Southern Oregon Brewing releases first beers

Southern Oregon Brewing releases first beers

November 08, 2007, from Medford Mail Tribune

Southern Oregon Brewing Co. has released its first beers and has opened a tap room for public tasting and sales at its brew house. A golden ale and a porter are on tap.

Tap room hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The tap room is at 1922 United Way in Medford, behind Lava Lanes. Tasters at the 24-foot bar and tables can view brewery activity through two large plate-glass windows.

Owner Tom Hammond and brewer Anders Johansen, whose resume includes stints with Pyramid and Deschutes breweries, are brewing once a week. Southern Oregon Brewing's 20-barrel brew house is capable of producing 620 gallons per batch.

Southern Oregon Brewing's phone number is 776-9898.

*I'm really excited about this. This area needs more local brewpubs. The building looks great and I hope to get a chance to visit them soon!

Think Geek

To the right you'll see my ThinkGeek wish list. To see the full list go to www.thinkgeek.com and search the wishlists for me.

Wish List for Chris’s Birthday/Christmas/Just ‘cause:

In no specific order

Beer making stuff:

• Temperature control unit (http://morebeer.com/view_product/16663/102282) $54
• Chest freezer
• Brewing Kits (http://morebeer.com/search/102177) $30-$45
• Aeration system (http://morebeer.com/view_product/16607/102281) $32
• 6.5 gallon glass carboys (Hermans) 34$
• 5 gallon kegs (Hermans or www.morebeer.com) approx $35
• Carboy caps 6.5 gallon (2) and 5 gallon (2) (http://morebeer.com/search/102269) $3
• Carboy drainer (http://morebeer.com/view_product/15773/102269) $7
• Erlenmeyer Flask (1000 ml) http://morebeer.com/view_product/19890/102367 $10
• Stir plate http://morebeer.com/view_product/19911/102367 $114
• Gas Manifold 2/3/4 way (http://morebeer.com/search/102238) $27 to $47
• Bonnet Angler (http://morebeer.com/view_product/16272) $12.50

Books:

• How to Brew, by John Palmer
• Designing Great Beers
• Beer Captured
• Radical Brewing
• Brew like a Monk
• Clone Brews

Electronics:

• HD switcher box for the tv
• Itunes Gift Certificate
• Video Games, Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band
• Computer Hard Drive

Other Stuff:

• Gift Certificates
• T-shirts
• AHA (American Home brewer Association) Membership
• Beer of the month club
• MoreBeer’s Kit of the month club (www.morebeer.com)
• New Boots
• Quality Dress Shoes (that don’t squeak!)
• Chair Massager
• Beer Glassware (pilsner, goblet, stein, English Imperial pint, Samuel Adams Perfect pint glass)

Jen's First day

Jen started her new job today and although she has said she is nervous about it, she also said she was more excited then nervous. Starting a new job is always a little nerve racking but I think she is gonna love it.

In other news the family is hosting a "secret Santa" Christmas party. If you would like to get in on it let me know.

Whats up with us?

Molly update: She came home after 8 days in the doggy E.R. and was put on a Malox and baby food diet. Apparently, she got a virus call the Corona Virus, which is a puppy bug that causes lethargy and loose stool. Then she ate something that is highly toxic to dogs (I suspect my hops the I dump in the compost after I brew my beer). The combination was so tough on her that her imune system couldn't fight the virus and it rampaged through her. So, 8 days and 900$ later, she is a perky little pup of 2 years again.

Jenn update: She is working a job that she doesn't like but she likes working....if that makes since. She was a stay at home mom for a year and a half but she got tired of cleaning up after our lazy butts. So she went and got a job.

T.E.D. update: He has Halo 3 now....

Kay-la update: Started her second year of high school a few weeks ago and went to her first dance of the year. So far so good!

Noah update: He has made some friends in the neighborhood that are rowdy little boys. Normally I wouldn't like this, except that Noah is kinda shy and needs some kids like this to bring him out of his shell....hopefully this wouldn't back fire and make Noah a rowdy little boy....

Chris update: Got my Kegerator up and running. Its a dual tap system with a 10lbs c02 tank. One tap is a Sanky (for commercial kegs) and one is for home brew. Right now I have a Kolsh from Wild River and my Belgium Golden Strong ale on tap. Work has been tough since its "back to school time" and everyone needs their problems fixed yesterday.

