Poll Results and Barrel Bottling

Well I just got over a severly hectic week at work and haven't had time to either brew or update the blog. I also have discovered my desktop has crashed (HP with common error Err2Err3 if anyone has any advice), so I'm on my little netbook. Hopefully I'll be able to get my files back, especially my lengthy beer sheet on excel that I didn't backup (like everything else on the computer). Anyway, back to the beer.
My chilling process poll turned out much like I imagined. The bulk of you use immersion chillers (58%) while the rest either use a ice bath or counterflow (4% each). Surprisingly, there was someone else out there who no-chills like myself! Each method certainly has its merits and problems, but I've been happy with the no-chill so far. I just kegged the Westmalle Extra clone today; it had the most beautiful clarity and color. It certainly needs a couple more weeks to condition and carbonate but I think it will turn out really well. Aside from that in the brewery, not much is going on. The Cuvee has started to slow down and I exchanged the blow-off for an airlock, but I'm going to give it a few more weeks before racking to both get the bugs going and let my oak soak a bit longer in rum. I just placed a massive hop order to do a scaled down Pliny clone, or more just an over hopped regular IPA to replace the American bitter on tap. From there, I have plans to do a Sour Cherry Baltic Porter, my first lager of the season. I'll be using the Bavarian lager strain and the barrel dregs for souring. Speaking of which, I'm sure everyone reading this blog reads Mike's as well. He just posted about our barrel bottling, so check there for more specifics. I haven't opened any of my bottles, but a few in the group have, and some have had it force carbonated already. Everyone is just gushing over how well it turned out, but I'll give my feeble patience another week before I crack a bottle. From here I'm just going to post some pictures from the day, enjoy!