Updates

Hops: My hops only produced a few cones, with the 60 plus days of 100+ temps it seemed to fool my hops into flowering too early, by the end of August the vines were already turning brown. The Willamette got to about 7 feet and the Nugget to about 3 0r 4. I am hoping they have a good root structure and will produce very well next year.

Beer: I have converted a small dorm fridge into a lager box for our first attempt at making a lager. The fridge still hovers around the low 30's, so we have put it on a timer to try to regulate it better, it seems to be in the high 40's low 50's now. If the wort we put in a few days ago doesn't show any signs of life since it was too cold, we will repitch with some fresh Lager yeast.

Ale: We made ten gallons of a light beer and are pitching each one with a different yeast and different fermenting temps, ale and lager. both will be dry hopped with fresh Cascade hops.

Whiskey: I am hoping to finally start the corn whiskey project once the temps drop into the lower 80's, so that makes short term moonshine by winter, and putting it in oak for about a year. I am hoping to get into a cycle so I can age it for three years and always have some on hand.

Pictures and more updates soon.

Hop Update

Willamette: 1st vine is 59 inches tall, second one is about 36 inches. A third vine was starting to come up, so I plucked it and replanted it to see what will happen with it, so far it has lived three days. The leaves are getting eaten by something.


Nugget: 30 inches tall, second vine about 20 inches. Nothing seems to be eating the leaves.

I am getting a few leaves that something is eating on, as well as some small lighter blotches. I don't see any bugs or larvae during anytime of the day except maybe late night? See the images below.

Hop Update:

This is the Nugget hops, two vines poking through, the Willamette is over six inches and started it first curl around the rope. Lots of rain today and this week. Catching as much as I can in the rain barrels!!

Baby brew is coming along nice.

Homegrown Hops

I have converted a small space under my purple martin house to try and grow some hop vines. The location is that small strip of ground between two driveways. For most of it's life it has grown grass and weeds, but was converted into a small 3x5 raised bed. The existing sprinkler head was converted into a drip system to cover three vines. I have created an 3 small anchors and buried them when I filled in the beds. The ropes are attached to my purple martin house and it can raise and lower with a hand crank to check the vines. Rhizomes went in the ground in early April, and both have finally pushed up a small vine. The Willamette is faster than the Nugget. Pictures and better details soon.

Willamette - Hybrid of the Fuggle grown in Oregon. Moderate bitterness and spicy aroma. Alpha rating 4-6, used for bittering or finishing ales.

Uncle Billy's 2 Year Anniversary

Homebrew: Belgian Style White

White, Whit, Wit, Wheat Belgian Style. Last night we bottled about 19 gallons of bier. Brian and Travis were on hand to go through it quick. With the addition of El Keggo, it makes it easy to cook up 10 gallons at a time. 6 1/2 cases of 12 oz bottles, and 27, 22 0z bottles. Plus a few corkers, for a one year aging.

Baby Brew

So Instead of doing cigars to announce my upcoming son's birth, I have decided to brew 20 gallons of beer and hand them out instead. It is going to be a Belgian style white beer and I plan to use some Satsuma peels from Breaux Bridge in December.