RIP Robert Jordan

I guess I'll never find out how the Wheel of Time was to be finished. I fell in love with oh so many years ago. I've reread his work many times...usually right before the next book came out. Read more on Boing-Boing.

Sick as a dog

Molly, my beloved Beagle/Chihuahua is sick and in the vet hospital. She's been sick off and on for the last week or so and Sunday morning it was very evident that she need immediate medical attention. So I called up the local vet, and had to have him come in on an early Sunday morning. I'm gonna be bled dry trying to pay for all this, I just hope they can get her better.

On top of that both the kids are sick with head colds. My boss forbade me from getting sick until the first week of school is done....guess its time to start taking my vitamins.

Burning Man

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Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter, dies

:( This is sad news indeed. For those of you who don't know who this is read this.

Fall 2007 Premier dates

Here is a list of permier dates for the fall 2007 lineup. This is from TVSquad, I love that website! As a side note here is a short list of the show I can't wait to see!
Pushing Daisies, Reaper, Lost, BSG, Bionic Woman, Dirty Sexy Money, and Heros.

August 22nd

• ANCHORWOMAN (FOX) (Premiered and canceled on the same day!)
  

September 6th

• Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (FOX)

September 8th

• Cops (FOX) -- Starting its 500th season
• America's Most Wanted (FOX)

September 11th

• The Biggest Loser (NBC)

September 14th

• NASHVILLE (FOX)

September 15th

• MADtv (FOX)
• Talkshow with Spike Feresten (FOX)

September 17th

• Deal or no Deal (NBC)
• Prison Break (FOX)
• K-VILLE (FOX)

September 18th

• Beauty and the Geek (CW) -- Two hour premiere

September 19th

• KID NATION (CBS)
• America's Next Top Model (CW)
• GOSSIP GIRL (CW)
• BACK TO YOU (FOX)
• Til' Death (FOX) -- No, seriously
• KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (FOX) -- This is the one where Gordon Ramsey is only slight less nasty than he is on Hell's Kitchen.

September 20th

• Survivor:China (CBS)

September 21st

• Friday Night Smackdown (CW) -- Oh, frabjous day!

September 23rd

• 60 Minutes (CBS)
• Cold Case (CBS)
• Shark (CBS) -- New time slot
• The Simpsons (FOX)
• King of the Hill (FOX)
• Family Guy (FOX) -- One hour premiere
• CW NOW (CW) -- Filler Show Number 1
• ONLINE NATION (CW) -- Filler Show Number 2

September 24th

• Dancing With the Stars (ABC) - 90 minute premiere
• The Bachelor (ABC) - 90 minute premiere
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
• THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
• Two and a Half Men (CBS)
• Rules of Engagement (CBS)
• CSI:Miami (CBS)
• CHUCK (NBC)
• Heroes (NBC)
• JOURNEYMAN (NBC)

September 25th

• Dancing With the Stars (ABC) -- Perforance show
• Boston Legal (ABC) -- 90-minute premiere
• NCIS (CBS)
• The Unit (CBS)
• Bones (FOX) -- New Time
• House (FOX) -- With five new cast members!
• CANE (CBS) -- Now, this is a new show!
• REAPER (CW)
• The Singing Bee (NBC)
• Law & Order: SVU (NBC)

September 26th

• Dancing With the Stars (ABC) -- first results show at 'special' day and time
• PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC)
• DIRTY SEXY MONEY (ABC)
• Criminal Minds (CBS) -- Sans Mandy Patinkin
• CSI:NY (CBS)
• Deal or no Deal (NBC) -- This is the Wednesday debut of the program
• BIONIC WOMAN (NBC)
• LIFE (NBC)
• Ghost Hunters (SciFi)

September 27th

• Ugly Betty (ABC)
• Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
• BIG SHOTS (ABC)
• CSI (CBS)
• Without a Trace (CBS)
• Smallville (CW)
• My Name is Earl (NBC) -- One hour season premiere
• The Office (NBC) -- One hour season premiere, and hour episodes for about a month
• ER (NBC) -- One hour seas . . . Oh, they are an hour show. Never mind.

September 28th

• Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
• MOONLIGHT (CBS) -- the show so nice, they renamed it twice. Or was it three times?
• Numb3rs (CBS)
• Deal or no Deal (NBC) -- Move to new time slot
• Las Vegas (NBC) -- Two hour season premiere
• Stargate: Atlantis (SciFi)

September 29th

• 48 Hours Mysteries (CBS) -- This is not an hourly series featuring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy.

