CNYBrew.com: Ode to Racking Cane

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Ode to Racking Cane

So while brewing the last few times, I had some time to reflect. What is the most indispensable piece of equipment in my homebrew operation? I would like to think of my setup as a football team, no one part more important than the next. But we all have our favorites.

While racking my brew, I was cleaning my racking cane for what felt like the 1000th time. It was then that I realized that this was at least the most under-appreciated piece of homebrewing equipment I owned. I clean it and use it and without a second thought it's rinsed and hung to dry. Never once have I stopped to thank my racking cane for always showing up and preforming a thankless, but important job.

Like the lineman on my homebrew football team, my racking cane is there every Sunday, rain or shine, batches large or small. I use it and and never look back even though this device touches my beer more times than any other.

So, with that said, this is a Haiku and a long overdue thank you for my racking cane:

Ode to Racking Cane

You move my beer
From bucket to carboy
Without praise you function

Cheers to you racking cane, cheers to you.
PS- For those friends reading from abroad who enjoy futbol, insert the sweeper as the thankless indispensable hard working warrior

4 comments:

Adam said...

I agree. It would be hard to overlook many pieces of equipment. Aside from the the kettle, fermenters, airlocks and cleaning stuff the racking cane is really important.

It is the vehicle that liberates your beer!

Jonathan said...

we switched to an autosiphon a few months ago and haven't looked back. it kicks our racking cane's plastic little ass.

Adam said...

(like Arnold would say)
Ya, the auto siphon kicks its puny little...

But, we must not forget its ancestor the racking cane.

Jonathan said...

Too late. Already forgotten. It's all auto siphon all the time for me from now on. I'm new school.