Archive for the ‘play’ Category

Oatmeal Stout (with naked oats) Oatmeal Stout (with naked oats)

Friday, September 19th, 2014

Thanks to the fermentation vessel, our recent stout went a bit wonky. However, I think that the recipe is really solid… So, it’s time to try again. Naked Oatmeal Stout Create your own recipe with All Grain Beer ABV: 5.57% IBU: 31.1 SRM: 48.3 OG: 1.055, FG: 1.014 Batch size: 12 gal Brewhouse efficiency: 70% […]

Fresh Black Frost Fresh Black Frost

Friday, September 12th, 2014

Another version of the award-winning Black Frost. This time, with a fresh hop twist! The hops are in my yard and will be thrown in the boil minutes after they are picked. Since they are fresh, we will be using 4x the normal weight for a combined  total of 48oz. Recipe Specifics Style: 23 Specialty […]

Hop Breeding, 2014 Results Hop Breeding, 2014 Results

Thursday, September 4th, 2014

You may want to start by reading: Growing hops from seed, Hop Breeding (2014) The seedling grew rapidly in their first year. 18 plants produced significant amount of hops by the end of August. For comparison purposes I decided to pick, sort, and catalog all the cones at once. No doubt this means that some […]

Are your hops ready to pick? Take a closer look Are your hops ready to pick? Take a closer look

Tuesday, August 19th, 2014

Unlike tomatoes, peppers and other crops, it can be really difficult to tell if they are ready to pick. Commercial growers often target a percentage of dry matter. This means taking samples, drying them and comparing the weights before and after. Optimal picking is when the wet hops are 4 to 5 times heavier then the dry matter. This […]

Jasmine mead Jasmine mead

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

Recipe Specifics Style: 26A Metheglin (spiced mead) Batch Size (Gal): 6.00 (for 5 bottled) Anticipated OG: 1.050 Anticipated ABV: 5.5% Anticipated SRM: 2 (very light) Anticipated IBU: 0 (no hops) Honey I didn’t track the amount of honey added. Rather, I used the “scrap” honey + 6 gallons of water and then added a few […]

Oatmeal, Buckwheat Stout Oatmeal, Buckwheat Stout

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

Running low on stout … again. This recipe is based on the 16-ton stout, but scaled back for simplicity. There will only be 3 grain sources: barely, oats, and buckwheat. We need to think of a better name. Recipe Specifics Style: 13-C Oatmeal Stout Batch Size (Gal): 12.00 (for 10 bottled) Anticipated OG: 1.055 Anticipated […]

Another Another Cream Ale

Monday, May 19th, 2014

Used the exact same recipe as last time… Another Another Cream Ale Create your own recipe with All Grain Beer ABV: 4.48% IBU: 11.2 SRM: 3.9 OG: 1.045, FG: 1.011 Batch size: 12 gal Brewhouse efficiency: 77% Boil time: 60 min Grain 16 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (36 ppg, 2 srm) 1 lbs […]

Fishing for bees Fishing for bees

Thursday, May 8th, 2014

Last year, I helped my friends build a bee hive for there yard. However, when spring came, they missed the window to purchase a nuc/package. Instead, we decided to build a few super-simple swarm traps. These traps are literally a paper pot screwed to a piece of old plywood. All, but one of the holes […]

Soil blocks Soil blocks

Saturday, February 15th, 2014

Each year I start seeds in soil blocks for the spring planting. The blocks are fun, easy to make and have many advantages over using trays and pots. Here is my basic recipe. It will create 250-300 medium blocks. 1 bucket coir (5 gallons, fluffed) 1/2 bucket potting soil 1/2 bucket vermicompost 1/2 bucket perlite […]

Hop Breeding (2014) Hop Breeding (2014)

Tuesday, February 11th, 2014

This is a continuation of the hop breeding experiments that I first wrote about in 2013. If you are wondering why someone would bother growing hops from seed – go check out that post. Hop pollen Last year, I was fortunate to start a few plants from native neomexicanus seed obtained from plants growing wild […]