September 30th

• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) -- Two hour premiere. Can't they just rename the show Extreme Home Makeover or something and move along?
• Desperate Housewives (ABC)
• Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
• American Dad (FOX)

October 1st

• Everybody Hates Chris (CW)
• ALIENS IN AMERICA (CW)
• Girlfriends (CW)
• The Game (CW)

October 2nd

• CAVEMEN (ABC)
• CARPOOLERS (ABC)
• Dancing With the Stars Results Show (ABC) -- Regular time-slot premiere

October 3rd

• PUSHING DAISIES

October 4th

• Supernatural (CW)
• 30 Rock (NBC)

October 5th

• Friday Night Lights (NBC) -- New time slot

October 7th

• America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC) -- Shouldn't the show be called America's Funnites Home DVDs to stay with the times?
• LIFE IS WILD (CW)

October 12th

• 20/20 (ABC) -- New time slot
• WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB (ABC)
• Men In Trees (ABC) -- New time slot

October 15th

• Samantha Who? (ABC)

October 18th

• VIVA LAUGHLIN (CBS) -- Series preview

October 21st

• VIVA LAUGHLIN (CBS) -- Time slot premiere

October 25th

• Scrubs (NBC) -- One hour Office shows dominate the schedule through October; hence, the reason for this late season premiere.

November 27th

• CASHMERE MAFIA (ABC) -- Premieres after Dancing With the Stars finale

December 4th

• CASHMERE MAFIA (ABC) -- Regular time slot premiere

Southern Oregon Homebrew Club

I am starting a club for home brewers in Southern Oregon. Anyone interested? If so contact me, or just reply to this post. Our first meeting will be in a few weeks.

Summer Blogging

Well, its been a few weeks since the last post but hey, we've been busy! Jenn's party was nice. We did a little BBQ with our close friends, just what she asked for. Noah has gone up to Portland to spend 6 weeks with his mom, Kay-la is being a teenager on summer vacation, and Ted's work finely got a few more people hired. Hopefully he won't have to work as much over time soon.

Over the last few days I have been researching "Beer School" and found OSU's Fermentation Science degree program. Its pretty neat stuff. I wasn't going to seriously consider it, but then I saw that they are hiring for a position that is currently what I do here. So...I could move to Corvallis, attend Beer School, and work there doing what I do now for more pay....except that I don't think anyone else wants to move. Well, I can always go later.

WIth the 4th of July coming up we have begun making plans. Looks like we will be doing a BBQ out at Wayland's and then going over to Linda's to watch the fireworks. Linda's house is right across the street from where they shoot off the fireworks, plus we can sit int he front yard and consume my beer, yay me!

Jen's Birthday

Just a quick reminder to everyone. Tomorrow is Jen's 31st B-Day. Hope everyone takes a little time to wish her Happy Birthday!

The newest member of the Corcorans

Meet Prada. She is a 7 week old Yorkie and one heck of a cutie. So far the cats are just kind of curious about the little fur ball and the dog Molly is more interested in getting love then figuring out what the new pup is doing in her house. I'll post more cute pics soon.

Pop goes the Wedding

Thank you all. Thank you to everyone who attended the wedding. It was a blast. the ceremony was simple and elegant while the reception and after party were rocking! It was great for us to see our family and friends, many of whom we haven't seen in far too long, mingling, talking, drinking, and laughing. To those of you who took pictures, send them our way!

a note from Chris: Thank you all for the great comments on my home brewed beer. I've worked long and hard it and it felt great to hear how much everyone enjoyed it. Please feel free to come over anytime as I will hopefully always have a few bottles around to share :)

Almost wedding time!

Well, we have almost everyone's outfits, we have rings, chairs, tables, food, drink, some music, guests are rsvp'ing, and the excitement is building......I think its almost time for a wedding!

Marvel vs. DC

After Party anyone?

You’re going to the wedding…..so why not the after party?

Open house reception:

Sunday May 27^th 3pm to 9pm

@ Chris and Jen’s house in Central Point, just minutes away from the wedding location

Call/email/myspace for directions

Noah's best weekend ever?

First Noah got to go to work with Dad on Friday. He thought it was sooo cool! He met many of Dad's coworkers and got a tour of the University, he got to eat breakfast and lunch with Dad in the cafateria, and he got to go home early.

