Ozark Brethern

Its Friday, the greatest work day of the week. No denying that fact. No brewing plans for the weekend. Here in Missouri we got a calling that beckons our hearts as soon as spring nips at our ears. That sweet siren call is that of the Lake of the Ozarks. Yes, that oddly shaped man-made lake nestled down in south central MO, what many other Statesmen would call hillbilly country, and that most people seem to know as the place with party cove. Going to pack up and drag the wife and kids down to our lake house to start the lake season off with a little fishing (sorry folks, rod and reels here, that handfishing is crazy). Going to teach the finer points of crappie fishing to my three boys, ages 8, 4, and 3. I'd like to say this will be a relaxing fun filled adventure but I'm fairly sure its going to be more work than anything else. Baiting, unhooking, untangling, fish releasing, rebaiting, unsnagging,. Wash, rinse, repeat. I have a feeling this is going to be the method to this madness. Fortunately I'll take the edge off this little endeavor with some craft beers and home brews while smoking some ribs in the evening. All of which I'll have to haul down on our 2.5 hour road trip to our place. The lake, well, its gotten better as far as beer selection goes in some of the bigger areas, however, most have a lot left to be desired. And yes in some of those smaller towns I have seen dozens of shoeless, dirty feet children running around. But you'd kind of expect that from places that celebrate with events such as the testical festival. On the homebrewing front I'll return Sunday to more than likely move the Honey Rye ale to the secondary and contemplate whether I need more thermometers on my brew rig. Been eyeing the thrumometer (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/all-grain-brewing/all-grain-equipment/thermometers/thrumometer.html), and it would sure make it a lot easier to track my cool down temps. Perhaps I'm just getting to pathological in my temperature standards. Here's to the weekend, Cheers!