t tell us how he got the coconut flavor. We also discuss his plans for a new oatmeal stout. He tells me about a pre-prohibition pilsner that was made by the original Crescent Brewing that they brought back a month ago and what got him into brewing.
Some days it’s almost impossible to convince yourself to get out the door on a run. Other days, you’re so excited about running, you get two blocks from the house before realizing you forgot to put on shoes. Today was the second type. The weather is still unusually warm for this time of year. It was sunny and 50-55° (10-12° C). The trails were in good shape as well so when we got to the 6 mile turn off, I decided to keep going with the group doing 8, ignoring whatever training plan I was following.
After our morning runs, our group goes out for coffee, which is the main incentive for getting out the door on difficult mornings. Today, the discussion turned to plans for Spring Break travel. One of the other runners mentioned that she’s headed to Poland to visit her daughter who is there for university. Specifically, they are planning to visit Krakow which was one of my favorite cities to visit in Europe.
Krakow’s central square
Back in 2006, we were still living in Ironbridge, England and taking an occasional trip to Europe. It was so close, it seemed wrong not to travel. We were starting to plan our next trip. We wanted to go to Eastern Europe this time and thought Prague would be fun. Talking with friends who had been, they recommended Krakow, Poland instead. One friend gave us a copy of the Trumpeter of Krakow, a young adult novel set in Krakow in 1462. After reading it and a few guide books about the city, we thought, “Why not?” bought tickets, rented a flat and were on our way.
In the novel, the main character gets a job as the trumpeter in a church clock tower. This clock doesn’t have bells, but rather has someone who plays a trumpet every hour. It sounded wonderfully romantic and we’d heard that it still happened. We arrived, dropped our bags and made it to the main market square around 12:40. Perfect timing to order a coffee at one of the cafes and wait to hear the trumpet play. Sure enough, at 1:00 a slow, melodious tune spilled from the top of the clock tower and ended on a broken note, just like in the novel (according to legend, in 1241 the city was under siege and the trumpeter was hit by an arrow while playing. Since then, the song has been cut short to honor that fallen trumpeter). With the trumpet and the historical square (mostly undamaged in WWII), it was easy to feel as if we’d fallen back through time.
After coffee, we wandered around the square and surrounding alleyways. We were on strict orders to send some Polish pottery to family back in the States so when we found a shop, we went in to look around. A bubbly, smiling woman stood up from behind the counter and came out to help us. At 70+ years old, she moved slowly around the shop, but maintained a youthful exuberance about all the pieces. She excitedly began describing a serving bowl to us, in Polish. Not wanting to interrupt, we waited for a pause and asked if she spoke English. All nods and smiles, she began describing the next piece, still in Polish. We tried a few more times to explain that we didn’t speak Polish, but it was no use. She knew exactly what we needed to hear and something as silly as a language barrier wasn’t going to slow her down. Who knows what she actually said, but she did so with such enthusiasm we left the shop with two pieces of pottery.
We ended the first day back in the market square, relaxing with beers to the sound of the trumpeter playing again on a picturesque night. The Moon rising over the clock tower. If the trip had ended there, it would have been nice, but we had a few more days.
Ironwork and stained glass inside the church with the trumpeter
Boise Brew Minute (Episode 22) – Shane and Terry at Blackbird Brewing talk about the IPA they are looking forward to releasing when they open. They also discuss the joys and challenges of opening a nano-brewery using Kickstarter.
Haff Brewing tasting room
Boise Brew Minute (Episode 21) – Brian at Haff Brewing introduces us to his new brewery and some of their beers. We discuss Sargent Haff IPA and the proceeds of which go to local veterans’ groups. We also talked about their upcoming Valentine’s beer with white chocolate and blueberries.
After Wilson Creek, I took a couple weeks off from running, but my ribs are starting to feel better and I’m running a bit more now. This Tuesday was the first Tuesday in February which means it was time for the Monthly Mile. I missed the January Monthly Mile, so this was my first of the year. I wasn’t planning to push too hard on this run so I left the track spikes at home. I just wanted to get some speed work in to see how everything was feeling.
It had been raining off and on throughout the day so we had a small turn out. There were only four of us who showed up for the mile this month. After a warm up, we toed the line, ready for the mile. I felt pretty good and when we set off, started a bit faster than I probably should have. Oh well, it felt good to go fast again… or really run at all. I completed the first lap in 1:12 but was already realizing that speed was unsustainable for a mile. My ribs were feeling good enough, but it had been too long since I’d run fast. After lap 2, I was still holding on to a 5 minute pace, but by lap 3, that was slipping. I ended at 5:10. Not a bad time by any means, but still 15 seconds slower than my PR.
The next day, my calves were more sore than my ribs, so I took that as a good sign. Hopefully I’ll be able to focus some time on these track workouts again and maybe take another few seconds off my PR this summer. Either way, it’s a much better start to the year of running than my Wilson Creek results and better than I expected. I can’t wait for next month.
If you’d like to join us, we’ll be at the Boise High track at 6:00pm on March 3. I hope to see you then.
Boise Brew Minute (Episode 20) – Dave and David from Bitter Creek and Red Feather talk about the changes at Red Feather. They will soon be offering beer cocktails using four semi-permanent beers on tap. Have you tried beer cocktails before? Any favorite recipes? Are these the beers you would pick for making cocktails?
The Ironbridge during a minor flood with the city of Ironbridge behind
This week we were discussing activities and demonstrations we could offer as part of a collaboration between the Discovery Center of Idaho and Boise Parks and Rec. We wanted activities related to water since the Parks and Rec site will be near Boise’s new whitewater park. There are all sorts of great demos, but one that came to mind was the foil Float-a-Boat challenge.
Before moving to Boise, I lived in Ironbridge, England and worked at Enginuity. Each year, we would collaborate with another local organization, the Green Wood Centre, to help with one of their big events. They would teach people to build coracles, small round boats that look like large bowls. After a weekend of building, the entire community was invited down to the River Severn to try paddling these unusual boats.
Racing across the River Severn. Note that my coracle is rotated about 60° off the direction of travel. Yeah, they spun a lot.
Adults could participate in one of three races which were entertaining to watch. Because of the design, these boats could turn easily, but racing them in a line was nearly impossible for the novice paddlers. The younger ones had their own race which involved spinning in as many circles as possible in three minutes. It was nauseating to watch. I spun around enough while trying to race across the river and back that I never felt the need to just spin.
While the experienced adults were racing, I worked with anyone who wanted to try building their own (much smaller) boat out of foil. It is impressive just how much weight these simple boats can hold. Interestingly, one of the best designs for holding lots of weight looks just like a coracle.
So, how fast can you paddle a coracle? And how much weight can your foil boat hold?
How many marbles can your foil boat hold?
Buoyancy is what keeps boats afloat. It is the force of the water pushing up on the boat to counter gravity. The amount of buoyancy an object has is equal to the weight of the water the object pushes out of the way. If you crumple the foil into a small ball, it takes up little space and will sink because it weighs more than the small amount of water it replaces. If you make a canoe shape, the foil still weights the same amount, but now, takes up much more space. As long as that space is filled with air, the aluminum foil canoe will float. As you add weights, it gets pushed down in the water. Once water comes over the top, the boat is no longer “pushing” lots of water out of the way so it is no longer as buoyant and it sinks.
A canoe is designed to carry weight and cut through the water easily. Is that the best design for this challenge? What other types of boats might work better? Remember, the more water the boat displaces or pushes away, the more buoyant the boat will be and the more weight it will be able to hold.
A Runner's Ramblings 