Chapter 79

The kids came back from their day on the beach ... some of them were not alone. It was getting a little noisy when David said,

"Hey! Quiet down. Andrea in sleeping."

Beth and Barb, twinning it, said, "She's done it again?"

"Yeah, Admiral Lightweight proved it again."

"Poor baby ... she shouldn't drink," Nyoman agreed, "She's like me ... too small to imbibe."

The volunteer crew took the party to the bow.

"What's in the boxes," one of the new guys asked. He was French ... with a so cool accent, every time he opened his mouth Angela spritzed.

"Sand," replied Angel.

"Sand?"

"For the cats," she said.

A couple of the tiny bikinied but abundant blondes asked, "You have cats?" "Cats? As in plural?" "Ooo, kitties!" "I want to pet a pussy."

"Me too," leered a Sanchez ... probably Art, but it could have been Al. "I think there's a cat in my quarters, want to come see?"

Both girls bounced over to him. "Yeah ... you can pet mine if I can pet yours," said the statuesque Swede.

"Best suggestion I've heard in a week." He opened one of the deck hatches, "Going down?"

"Only if you do."

Keep it up, girls ... the Sanchez boys will require help getting theirs out.

David had kegged about three days after the 'Honduran Plywood Incident.' It was a nice Porter ... very nice. Since the equipment was set up in the engine room, Al and Art felt like the beer belonged to them. With the Swedish girls ensconced in the crews quarters, someone asked, "Any beer?"

You know where this is leading, ... don'tcha ... thought so.

The trek was long and arduous. They couldn't just hike through the Chart room and past the wheelhouse ... David might guess. So ... they went up to the second deck and through the stateroom passageway, up to the first deck and crept past Admiral Lightweight's quarters, down another ladder and back to the engine room ... where they found Denny and Connie already sampling the brew. It took some time but eventually the entire younger Sanchez volunteers ... and their guests found their way to the engine room ... and the beer.

This is not your fathers beer. David brewed with two row barley and adjuncts, the best hops, and PH adjusted water maker water. This beer had head ... light brown and frothy ... the bubbles forming on the glass and staying from the first sip to the last. The hops were assertive ... the carbonation perfect.

Not than anyone noticed after the first pitchers.

David had brewed 20 gallons with 31 pounds of two row pale malt, eight pounds of Munich, two pounds crystal, 20 ounces of dark crystal, 28 oz. of chocolate malt, 20 oz. of black patent and 12 oz. of roasted barley. During the boil he added 5.5 oz. Northern Brewer to boil 60 minutes, 2 oz. of Kent Goldings for 15 minutes and a further half ounce Goldings per five gallon carboy dry hopped in the secondary. He oxygenated the wort in the carboy and added the yeast, English ale ... one slap pac per carboy. The first ferment was over and settling out in three days ... very good water.

The beer had been carbonating under pressure since. This was a beer for a good pub...

The kids drank 10 gallons in a sitting ... lying down ... whatever ... Philistines... !!

David discovered the aftermath when he went after a couple of pitchers for the enjoyment of visiting officers from HMAS Canberra, a US built Frigate, en route from the land of OZ through the Canal to New Orleans.