Category Archives: UCSB

by | January 25, 2011 · 10:48 am

Brewing with the Boys!

     My boys from college are INTENSE brewers and invited me up for a brew day on Saturday. I was out the door by 8am and when I arrived, they’d already gotten started! Post-college guys getting up before noon on a Saturday? 
That’s dedication to the craft!
Frank the Tank already had his mash (the grains are submerged in water and raised to a temperature that breaks down the starches into sugars) ready to sparge.
Sparging is when the wort (the liquid that contains the sugar from the mash) is drained from the mash tun (a big pot with a false bottom where you heat the mash) and water is poured over to extract as much of the sugars as possible. 
Grayson demonstrates here:
Grayson the Scholar sparging his mash in a studious manner.
When brewing, it’s important to have a homebrew on hand. This was one of Frank’s latest kegs – de-freakin-licious. If I wasn’t sure about homebrew quality before (which I was), I sure would be now! This had lovely notes of toffee and happiness.
It’s also important to be well-fed. Grayson and I ran out for propane tanks, jugs of water and burritos. I got a grilled veggie burrito (NO CHEESE/DAIRY FOR A WEEK NOW!) that was so succulent (heehee, succulent) it made me giggle. 
I placed it in a cup, which makes it taste better.
It’s also important to have beer glasses on hand. I don’t know why, but I trust Frank and Grayson when it comes to this stuff.
Frank’s Scottish Midget Ale (yes, that’s really its name) boiling away!
Chillin’ the wort with a wort chiller – an apparatus that connects to a hose or other water source that sends cold water in one end and out the other. When you place it (after sanitizing it!) in your wort, it cools it down much faster.
I will repeat – CLEANLINESS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING when it comes to brewing beer! Grayson knows this, as you can see.
Everything was going just great.
Until…
Beer pong. Oh, dear Lord.
Time ceased to mean anything.
Growlers, homebrews and six-packs covered the table.
It was a good day.

5 Comments

Filed under beer, beer glasses, beer pong, burritos, college boys, homebrewing, mash tuns, sanitization, Scottish Midget Ale, sparging, UCSB, wort, wort chiller

by | December 20, 2010 · 10:59 am

Santa Barbara Boyz!

     I spelled boys with a Z. I hope you forgive me.

     Grayson, Sitler and Frank were seniors when I was a freshman at UCSB. They took me and my friends Joelle and Christina under their wings (and into The Brew – their awesome, yet slightly disgustingly dirty house) the entire year. Every time we get together is a wonderful overload of happiness and joy!

On Tuesday I drove up to Island Brewing Company in Carpinteria to meet with Grayson for a beer.
A glass of Jubilee and a view of the beach? Okay, if I must!
Gray decided to grow a beard to keep his chin warm for snowboarding season!
(His actual words)
     Whilst at the brewery, Grayson surprised me with the news that our friend Sitler was in town, and that I was being kidnapped. I would not be going back home that night. I didn’t resist, although my toothbrush was missed.
Grayson, mistletoe and Sitler?
Sitler looks slightly creeped out… Just a bit…
Apparently they sell this tequila for a few bucks in Mexico. We all stared in awe and fear at the bottle, but no one had the guts to consume any.
Frank the Tank sterilizing his keg.
Got guns?
Closet beer! Frank, when do I get to try this??
     We spent the night testing out freshly tapped homebrews, eating homemade eggplant parmesan and debaucher-ing (not a real word, but accurate) to our hearts content, just like old times. Then we all ended up crashing on the couch around midnight and watching the BBC, not like old times. Sleeping before 1am? I think we’re getting old!
     FLASHBACK TIME:
Becki and Grayson circa 2006
Becki and Sitler (and my lovely roommates Joelle and Christina) circa 2006.
Becki and Frank the Tank circa 2006.

I love my boyz!

1 Comment

Filed under beach, beer, brewing, Carpinteria, Frank the Tank, Grayson, homebrewing, Island Brewing Company, Jubilee, mistletoe, ocean view, Sitler, UCSB

by | August 28, 2010 · 9:14 am

My Legs Hate Me

     Today I woke up at 5:45am and decided that a trip to go running on the beach was in order. My roommate and I hopped in his car and head up to Goleta, CA – him for kayaking and for me, some intensely therapeutic working out.

     We had to stop and fuel up before we embarked upon our insane day, so Starbucks was in order.

Yes, that is an Egg McMuffin ala the Bucks. I don’t care how many calories are in it. It was GOOD!
     We got to Goleta around 7am and were greeted by a THICK marine layer!
I could not see past 100 feet in front of me. Awesome!
Me realizing that I forgot my sweatshirt. Crap.
     After my roommate launched, I headed up to UCSB, my old college campus, and ran the route I used to run every morning.
Looking down the cliff at Campus Point. I used to surf right there! The ocean has eroded so much of the cliffs that it all looks completely different!
The trails were pretty slippery and it was misting heavily. I was drenched with marine layer two minutes into my run.
     I ran north on DP (Del Playa aka PARTY CENTRAL) and passed lots of beer pong tables, tons of new apartment buildings and a girl on the walk of shame, carrying her stilettos in one hand and wearing a dress that should not be shown in public. After I passed through IV (Isla Vista, the neighborhood where all the UCSB students live), I kept going north for another 45 minutes.
It was WET out!
Really, really wet.
I ran into a dead end by this beautiful little house tucked into the marsh preservation area and didn’t want to run on the road, so I circled around and headed back to campus.
     The UCSB library has eight floors. The UCSB library has a staircase. I totally killed myself sprinting up the eight flights. At the top I was shaky, out of breath and wanted more! I perused a few bookshelves to regain my lung-composure, then headed over to my old dorm, San Miguel (or as we called it at the time, San MiGhetto).
     San MiGhetto also has eight floors. And stairs. I sprinted up those, then wandered the halls and traced all the memories I’d made there. It was a very nostalgic day for me. San MiGhetto also has a little gym that just happened to be unlocked and not in use. Since sprinting up the stairs and running for 2 hours straight wasn’t enough, I went in and did some lat pulldowns and other arm weights. Wonderful, wonderful pain.
     I made my way back down to Sandspit Road, where we’d started, took off my shoes and walked barefoot on the beach enjoying the crashing surf and the chilly air.
It was a beautiful morning.
     Since my roommate and I had both spent three hours exercising nonstop, we decided that a trip to The Taj in Ventura for an indian buffet was in order.
I cleaned my plate and got dessert. I was ravenous!
     After indian, we headed over to the chocolate shop, Trufflehounds, to pick up some more deliciousness, then headed home. I showered off the salty sea air, sand and sweat, then proceeded to pass out in bed for a good hour and a half. I woke up just in time to head to work.
     Work went well, considering it’s retail. I had some Paciugo therapy, sold 240% of my goal and spent over an hour with two really fun customers who made the time go by quickly.
     I have a full shift tomorrey morning again. Getting back into the swing of things. It’s difficult after such a wonderful week on set, but I’m looking forward to some auditions I have next week. They make it much more bearable.
What’s the most intense workout you’ve ever done?

4 Comments

Filed under beach, Goleta, Indian Food, library, running, Santa Barbara, stairs, Starbucks, trufflehounds, UCSB, Workout