Homebrewing: Water Profile

I stumbled across the following site while looking for some information on water profiles for all grain brewing.

Let me give you some background. I did my first all grain batch a few months back. Well technically it wasn't all grain, but it was done using a partial mash.

Anyway, the beer was awful. And by awful I mean I couldn't drink it. Awful meaning I had to dump the whole batch. Now keep in mind, this is beer we are talking about, and having to dump 5 gallons of wholesome goodness wasn't easy to do. Why was it awful? Well it tasted like I was chewing a mouthful of grains. You get the idea.

Anyway, as I was doing my research as to why it came out this way, I started coming across information on water profiles. My best guess, since I wasn't doing a damn thing regarding my water, was this had something to do with this mess I was trying to call beer.

Here's where things got a little interesting. I have a whole house reverse osmosis system, and I was trying to build out my water profile using a tool. If you don't know anything about water profiles, you need a starting point to build from. Yep, I was trying to figure out what the water profile of my RO system was.

No problem, a quick google search was bound to turn up a few thousand results on what the ion content was from a reverse osmosis system. Want to guess how many results came back. Just one.

Gotta give this guy some props for posting the water profile from his RO system, as it saved me a few dollars from having to have this analysis done. So here's to you Mr Brewginner, thanks for sharing.

Moto News

Well, I've got a new site live, and it focuses on Motorcycle Gear and motorcycle safety. It's called Motorcycle Gearology, and I like the cleverness of the name. Get it - Gear - Ology..

Anyway, I wanted to provide some context of what you can expect on the site.

Gear Articles

We've got lots of articles on motorcycle gear. Here's a few tidbits to peak your interest:

All The Gear All The Time

ATGATT - short for all the gear all the time. Ever wonder what this is all about? In short, you had better be wearing the proper gear when you hit the road on your motorcycle. What gear is that:

• Helmet - either full face, open face, half helmet. Something to protect your noggin.
• Jacket - preferably leather, but a good textile jacket is better than nothing
• Boots - and I'm not talking any boot, a boot made for riding
• Gloves - a good motorcycle glove to protect the hands

Motorcycle Helmet Ratings

DOT, SNELL, ECE - what in the world do all of these helmet ratings refer to. If you're in the market for a new helmet, you better understand the helmet ratings. At a minimum, you'll want a motorcycle helmet that meets one of the above ratings. However, some ratings are better than others. Do you understand what they all cover. Find out in this post.

Motorcycle Helmet Manufacturers 

With so many helmets to choose from, how are you supposed to understand what brand helmet is the right one for you. Take a look at the 5 helmet brands you should be looking at to understand where you should be focusing your research.

And before you go off buying a helmet, be sure you understand about head shapes. Each of these manufacturers have some degree of focus to a particular head type. It's too bad not all of their websites give you this information.

Motorcycle Slang

If you're riding, you better be able to talk to the talk. This comprehensive guide breaks down all the motorcycle terms you need to understand.

These are just 4 of the articles you'll be able to find on Motorcycle Gearology. We've got a whole lot more planned in the coming months, with a focus on reviews of various motorcycle safety products.

Family Friendly Video Page

Looking for some family friendly video's? Well, look no further, we've got you covered. Head on over to YouTube for some fab family fun on LogieTube:

Riding A Triumph

While there may be a theme to be found here regarding the Triumph Motorcycle brand, this site is not one of those sites.

Riding A Triumph is about, well Riding Triumph's. You know, the things in life that are totally worth celebrating.

This is a blog about everything and anything. From technology, whether it be blogging, internet tricks, coding, development, phones, computers, etc...

It's also a blog about sports or travel or even fitness.

Yep, it's the best of the best, and cover's pretty much everything.

So head on over to riding a triumph and see what you may learn.

Hopefully, we'll get back to some of those motorcycle postings and blogs in the near future.

Looking For A Triumph?

A motorcycle that is.

The Triumph Brand is the classic motorcycle. They have a number of models if you are looking for the look of a classic bike:

• Triumph Bonneville
• Triumph Thruxton
• Triumph Scrambler

Don't think they just focus on the classic bikes. The also have quite the selection of sport bikes that have received excellent reviews.

• Daytona
• Street Triple
• Speed Triple

The Rebrand

Part of the issue with the Triumph brand is they were letting it go stagnant. That is until recently. Starting in the 2016 model year, they rebranded the brand if you will, and boy was it ever a hit. If you are looking for a great looking bike, that has all the bells and whistles, while still maintaining the classic Triumph look. Be sure to check out their site.

And oh, if you want some further information, be sure to check out the Craigerson Blog. Lots of good information on Triumph, motorcycle product reviews, and more.

Google Plus

This one goes without saying, but I feel I need to call this out as I recently started getting into it a little more.

Google Plus as you know is the social network from our friends at Google.  Think of it as a cross between Twitter and Facebook (at least that's how I look at it). I've been a user of the site from almost the beginning, but I've never really used it much. That is until now.

The thing that impresses me about Google Plus is the level of engagement you have. I'm blown away by the people I've connected with and how they actually engage with you. I've been using Twitter for years, and while I think it's a handy network to find out the latest breaking news, I just don't get the level of engagement from Twitter that I have from Google Plus.

So if you don't have an account yet, sign up for one. It's all integrated with your main Google email, and doesn't cost you a cent.

Life of Blogging

If you are just starting off as a blogger, chances are you have a lot to learn.  Sure, it's as easy as starting a Blogger account or setting up a WordPress.com account, and typing something up.  But if you really want you content to be read, you'll need a way to put this out there, a way for the readers you want to draw to your site to be able to find your content

The following two sites are somewhat affiliated, and have some great content that is being shared for the new blogger to get their posts some views. Just head over to Blogging Flail, as they write about their experiences with blogging, and give you some good advice on the things that didn't work so well for them. There's a great opportunity here to learn some real life lessons.

The site isn't very active any longer, but it is currently being maintained. Regardless, lots of good information out there if you need help with blogging.