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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Let’s try something a little wild! This is based on Supplication by Russian River, but with significant alterations: Skip the carafa to keep the color light Use tart cherry concentrate. Easier to get and will turn it bright red! Use lacto from Nancy’s yogurt for a full sour without the bret funk! Plus the Nancy’s […]

We need a stout. Rather than another Shakespeare clone, we decide to go way, way back and give the 16-ton another shot. At one point, I was planning to brew a massive 16% ABV imperial, but seeing as we still have bottles from the last imperial… let’s dial it back a bit. Recipe Specifics Style: […]

One of my very favorite items ever brewed was the Spruce Tip ale that accidentally went sour. We’re going to try and recreate it, but also go a step further: by replacing 30% of the barley with wheat, we’ll have a better foundation for a lambic. If we then save it to mix with future […]

Still trying to perfect an IPA recipe.  The Ranger(ish) clone was great, but lacked hop character. The Ebenezer IPA and Loop de Loop, on the other hand, took things a bit too far. So, it’s time to go back to the basics. Let’s brew the basic Ranger malt profile with heavy amounts of Cascades near […]

It’s been a long, long while since we last brewed, but with the cold weather setting in I got the bug to do a spur-of-the-moment CDA. Instead of hitting the brew store, I literally scoured the basement for ingredients. There were many substitutions. Some of the grain was over year old – but still tasted fresh […]

We started keeping bees this year. So far, it has been fun and rewarding. The hive is doing well and our garden is fully pollinated. I didn’t expect to harvest honey this year, but the girls were packing it in so well that we decided to steal two frames. Since we don’t have an extractor, […]