Finished off the last of the stout and decide to make a new batch. This time, inspired by the HUB Survival Stout, a bunch of extra grains were added. None were malted and only meant to add flavor – not sugars. I also plan to add some cold-brewed espresso when racked. OG was exactly 1.050. […]

The spruce beer has been bottled and it is awesome! Jamie racked it for me last week and snuck a sip for his trouble. He immediately called and tell me how good it was. Today we bottled and it was my chance to see what had been produced.  The beer is heavenly. In the carboy […]

Note: I wrote this while in Mexico, but due to an error in the wordpress app – it was stuck on my phone. I just had a chance to  update the application, which seems to have fixed the bug. So, here we go: We spent several hours Sunday in a small cigar shop that we […]

On Friday, we brewed a batch of beer that incorporated freshly picked spruce tips. I chose a pale ale (like this recipe), but altered the hops a bit and threw in some oats and ginger for good measure. Oats in  a pale ale? Why not? Recipe 10 lb – 2 row malt 1.5 lb – […]

Last Friday, two very good friends of mine got married (to each other, no less). The ceremony was conducted on top of Rocky Butte by another friend Luke, who had gotten his reverend’s license just for the occasion. It turned out to be an extraordinary wonderfully day for the event. If they had done it […]

Went for a second try at the lodge last weekend. Porch, Sue and Sam joined me for the epic hike. Together, we made it all the way this time.

Since reading this post on portland hikers.org, I have been wanting to search out the elusive Nesika Lodge. It is run by the Oregon Trail Club and entry is members only – even so, it’s proximity to the popular Multonomah falls, yet hidden location intreagues me. Unfortunatly, we didn’t find the lodge this time. Mike […]

Just a quick set of shots from the Mexico trip. I will also be sure to post more images and video during the next few days. However, there were so many things to see and do, that they won’t even begin to scratch the surface of our 10 days in PV. Just thinking about flora […]

Went up to the Tilly Jane cabin with a group on Saturday. We got a late start, but the snow was great on the way up. The cabin (which normally sleeps 30) was already filled with people when we arrived, but everyone squeezed in for the night. Rained on the way out. Funniest part was […]

By the time I arrived at the Flag Point fire tower, the two old batteries in my camera were already dead. Since I had a lot of free time the next day, I decided to see if I could MacGyver a new one. You see, The camera takes 8.4 volts and I had 2 packs […]