...what "racking" beer means

Pete has just finished a gorgeous IPA. It has finally completed its dry hopping and is ready for consumption. However, looking at the beer in the carboy, there's a TON of crap on the bottom, primarily yeast and hops. I asked Pete if he was going to filter the beer before putting it in the keg.

The answer was absolutely not (apparently filtering beer is something you try to avoid in the craft brewing industry). He's going to rack the beer, which basically means making sure all that stuff you don't want is settled at the bottom of the carboy, then siphoning the good beer from the carboy into the keg, leaving an inch or two of beer left. That way, you leave all the crap in the carboy, lose very little beer, and don't lose flavor through any filtering process.

Now I know! :)

...mixing absinthe with three parts water might be a little too diluted

I think I'd try just two parts water next time.

It was a fun experiment though! I had never had absinthe before, and Mom and Dad bought it as a new thing to try during my birthday picnic there. It didn't overly impress me, but I think mixing it with less water would help bring out the anise flavor a little more. I love sambuca and drambuie, so I think I'd love absinthe too, I just need that flavor to come out.