Candy Cane Wine

Update....
Fermentation was very slow, so I checked my notes and realized it was not acidic enough. Added 1 teaspoon of acid blend and almost instantly fermentation increased. Racked it to a 6 gallon carboy and it is still fermenting....

It was rainy and my legs were tired after struggling through a morning 1/2 marathon, so I decided to make some candy cane wine. We purchased 144 candy canes on clearance after Christmas for next to nothing. I put together a recipe from several other versions I have seen......

144 candy canes

3 tsp yeast nutrient

1 tsp yeast energizer

fill to 5.5 gallons

Add sugar to specific gravity of 1.08.

After Kim unwrapped 144 of them, the candy canes were dissolved in water heated just below boiling, then added to the primary fermenter with the other ingredients. Once the liquid cooled down, EC-118 yeast was added to ferment. I plan to rack this into a carboy after about a week and then rerack as needed. Once bottled, it will age until Christmas time! It is a really nice looking red color right now.

More Bermuda Pix.....

Bermuda International Mile and 10K

I can't say enough about how incredible Bermuda is to visit. I just can not recommend it enough. The weather has improved every day we have been here. It was raining on Wednesday when we arrived, but every day after that has been perfect. We took in the sunrise on Thursday morning at Horseshoe beach. Later we headed to the west edge of the islands to the Dockyards. We bought some rum cakes, some hand fired plates, and some local rum products.
The dockyards from the ferry.....

Later Thursday night, we were invited to a party at Bacardi's world headquarters in Hamilton....complete open bar and dinner.....

We are staying at the Fairmont Southampton and it has ocean views from all rooms. The view from our room.....
The hotel has its own beach next to Horseshoe beach.
The water is crystal clear. The bottom is completely visible even in even deep water.
Friday night was the Bermuda International Mile. This is run down one of Hamilton's main downtown streets on the waterfront. They invite several elite men and women milers and there is a 10,000 dollar purse for anyone who can break 4:00. No one has done it yet, but everyone thought there was a good chance this year because the weather was perfect. The Bermuda Triangle Challenge people went first. Kim and I were in the first wave so it felt strange being the firs to go with the balconies and street lined with spectators. The mile was something I really was not all that excited about, but it turned out to be a lot of fun....cruised in at 7:42....which was a little faster than I wanted to go, but with the atmosphere, I couldn't make myself go any slower. They had several divisions of the local kids from grade school,middle school, highschool and Bermudian adults(everyone in these heats had to qualify to be eligible). The elites ran and no money was given away....4:04 was the winning time.

Saturday morning brought the 10K. It did not start until 10 am so it was a little warm and this course was tough with several hills. I ran hard the first half and then eased back a lot on the second 1/2, ending up with a 1:01:52. we were starved...headed back to the hotel and cleaned up and then off to the only local brewery...the North Rock Brewery. We sampled two of their beers and had a hamburger to fill our stomachs....
We finished the day off with some ruins exploration....some man made caves carved out of the rock walls on the ocean....

Tomorrow is the marathon....It could be a long one with all the walking we have done!

Team Challenge-Napa to Sonoma and Boston 13.1

We are recruiting for our next season for Team Challenge, the 1/2 Marathon training program for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. The first event is the inaugural Boston 13.1 which will be held on June 27th. The second event is Napa to Sonoma 1/2 Marathon on July 18th. Registration for this race is already full so Team Challenge is the only way to get there.

Training starts on March 6 and recruiting meetings will be held the first week of March.

Let me know if you have any questions.....

RNR Las Vegas, Team Challenge, and Marathon #82

Kansas City's Team Challenge went to Vegas and everyone on the team completed their 1/2 marathon and had a great time. The pasta party was great, the food was excellent,and the inspirational speaker did her job by making hundreds of people cry. We hit the sack early for the early morning meet up at 4:45 am. The team posed for some pre race pictures and headed to the start. Congrats to everyone....you raised a lot of money and put in a lot of hard work and training!
While I was at the prerace party, Kim headed off to see The Lion King with our roomie, Amanda.

Pasta Party pix.....









The race started at the Mandalay Bay at 6:15 with temps probably in the low 30's. The start was very well done with a continual fireworks display, caged tigers, and the atmosphere and the lights of the strip. The 1/2 marathon is run entirely on the strip (though some of it is on the extreme ends of Las Vegas Blvd and there is not a lot there) with the full marathon peeling off at about the 10.5 mile mark. The full runs along some streets with some nice mountain views and then comes back into the finish at Mandalay Bay. It was a nice race, except for miles 12-19, due to a bad reaction to Tri-Berry GU! I saw Kim on an out an back late in the race and she was doing well (no Achilles issues) so once I knew she was going to get her 12 marathon goal accomplished, I sped up and finished strong. I waited around and presented her medal as she finished. We then did the same for Karen as she finished. We then cleaned up and met with some of our now Team Challenge alumni to celebrate Kim's birthday, her 12 marathons in 12 months, and some first time 1/2 marathoners.

Bass Pro Shop Marathon

Marathon number 80 is finished...it was in Springfield, Mo, so no new state. This was the same race I did not finish last year after my ankle swelled up and I was not able to put any weight on it....dropped at 18 miles or so. I had to hang around at the finish line and see all those cool bass medals being handed out. So this year, I went back to get my own. I completed it two years ago, but the medal was not all that great...I needed the big bass. The weather for this race has been perfect all 3 years. The course is mostly flat with a few rollers here and there and a lot of miles out on the Ozark Greenway. A nice dry fit shirt and hat are included in the bling also. It is very well done and I would recommend it highly.

Kim finishing the race.

The bass medal.....

I also was able to buy a 55 gallon stainless steel drum while I was in Springfield for the wine cellar....these things are expensive and I was able to find it used and grabbed it while I was in town...

Wine, wine, and more wine....

Wine #1.....Crab apple wine.

We are picking crab apples....about 20-30 lbs of the things. This should make about 6 gallons of crab apple wine. Once we have them all picked and destemmed, they will be crushed and fermented.....everything I have read says that these make a great wine....we shall see.
Wine#2.....Blush

This is a kit wine that is just starting its clearing phase....should be bottling this in about 2 weeks.
Wine#3......Blueberry Shiraz

I bought several kits of wine from one of my runners....this is the first one of the 5 I am making.....just started fermenting it today.

Getting ready to start constructing the wine cellar in the basement....all of these will help start to fill it up!