Saturday Noah and his soccer team won their first game(6-5). An official score isn't actually kept but the kids keep count so they know. Then later Saturday Noah went shopping with Dad and even went to the beer making place (Herman's Home brew store in Central Point) where he helped pick out the ingredients for the next batch of home brewed beer.

Saturday evening Noah was practicing riding a bike when lo-and-behold he figured out the balance thing and now rides pretty darn well!

Sunday was nice and relaxing as Noah cleaned up his room and then got to go on a bike ride up to the middle school and ride around the track up there for quite awhile!

More Beer

Sunday afternoon Jen, Jen's mom, Noah and I bottled my second batch of home brewed beer. This one is a pale ale and I have a feeling it is going to turn out better then the first summer ale I did. But, while we worked we also cracked open the first few bottles of my first batch. It was a little lighter in body then I had hoped as well as a little sweeter then I had expected. But its only been two weeks in the bottle so it should improve over then next month or two. However, I sent some home to Jen's grandma and granddad. Grandma liked it so much that she called to tell me so....maybe I'll be willing to give them a few more bottles since they liked it so much.

Drive

Update: BAH! Fox has canceled Drive :( Aright, now I'm pissed!


Fox's new show, Drive, (which premiered last night) is pretty gosh darn good. Its one of those shows that grabs your attention from the start and keeps you glued to the screen. The acting is top notch, the script is real, and the mix of adventure, action, drama, and mystery is just right. Drive moves into its normal time slot of Monday nights at 8pm.

So it looks like my Monday night tv schedule is not Drive at 8 and Heroes at 9.

T.E.D.'s new job, kinda

Today marks the day that T.E.D. starts his new job. Same place, new position. YAY T.E.D.. We are all very proud of you. Now just follow through on the whole "I'm gonna get a car thing", and buy me some RAM for the media center!

Ouch!

The Impossible Quiz

I have only gotten to question #33 after about 2 straight hours of play. Jenn sat down and tried this but gave up after 10 min. and question #22. How far can you get?

Save water, drink beer

I've been talking about it but I've finally done it. I spent Saturday afternoon brewing my first batch of beer. The most surprising thing about the whole experience is how easy it was. Now, if everything proceeds as planned then I should be able to drink my first home brewed beer in about 3 weeks.

Thats pretty neat, where can I get one?

Here is a list of pretty neat shops that I frequent rather often:

Newegg.com: They sell computer parts and a variety of electronics. Decent customer service and rock bottom prices.

ThinkGeek: These guys sell just about any geek gift you can think of from t-shirts with witty slogans on them to usb controlled missile launchers.

Cafepress: These guys offer the common man the chance to create thier own store with clothing that has unique user created slogans or emblems.

Should I buy Microsoft Vista?

I get asked this one a lot so I'll post it here for all to read.

When someone asks me if I think they should upgrade to Vista I tell them "Wait to upgrade until you buy a new computer that comes with it."

In all honesty, if you have to ask then usually the answer is no.

National Shutdown Day is Tomorrow!

March 24th is National Shutdown Day. One day a year dedicated to turning off the computer and maybe even getting outside a bit. Whodathunkit?

What I want but can't have yet

Guitar Hero 2 for the xbox 360 comes out on April 3rd, also recently announced is an expansion for Guitar Hero 2 on the PS2....The 80's edition! Hopefully this will be available as downloadable content on the 360. If not, then I guess the playstation will have to stay in the living room a little longer.

New music to listen to! I have not really listened to much music in the last year or so. I have bought only 3 cds in the last 2 years. I have downloaded only a few tracks from iTunes. But just recently I have begun to get really bored of not listening to anything new. So, I asked Kay-la for some suggestions. She recommended Shiny Toy Guns, Hellogoodbye, and Fake P. So far the first two are spot on what I was wanting to hear. If any of you have other suggestions please let me know!

Spore for the PC. This game looks like a lot fun. It takes you from the beginning (single cell organizism) all the way through intergalactic civilization in a sim style game. This game is currently slated to be released sometime this fall :(

So anything you all are especially anxious for?

Before I leave for the day....

Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts

Here is a short list of some of my favorite podcasts (btw you don't need Itunes, nor even an Ipod to listen to podcasts. They are just like most other audio files....they can play on anything and there are tons of free and open source pod cast clients out there) If you are interested, just google the names and it shouldn't be too hard to find them. Well actually, I am just to lazy to grab their urls at the moment!

