Day 77 - Chico Build Day

For our build day today we worked with Butte County Habitat for Humanity on a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom home for a woman named Elena and her kids. This house was farther along than any of the houses we've helped build this summer so we were able to do tasks that we haven't done before; I really enjoyed learning some new skills. 

I spent the day installing drywall. When we arrived, the inside of the house was only framed but by the time we left two of the bedrooms were completed, closets and all. It was cool to see the house take shape and come to life in a more recognizable way.

It takes extreme concentration on Molly's part to hold such a serious face. For me, it comes naturally; I learned how to smolder and harness angst in my preteen years.  

Jake manned the drop saw and cut pieces of window trim for others to install.

Suzette primed the underside of the roof overhang.

Tom and Jim installed exterior window trim. 

Erika and Southern worked on the shed out back. Well, Southern worked. 

Eric and Heather installed a plywood ceiling on the front and back porches. 

Mary Kate and Sam installed cement fiber siding.

At about 3 o'clock we walked across the street to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company for a tour of the brewery. I learned all about how beer is made and even got to sample some of the beers at the end of the tour. During different stages of the brewing process the soon-to-be beer undergoes a series of chemical reactions in various stainless steel kettles. Some of the kettles there were decorated to look like the copper, German kettles that were first used at SNBCo about 30 years ago. 

Hops on hops on hops... Hops are flowers that release alpha acids during the cooking process to turn sweet wort into bitter wort. 

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company produced 1 million barrels of beer last year (1 barrel = 2 kegs worth). 

SNBCo partnered with 12 other craft breweries around the country to make a unique 12 pack with 12 different one-time-only beers to promote and distribute at 7 festivals this summer. The operation was called Beer Camp Across America. We were able to try 4 of the beers after the tour: Double Latte (Ninkasi), Electric Ray (Ballast Point), Yvan the Great (Russian River), and Yonder Bock (Cigar City).

The Catty Corner:
Q: Do you know why beer goes through your system so fast?
A: Because it doesn't have to stop to change color.