Brew #77: Alt!

Alt!
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Brewer: Josh Gum
Style: Dusseldorf Altbier
Batch: 5.25 galAll Grain

Characteristics
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Recipe Gravity: 1.053 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 47 IBU
Recipe Color: 16 SRM
Estimated FG: 1.013
Alcohol by Volume: 5.1%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.0%

Ingredients
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CaraMunich 0.75 lb, Grain, Mashed
CaraVienne 0.75 lb, Grain, Mashed
Carafa II malt 0.15 lb, Grain, Mashed
German Munich 3.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
German Special Roast 50 0.75 lb, Grain, Mashed
German pilsener 7.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
German vienna 0.25 lb, Grain, Mashed

Magnum(15aa) 0.80 oz, Whole, 60 minutes
Saaz(3aa) 1.00 oz, Whole, 30 minutes
Saaz(3aa) 0.50 oz, Whole, 0 minutes

German Lager (WLP830) 1.00 unit, Other, 1600mL starter
Irish Moss 1.00 unit, Fining, 1tsp @ 30min
Yeast Nutrient 1.00 unit, Other, 1tsp @ flameout

Notes
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Recipe Notes:
Step mash; 110f for 15 minutes, 150 for 45 minutes
Ferment @ 51f

Batch Notes:
90m boil
7.5g pre-boil 1.047
5.5g final 1.055
1/31 : Raised to 54f for diacytl rest, fermentation sped up noticably for a day and a half.
2/3 : Crashed to 42f.
2/6: Kegged and lagering, FG 1.012, tastes good but there seems to be a little sulphur left for the yeast to clean up. A nice complex malt character with just enough hops to support the malt backbone.. shaping up nicely.

Grand Mayan Resort, Cancun/Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Wendie and I spent the past week vacationing with our friends D & M in the Grand Mayan Resort just south of Cancun, MX. As you’ll see in the pics, the weather was overcast and cloudy between the torrential down pours. D & M taught us how to play Canasta and Hearts, which we did quite a bit in between cocktails in the room. :) There were a few sunny times that we spent by the pool, or walking about Playa Del Carmen shopping. Despite the rain, a fun time was had by all.. here are some pics!

2008 US Go Congress in Portland, Oregon

For the past week, I’ve been playing and studying Go in Portland at the US Go Congress. In a sentence, I had an absolute blast and this has been one of the most remarkable experiences that I’ve had.

The American Go Association (AGA) holds an annual gathering across the US called the Go Congress. Typically over the first week of August, hundreds of Go players from across the US, Canada, Japan, Korea, China, and Europe gather to play and study the game of Go. This year, the congress was held at Portland State University in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Of the many tournaments held at the congress, the two most notable are the US Open and the North American Ing Masters. Held each morning, except Wednesday, at 9am is one of the six rounds of the US Open. I believe this year there were 500 entrants ranging from complete beginners to the strongest amateurs taking part in the US Open. Because I’m a local player, I decided to volunteer some of my time as a staff member to help with various part of the congress.

One of the most fun and interesting jobs was as a game recorder in the North American Ing Masters tournament. Most nights between 7 and 10pm I was assigned to record the game of one of the top 16 boards where the strongest amateurs and professionals were playing. I feel taking part in the game recording has been an excellent way to help me learn more about the game. The typical game will run at least a full 2 hours, and somewhere between 250 and 275 moves. It takes a great deal of focus to record each move accurately as well as a lot of energy and patience to wait a few minutes between moves while one or the other players is analyzing the game. I found I spent a lot of time deciding what move I would make and studying why I think it would work and how I thought it would affect the game. There were a couple of times in each game where the player would make the same move that I was thinking would be best. While it was cool to see that I’m finding some of the “correct” moves, it was also a great demonstration of why the players were thinking it was a good move and what would happen when it was played.. I have a sense for how the game is going, but typically the following several moves weren’t exactly the same as I imagined them.

The highlight of my week was the combination of a favor by a friend, and a whole lot of luck. The most notable professional attending the congress this year was Takemiya Masaki, a Japanese Go legend. On Sunday evening, Takemiya sensei was holding a simultaneous game wherein he plays against eight congress attendees at a handicap appropriate for their level. Because the sign-up sheet was first-come-first-serve, I was totally stoked when I heard that my friend Akane had put my name on the list.. The first bit of luck was in that my name could have been bumped off of the list 3 hours prior to the match by any of the sixty lifetime paying members of the AGA (these folks payed $1000 to become a lifetime member of the AGA and get preference for the most special events). While I was waiting and fretting about maybe getting bumped off of the list, I browsed the vendor room and bought the book “This is Go the Natural Way.“, by Takemiya Masaki, hoping that I would get a chance to have it signed at some point.

Game time came, and I was still on the list, so I found my seat and was told through his interpreter to setup my board with 6 stones handicap and I was free to place them wherever I wanted! Takemiya sensei is known for his unique style of play called Cosmic Go, where he ends up winning by controlling the center of the board which is typically quite difficult. As recognition to this style, I set my handicap stones up to look like the face of the number 5 on a six-sided dice with an additional stone on one side. My goal in this game was to keep all of my groups connected to a live group and to try to keep Takemiya sensei disconnected.. Win or lose, it was going to be a success if I could stick to the plan. These eight games carried on for 2 hours, until my second bit of luck kicked in. When after a bit of consideration on the board, Takemiya had decided to resign to me! I estimated the score and thought that it would be very close so it came as a surprise to me, and a few onlookers, when Takemiya sensei resigned stating that he thought I was playing much stronger than my current rank. Wow! Kick ass! I asked his interpreter if I could have Takemiya’s autograph on my book, which he was happy to do! In Japanese kanji inside the cover of my book, he had written “Cosmic” and “Masaki Takemiya” as well as the date.

