Girl's Got Toys!!
- Thread starter Honey
- Start date
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LOL, I know how that feels. When I started all of this (about a month ago), my wife asked me what it would take and about how much it might cost... I suggested it would run about $200 to really get started... Well to say the least, I'm probably pushing somewhere close to $700 or $800 dollars into things, including honey. Hmmm, three five gallon carboys, three one gallon carboys, one 6.5 gallon carboy, all the tools, chemistry, cleaning and sterilizing stuff, and of course, the honey... It has definately felt like Christmas around here. Speaking of which, I need to find her something really awesome for Christmas this year... I think I spent mine. Hehe
lol - I know!
I ordered a bunch of one gallon carboys and a fermenting bucket (2 gal). I hope that wasn't a mistake but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to lift a 5 or 6 gallon carboy... I'm in the process now of cleaning out the back bedroom for my "fermenting" room (nothing like a little incentive to finally get THAT room cleaned up!)
Honey
I ordered a bunch of one gallon carboys and a fermenting bucket (2 gal). I hope that wasn't a mistake but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to lift a 5 or 6 gallon carboy... I'm in the process now of cleaning out the back bedroom for my "fermenting" room (nothing like a little incentive to finally get THAT room cleaned up!)
Honey
If the room is carpeted you may want to hit the dollar store for some of those large tinfoil lasagna pans to sit the carboys in just in case you get a little overflow. Won't catch a big explosion, but it'll catch those minor overflows that sometimes occur when the mead gets into the airlock and starts to come out.
LOL, yeah I've been doing a lot more house cleaning to try to get back on the wife's good side. Hehe, actually she's being very cool about everything, especially since she doesn't drink at all. (Allergic to brewer's yeast) Sad that I'll have to drink all this mead myself... Ah the humanity!
Anyway, good luck with your fermenting there and welcome to the addiction! ;D
Better yet get started on a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Mead for next Valentines Day
Sweet mead perhaps?
I wish! She doesn't drink because of an allergy to brewer's yeast (wierd allergy) but I figure I'll take her to DragonCon this year and do the Renaissance fair a couple of times this year and maybe build her a leather corset or something in an attempt to show her appreciation. My wife is a geeky gamer girl into steampunk, renaissance stuff, and role playing, what can I say? LOL
3 gallon carboys are a nice size between 1 gallon and 5 gallon. Still small enough for most people to live without much effort, and big enough to yield a nice volume.
Yeah, I don't use my 6 gallon carboys much anymore, except ferment 5 gallons of beer.
The 6 gallon pretty much went into retirement when the basement became the storage area. Not lugging that thing up and down 20 stairs.
I actually like my six a lot. Its a great step from my bucket then a rack with loss into my 5. Head space works out. I could actually use a few more six or six five carboys. Then again I am the human version of the honey badger so lifting them is nothing!
I vastly prefer working with 3-gal carboys. They give you enough yield that there's enough to share and to let age... I CAN lift the 5-6 gal ones but I need help lifting a full fermentation bucket onto the counter for racking. Normally I let my 5-6 gal carboys sit empty unless something exciting happens or I want to make a wine kit, but last year there was a really good wild grape harvest, a really good apple cider run and I've been trying to get fruit out of my freezer and into wine bottles, so big batches just kept happening, I've only got one empty 6 gal right now! and I've also got a bunch of 3-gal carboys tied up with stuff that just refuses to clear...
If she's a geeky gamer (like me) she might like it if you made her some games from the BoardGameGeek Print n Play listings. There's a great list of redesigns with professional grade artwork for you to go through. You're bound to find a few games there that might make her smile -- especially if you're willing to play with her.
(If you're interested in getting started PM me and I can help you get started.)
Or just about anything from ThinkGeek 
A friend of ours got me a D-20 that blinks when a 20 is rolled (which almost never happens) and she got my hubby a set of large foam polyhedral dice so you can whip them at people without doing damage...
I picked up some jade D-6's from the museum gift shop while on our honeymoon...
(and now for a shameless plug that nobody will take seriously anyway) Real armour? We do sexy armour too... we're currently making Clyde Caldwell's "Dragora's Dungeon" armour a reality...
A friend of ours got me a D-20 that blinks when a 20 is rolled (which almost never happens) and she got my hubby a set of large foam polyhedral dice so you can whip them at people without doing damage...
I picked up some jade D-6's from the museum gift shop while on our honeymoon...
(and now for a shameless plug that nobody will take seriously anyway) Real armour? We do sexy armour too... we're currently making Clyde Caldwell's "Dragora's Dungeon" armour a reality...
One thing that I learned in the course of brewing that My wife loves. Homemade Vanilla Extract. It's very easy. Also many other extracts can be made. No yeast needed. Just rum or vodka and a jar. I am in the process of making some hazlenut extract for use in my Pumpkin Hazelnut mead that's in it's secondary. I roasted up some hazelnuts in the oven, raw on a sheet or pan for 20 min at 350 degrees. Then put it through the coffee grinder and then into a jar with the white rum. Dee-Lish.
My wife is a diabetic and Can't drink much due to meds. But she does like to bake a little and loves it when I make some french toast with real homemade vanilla extract. And it will give excuse to buy vanilla beans in bulk (it's much cheaper, check amazon.com for grade b vanilla beans).
My wife's a bit geeky in the gamer geek variety too. Loves Dragons.
Trust me the Homemade Vanilla Extract is Awesome. A must for anyone that bakes even a little.
As far as brewing. Perhapse some of the other yeasts out there will do. Beer yeast and wine yeast are different, she might not be alergic to all varieties. I like the idea of baker's yeast. It will produce a lower ABV% though but hey I brew for taste not potency.
Matrix
My wife is a diabetic and Can't drink much due to meds. But she does like to bake a little and loves it when I make some french toast with real homemade vanilla extract. And it will give excuse to buy vanilla beans in bulk (it's much cheaper, check amazon.com for grade b vanilla beans).
My wife's a bit geeky in the gamer geek variety too. Loves Dragons.
Trust me the Homemade Vanilla Extract is Awesome. A must for anyone that bakes even a little.
As far as brewing. Perhapse some of the other yeasts out there will do. Beer yeast and wine yeast are different, she might not be alergic to all varieties. I like the idea of baker's yeast. It will produce a lower ABV% though but hey I brew for taste not potency.
Matrix
Surprisingly no... Hmmm, I wonder if she'd drink a JAO if it was made without brewer's yeast or if the allergy is actually due to an enzyme-level variance that alcohol produces in the yeast during the fermentation process. Thing is, she doesn't drink and doesn't want to, so even if I give her a reason to not be allergic to it, it could be a battle to get her to try something like the JAO... though it is a thought, mwahahaha
