Beer!

So I finally took the plunge today an ordered a beer making kit from Northern Brewer. The delux kit with two carboys and some toys. I also ordered a really nice stainless pot and burner ... after looking at it for months I finally took the plunge. So my first brew should be on the burner next weekend with my dad. The beer of choice was the Irish Draught Ale, which was described as:

"Like Irish stouts, Irish ales are sociable session beers with a low alcohol content but substantial body. This beer pours with a deep red color and tan head over a caramel-like malt character with roasty and fruity notes. As a bow to Ireland's meadmaking past, clover honey lightens the body and boosts the gravity of this recipe, while a small dose of oats adds creaminess to the mouthfeel and a hint of grain to the flavor." - Northern Brewer

I'm excited, should be ready in about 6weeks from next Saturday. The general plan is to boil and put it in primary next Saturday, put it into secondary ~ 1o Oct, bottle 17 Oct and be ready to drink about 7 Nov. with the guys when we get together for our guys weekend. My beer guru buddy assures me it'll be ready a week before that so I may try one and I'll be sure to post how it goes!

Hops

One of the many new things to try in the garden this year, and the only one the deer didn't find to their liking were hops. Yes, hops, those things you brew beer with. I've got a beer making buddy who talked me into planting a few hops in my garden and one of them actually grew. I planted three and of the first two one basically drowned in a mud puddle and the other was killed off by being too close to a pathway I belive. The other one never made much of a show... maybe two feet (of a nominal 15-20') but looks really good. I think it put down some good roots and that next year it'll be a contender!

My Fall Garden

The deer and an impromptu two week TDY cut into my summer garden at a fierce rate but now fall is upon us and the winter garden is in. I finally got the summer garden clipped and tilled an laid in a few raised rows for fall crops. Mainly greens... I did get in a bed of lettuce and some carrots and a few flowers for spring but the greens were the thing. Hopefully a pic soon but it looks like a bumper crop so far!

CSA - Year 1

This was the first year we've tried a CSA and I must say I'm disappointed. Now some of this is my fault and I fully take the blame for that. I fell victim to a well done website and an farmer who was active in some of the same groups I am and signed up before I figured out a few things... like pick up locations. After having done the CSA for the summer and seeing what some of the neighbors get delivered within blocks of their house I won't be signing up for the same CSA next year.

That said, I'm also let down by the communication, quality, quantity and diversity that the CSA provided. The start of year hype was a grocery bag a week filled with seasonal produce that is a mix of old standards and new variety's that you've never seen before an an email every time you get a delivery with a recipe and/or information about what was in the share. So we're wrapping up the summer and maybe 3 recipes? Emails 1 of 3 weeks? And while I understand it's been a hard year and that is one of the risk/reward trade off with the CSA I was seeing what my neighbors got and their hard year was a lot more productive than mine. The only thing my CSA really excelled at was lettuce. Almost every week we've gotten something green and leafy to put in a bowl. Not a tomato in the bunch, but lots of green.

Overall next year is gonna be more research, more patience and alot less driving...

Fall is here!

So it's been a while, but with the start of fall I'm gonna try this again and see how the posts come. I've got a bit of free time these days and with any luck I can keep a steady flow of blogs going!