Batch #114: Rye Ale

On a climb to the top of Basalt Mountain from the Permaculture Institute, there is a tree that has received a great deal of damage from tumbling rocks and boulders on a steep ravine above it.  One of these rocks appears to have been caught by the tree, whom I have named "Sisyphus" after the mythical character destined to push a large boulder up the hill, only to have it roll down again.

Sisyphus proudly announces my "Summertime Rye Ale", made with a good dose of sweet rye grain, a real thirst-quencher.

MT

Batch #113 - Watering Hole Summer IPA

Back into the swing of things, here is a 10-gallon batch of India Pale Ale, ready for Summer thirst-quenching.  The photo is a gift from Randy Udall, pictured here filtering water from a rare desert storm, a few years back.

Batch #112 - Amber Ale Duo

Due to popular demand (and the rapid depletion of Batch #110), half of this batch went into an encore of my Habanero Ale, now that I've found the "perfect" mixture of heat and thirst quenching qualities.

The other half of this batch went into a less than satisfactory attempt at bottling with CO2 gas and a "beer gun". Unfortunately, I attempted this on my own, and I am still a novice at carbonating with a can of gas, so the results were a mildly carbonated beer.  Well, here's to celebrating (and learning from) an occasional failure!

Batch #111 - Learning Tree E.S.B.

This Ale was brewed for the Waldorf School's fundraising dinner in March, so it was kegged, never bottled, and by the end of the party it was all gone.

Batch #110 - Habanero Red Ale - They're Baaack! Hotter than ever!

This latest batch of my (in)famous Habanero Ale, I have decided to call the bluff of all my dare-sayers, and pump up the heat!  It still won't damage you, but this one might send you to the sink for a cold water chaser!

Champagne Cider 2010

This is an even-numbered year, which for me means there are no apples on our local trees.  How is that?  Old apple trees without much human attention will grow into an every-other-year fruiting strategy.  In a given year, there may be a hard frost right in the middle of blossom stage, and all the buds will die off, leaving few, if any, apples on the tree.  This generally affects all the apple trees in an area, at the same time.  That summer, with no pollinated fruits to pump full of juice, the roots of the old apple will have plenty of energy to create more fruit buds for the following year.  As the next spring arrives, the old tree will have a brilliant display of blossoms, which the bees will be very happy to have.  If the attending human fails to climb up in the tree and knock off half of the blossoms, or to knock off half of the tiny fruits soon after pollination, then the tree will have a full load of fruits to inflate that summer, and will have little energy left to create fruit buds for the following year, when there will be few, if any blossoms at all.
Since I have been brewing champagne cider, this pattern has been the norm for all the old apple trees in our valley, which are now on an odd-numbered-year fruiting cycle.  When I can get to a tree in time and thin the blossoms or the fruit, then I get an every-year crop of fewer, but larger apples.
This year, there was too little fruit to bother picking, so I bought cider wholesale from Big B's Cider Mill in Hotchkiss CO.  After offering the discount to the Homebrewers Club, I bought 60 gallons for 12 brewers, including me, and we'll all compare results this winter, as our brewing efforts bear fruit.
MT

Batch #109 - Winter Porter

He's BACK!  Our Angel of Snow Removal has returned to help keep the Skinner Hut outhouse clear, for our New Years Eve Hut Trip.  Earning his Wings, always earning his Wings.
After the smoked porter had me worried that I might not have much to give away (picture me, taking all winter to sheepishly consume the bacon-beer, not wanting anyone else to taste my mistake!), I decided to brew another winter porter, in a far less adventurous manner.  Now this is a porter!
MT