Later in the week as I was taking pictures of the event I passed Takemiya sensei and another interpreter in the hallway and had a picture taken of us shaking hands.. too fricking cool, these are chances of a lifetime. In Japan, a professional of his stature would not be offering simultaneous games like this, as I understand it he was doing a favor for the AGA.

Every morning, except for Wednesday the “day off”, a round of the US Open was played at 9am in the ballroom. I lost my first game to a 7 or 8 year old chinese boy from California who was accompanied by his father. I was well ahead until a terrible mis-read at the very end of the game, which I took as a reminder for the rest of the week to remain focused and sure of my reading until the game is finished. The little kid was totally stoked to win, so that somehow made it feel easier to lose. My second game was against, Hiroshi Matsuoka, a very polite 83 year old Japanese man who spoke very little English. I fought very hard in the mid-game and managed to connect to a live group, and then was able to unleash a strong offensive. The man was unable to defend all of his defects and I was able to kill a very large group.. exciting! We exchanged a few words, and took each others pictures and left our board. The third game was against a player who was in his forties and had been playing Go for over a decade. We enjoyed a little banter before the game and both had a very similar style of play. I was able to narrow the margin throughout the middle game but fell short of winning the game by 3 points, I played as white.

My fourth game was against a player who may have been a few years older than me and was evenly ranked. He kept a very good defense going and killed a group of my stones while I struggled to make life on another part of the board. I read several options which seemed to be very complex and relied on my opponent not making wise decisions.. I considered for awhile that I hadn’t played a very good opening and that I wasn’t comfortable with winning because my opponent could have gotten tricked. As I resigned the game, my opponent let out a very deep sigh and smiled broadly.. so it seems he was nervous about the fight, it’s so funny how we can get worked up so much over this game. :) My fifth game was against a man who was in his late fifties, who was registered as a 4kyu player and I was playing white. I felt really good about this game after reflecting on the past losses and about some strategical issues I’ve had earlier in the week. An hour into the game, I played a sequence which seemed quite subdued and my opponent assumed I was playing to gain 2 or 3 points. It was clear that he had become too comfortable expecting to win by a half dozen points.. I played a move which he immediately replied too before he noticed that I had trapped a group of 5 stones..the tables had turned, and he sighed as he quietly resigned the game. I took a few moments to replay the ending with the correct response and it looked like the game was going to be within 2 points either way. We both left the board very pleased with our play! Finally, my sixth game was against a 16 to 18 year old guy who was, like most of the congress players, mentally fried.. We had talked prior to the start of the game that we were having a great time and really enjoying the many aspects of the congress. We had both won 2 and lost 3 games, so the stakes of the game weren’t terribly high.. He laughed a bit and then played the center point on the board as his first move. This is, arguably, the most difficult opening to play and requires a great deal of confidence and creativity to use in a serious game. Throughout the game, my opponent repeatedly fiddled with his mp3 player and a paper fan he never really fully opened or closed..just kept flipping it back and forth to ease his nervous energy. I fought as well as I could, chasing his group into the center while isolating a weak stone in a whole quadrant of the board. I had made a crucial move to connect all of my stones to a live group, which gave him the possibility to connect and save his own group. He resigned, excitedly, stating that he would have won if I hadn’t connected.. I think the mutual life trade was better for me because of my dominance in the lower right corner. Well played, I was happy with my focus and determination. I finished the US Open with a 3/3 record and a few new great lessons to take with me to help me improve my game.

Another really fun part of my volunteering at the congress was taking part in the AGA E-Journal team. As well as recording games each night in the North American Ing Masters, I photographed the E-Journal simultaneous games played on Friday. Pro 6 dan, Ryo Maeda, played with handicaps against 5 dan level players and won all of his boards. Pro 3 dan, Jae Woong Yoon, played 6 handicapped games against the kyu level players and won all of his boards as well.. though one of the boards was quite close! Paul hadn’t taken part in a simul during the week so we made sure to get him in on the game against Jae Woong Yoon. I believe the handicap was 9 stones, and Paul played very well except for one poor group. I think with one more move, he could have kept the group alive and the game would have been very close if not totally in his favor. Intense games!

It wasn’t until Thursday night that we had discovered a great sushi shop just 3 blocks down the street called Blue Fin. The sushi wasn’t the best that I’ve ever had, but the atmosphere was awesome and the prices were outstanding! Blue Fin was celebrating an anniversary and was selling all plates on the conveyor for only $1.50 each, which made for a huge dinner of sushi on the cheap! I’d definitely recommend this place to anyone who loves sushi, I only wish I had learned of the place earlier in the week! ;)

This year was my first Go Congress, and I can see why some folks have been attending for years, only 5 or 6 guys are left who have attended all 24! If I was able to find some way to afford the plane ticket, a week off of work, and the fees for lodging and food I think I would try to go every year as well! I definitely intend on going again in the future, but it may have to wait a few years. Until then, of course, I’ll go back to my regular study and play! :)

P.s. I’ll be adding a picture of the finished board of my simultaneous game as well as an SGF record when I get those from Pauls camera.

A weekend along the McKenzie.

Wendie, Shoobie, and I spent a few nights at The Wayfarer this past weekend. We’ve stayed at these cabins a few times in the past and always enjoy ourselves there and get totally relaxed by the sounds of rushing water of the creek on one side and the McKenzie on another side of the property. This time we stayed in cabin #8, which is a bit closer to where the creek drains into the McKenzie. Here are a few pics I shot: