It has been a  busy holiday season. The S.O.S stout has been kegged coming in at about 7.45% ABV . The coffee flavor is phenomenal, with a slight bit of smoke coming through. The oak is still subdued. I would like for the gravity to start higher so it could finish higher and give it more body. I am very pleased though with how it turned out over all.

For Christmas I received a new book The Bread Bible: Over 100 recipes shown step-by-step in more than 600 beautiful photographs With bread recipes from all over the world. So far I have baked 3 of them. French dimple rolls, a nice hot dinner roll good slightly crispy crust on the outside and soft fluffy inside. A Polish rye bread. Made with half white bread flour and half rye flour. This turned out to be a heavy hearty bread that would go really good with soup. I also found it to be really good if sliced thin and used for as sandwich bread for stronger meats like Blue Bell German Bologna. Because the bread is so hearty less meat is needed to be a filling treat. The most recent was a British split tin. This is pretty much just a slit top white loaf. It does remind me of the Portuguese breads of the Azores. A tough crust with a nice firm center. This bread goes great with sauces or gravy type dishes. I can also see a thick buttered slice of it going well with a good beef stew.

All of these have been fun and a learning experience. The beer, a lesson in melding flavors. The breads, lessons in patience and explanations of different regional breads. Now that things have slowed down a bit I can get back to being more thorough in my beer and food blogging. Back to including steps, recipes, and pictures. So get ready as I have beer to brew, bread to bake, and food to make. Hopefully this may inspire some of you to get up and start making some of your own special dishes.