It took me a while to get with the mosh vibe but great energy, silly music, lovely crowd. Lots of fun!
Pizza for dinner, of course.
alias: "Air con: Power-driven cool excess power"
description: ""
trigger:
- platform: time_pattern
minutes: "*"
condition:
- condition: state
entity_id: input_select.air_con_mode
state: Power-driven cool
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.envoy_current_net_consumption
below: -1000
action:
- service: climate.set_temperature
data:
temperature: "{{ states('input_number.air_con_target_temp')|float - 5 }}"
target:
entity_id: climate.daikinap26021
mode: single
alias: "Air con: Power-driven cool no excess"
description: ""
trigger:
- platform: time_pattern
minutes: "*"
condition:
- condition: state
entity_id: input_select.air_con_mode
state: Power-driven cool
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.envoy_current_net_consumption
above: -1000
action:
- service: climate.set_temperature
data:
temperature: "{{ states('input_number.air_con_target_temp')|float }}"
target:
entity_id: climate.daikinap26021
mode: single
alias: Shed aircon automatic on
description: ""
trigger:
- platform: time_pattern
minutes: "*"
condition:
- condition: or
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: input_select.shed_air_con_mode
state: "on"
- condition: and
conditions:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.envoy_current_net_consumption_5_minute_average_linear
below: -500
- condition: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.shed_door
state: "off"
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.shed_weather_temperature
above: 25
- condition: state
entity_id: input_select.shed_air_con_mode
state: Excess power
action:
- service: switch.turn_on
data: {}
target:
entity_id: switch.shed_aircon
mode: single
It's March which means my February booze fast is over. I tried a lot of alcohol free beer over February and there were some real gems amongst them.
The real standouts were the Vandestreek Playground IPA, Heaps Normal and the three Upflow brews. These made me not really miss beer at all. I'll be buying more of these!
The Sobah brews were disappointing. The backstory is great and I love the use of bush foods but the brews themselves weren't great. The Pepperberry one is great but I actually tipped out the Lemon Aspen. The finger lime one is okay but nothing special.
The mainstream brews were predictably underwhelming. The ones who get close in that category are the German wheat beer brands.
Sydney is starting to emerge from the restrictions we had over Xmas so there were a few outings in February. We went to a gig last week and then this weekend to a friend's birthday party in a local bar. The gig had Heaps Normal available so that was great. Out at the bar this weekend the bartender made me a really nice alcohol free cocktail with various juices and flavours, and I drank some plain tonic as they were using a good brand.
It's interesting to find I can get by without booze pretty happily though there are things I noticed. A lot of drinking is really giving you something to do with your hands. Without the booze, I ended up drinking quite a bit of water. No real problem but it was interesting to notice. Otherwise you end up drinking a lot of sugar.
Socially there's definitely a lubricating effect from alcohol. I didn't feel as talkative and definitely noticed the people around me loosening up as the night wore on. It's quite interesting observing it without being deep in it. Definitely worth experiencing from time to time anyway.
I've stocked up on a few favourite brews for my return to drinking. Since the whole idea is to cut down on drinking that definitely crept up in COVID-land, I probably won't crack anything open until Friday. Bummer that 1st March is a Monday but it won't hurt me.
So far in the stock is the Balter Hazy which is just brilliant summer quaffing and our closest brewery's best brew, the Sauce Bubble & Squeak. I'd also like to some of the Philter Marrickville Nights which is a brilliant Dark Ale, but I'll have to wander down that way to pick some up. Open to other suggestions.
Sobah use bush foods as flavourings with mixed results. The Pepperberry isn't bad: an interesting flavour in the mix for a beer. The lemon aspen, not so good. It tasted like toilet cleaner, to be honest. I tipped it out.
When holly was pregnant we drank a bit of this so I bought a bunch more for this booze free spell. It's still good, though now that I've discovered better it's not as amazing.
Styled as a wheat beer, which is very much Erdinger's thing, it's hoppy and flavoursome, very refreshing on a hot day. I still gladly drink this one. Though if I were drinking alcohol I'd go a Schofferhofer in preference.
Last night Holly, Rachel and I managed to get out for some live music. Amazing after all this time.
The band we saw was local act EGOISM who we've been trying to see for a while. The earlier booking was for a December show that got cancelled with the Northern Beaches outbreak. Finally we got to see them at Mary's Underground, previously known as the famous Sydney venue The Basement.
It was weird going to a gig with all the checkin business for COVID. We were shown to a table and had to stay seated for the whole gig. Deeply weird. But rather civilised. Like a cabaret!
Better yet, Mary's stocks Heaps Normal, my favourite booze free beer.
EGOISM were great. Tightly performed their tracks, were fun with banter between songs. More polished than I'd expected. Their harmonies are really quite something.
Support act Ultracrush were good fun. Started off jingly jangly then went a bit shoegaze. Enjoyable show.
This is the way. A beer without booze that is no disappointment. It's delicious. Refreshing. Full of body. I'm buying a case!
Only downside: it costs the same as high-end craft beer! $80 case + $10 shipping. Ouch. But it is very good.
Ugh. This beer was just plain off. Undrinkable. And on such a hot night last night too!