Buzz Out Loud: This is a 30-ish min daily about current tech news, very funny

Diggnation: Follows some of the weekly top stories from Digg.com (two funny and smart guys sitting around drinking beer and talking tech...great stuff)

TwiT: This Week In Tech is a weekly podcast that also follows top tech news and opinions, weekly guest panels full of great tech reports, insiders, and other smart people.

DL.TV: Once again, a tech related podcast often focusing on digital entertainment and other non-news related features.

TV show times: the good, the bad, and the "hey where'd it go?"

Mainly I am posting this for my house hold to be able to see when our favorite shows are starting/ending this season. I haven't been too happy with the way shows are taking long breaks. Heros for instance, took a long winter break, came back, and now is on another break, grr. But then again, I don't know if I would rather have a few weeks of break time every few months, or a few months of back to back shows, and then a really long break. All I can say right now is that Kyle XY is finally coming back! So, here is a list of show premiers and finales coming up (btw, this list comes from one of my favorite blogs TV Squad) (Updated March 28th and took out all the shows from dates that have passed)

--- SHOWS RETURNING FROM HIATUS ---

May 1st
Veronica Mars (The CW)

--- NEW SEASON/SERIES PREMIERES ---

May 29th
Last Comic Standing (NBC)

June 3rd
The 4400 (USA)
The Dead Zone (USA)

June 4th
Kyle XY (ABC Family)

June 5th
My Boys (TBS)

June 6th
Ghost Hunters (Sci-Fi)

June 10th
Big Love (HBO)

June 11th
The Closer (TNT)

June 12th
Rescue Me (FX)

June 20th
America's Got Talent (NBC)

June 25th
Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

June 28th
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

--- SHOW SEASON FINALES ---

April 26th
30 Rock (NBC)

May 3rd
Nanny 911 (FOX)
Trading Spouses (FOX)

May 23rd
Lost (ABC)

June 5th
The Shield (FX)

Attack of the Tuesday!!

Grrr.......

In the mean time here are some links for your enjoyment:

Netvibes is a great news aggregation site/start page. It is highly customizable, one of the best web 2.0 sites out there.

Flickr is an amazing photo sharing site. Many great photographs can be found here. Also, you can sign up for flickr to host your photos for sharing (normal accounts are free). I find all my great desktop photos here.

Digg is a user driven news site. Users submit web articles and the community can vote on how whether or not they like the article. I can browse these pages for hours!

Jen, her sisters, and thier dad

Over the summer Jen and I traveled up to Seattle for her eldest sisters 20th (?) wedding anniversary. I got to meet Jen's father for the first, and only, time. I'm glad I did since I'll never have the chance to now. It was great seeing all the sisters having such a great time. The party was great, the karaoke was so horrible is was good, and i got to spend so real quality time with Jen's family. I'm very happy that I am going to get such great in-laws. Jen's sisters are great people and thier mom is amazing. Enough of this for now, I have a lot more photos to go through.

Kay-la the pirate

Kay-la's costume.

Noah's Halloween

Noah the evil wizard.

Kay-la....being way too old

Kay-la on the first day of school. She looks way too old in this picture.

The Pirate says Arrrg!

One of the family pets. This is Pirate, the kitten. He'll eat anything...even wasabi funions.

Noah's silly picture

Jenn loves this one. She loves it so much it is on our family photo wall at home.

Kay-la's Birthday

I guess everyone has to turn 15 at some point in time. It just so happens that the 1st of March was Kay-la's turn. To celebrate, her grandma and her great-grandparents took her out to dinner (along with Noah and I) to Hometown buffet. It was a pretty nice time, especially once the balloon man came by and made Kay-la a giant pink monkey and Noah a fishing pole with a big ol' fish on the hook.

Now comes the real fun. Kay-la is hosting a birthday bash this weekend, festivities to include flashlight candy hunt, spinning balls of fire, loud music, even louder giggling girls, and I'm sure a few well placed and even louder Hey could ya keep it down(s).

Pictures galore coming soon!

This is really just a test to see if I can upload images and how I can make this work for my needs. Seems pretty easy! BTW, this image is something my brother Bob sent me. It made me chuckle, maybe you will too!

First Post or what the heck is this?

Not much here yet, but this is only the first post. Check back soon to see our most recent photos and to read up on what we are doing these days!
~Chris