Wall 'o beer bottles

Snapped this at a tex-mex place outside of Dallas, TX during a business trip down there last week. Food was OK, the beer selection was what was to be expected. Shiner Bock, bud, bud light, etc. and the mexican standards: Corona, Modelo Negra, Sol, etc.

So, why am I posting about this. Well, in the front foyer, there was an 'art installation' of stacked backlit beer bottles.
standard 12oz beer bottles. Which got my beer brain working...


By my count:


44 across x
44 high =
1,936 x 12 oz. =
23,232 oz. / 128 =
181.5 gallons
~5.86bbl

or

1,936 x .05 cents per bottle (MA deposit) =
$96.80

or

1,936/24 per case=
80.67 cases x $12.95 (for new bottles from homebrew shop, excluding shipping) =
$1,044.63

Kevin's lemon

Kevin has been growing a lemon tree plant for a number of years. This lemon tree has produced one lone lemon. It has been maturing on the tree for quite some time. Kevin gave me this lemon. I told him I would use it someday (soon) in the making of some beer. Today was that day...

I had reserved some yeast from the wedding witbier, and had zested the lemon the day after I received it from Kevin, then stored the zest in the freezer until brewday. When I cut the lemon open to see how it did in the juice dept, it was actually not that juicy...but loaded with seeds. Two of these seeds has actually already germinated inside the lemon. I'd never seen that before, and I've cut in to my fair share of lemons. Thinking all circle of life and what not, I decided to plant the two germinated seeds, and see what would come of it. That was about two weeks ago. Today, one of those seeds had broken through the soil, and has two small glossy lemon tree leaves. Cool!

Back to the beer: Using ingredients and spices I had on hand, I decided to make a spiced Belgian ale, and ferment it around 65F to start, then let it ramp up the temp to allow the wit yeast to express phenols, and to ensure proper attenuation.

Kevin's Lemon
Belgian Golden Strong Ale

Type: All Grain
Date: 6/28/2009
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: JC
Boil Size: 5.72 gal

11 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 70.97 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 9.68 %
1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 6.45 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 3.23 %
1.00 oz Hallertauer, New Zealand [7.00 %] (60 min) Hops 19.5 IBU
0.60 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.00 gm Lemon zest (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
3.00 gm Cardamom (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
3.00 gm Cumin (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 lbs 8.0 oz Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 9.68 %
1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (Wyeast Labs #3944) [Starter 255 ml] Yeast-Wheat

Est Original Gravity: 1.084 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.082
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG
Measured Final Gravity:
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.35 %
Actual Alcohol by Vol:
Bitterness: 19.5 IBU
Est Color: 6.3 SRM