Batch #148 ~ Imperial IPA

I wanted to see how high an alcohol content I could reach with my ten-gallon brewing system, and this here's the limit for 2015, an Imperial India Pale Ale at 9.0% a.b.v., brewed with Cascade and Citra whole leaf hops, and dry-hopped with a small amount of Willamette leaf hops.  I need to serve this one in 4-ounce beer glasses.
I served a short keg of this ale at Sustainable Settings Harvest Party in September 2015.  The food was incredible, and also serving their delicious fermented (and distilled) beverages were Aspen Brewing Co., Jack Rabbit Hill Winery and Peak Spirits from Hotchkiss.
The tatter-winged honeybee in the photo had been dining on dandelion nectar at my feet during a pruning workshop there last Spring, so I gave her this label.

Cheers!

MT

Batch #147 ~ Summer Altbier

Once again attempting to see how rich an ale I can make, I used 25# of grain and 3.3# of LME (liquid malt extract, or barley malt syrup), to make this 10-gallon batch, with a Munich malt and Citra hops recipe to come close to a German Altbier.  Initial starting gravity came to 1.075, which indicated a pretty strong ale, confirmed by a result of 7.5% abv.  One of the small kegs I filled with this Altbier was a wedding present for the celebration of some good friends, and it was appreciated by the wedding attendees, right down to the last drop.  This macro photo is of a tiny "Sweat Bee", named for its attraction to human sweat, who is also a great fan of my onion crop.  Some folks call this tiny insect (about 1/4" long) a "Metallic Bee", because of its shimmering color.  There are other colors of this general species, including a deep green color, but the few of those that visited my garden were too elusive to get any photos.
Cheers!
MT

Batch #146 ~ Lavender Rye Ale

This batch of Lavender Rye was easy to brew, because I've fine-tuned the recipe in three prior batches in 2012 & 2013, only one of which I considered less than desirable, owing to an over-use of Lavender flowers.  I bottled two cases of it for posterity, as well as two small kegs, one of which we had on tap when my cousins from England came to visit.  It was a big hit with them, since it was a smooth ale, with a 6.0% abv content, just right for sipping under the shade of the Apricot tree, while we caught up.
Cheers!
MT

Batch #145 ~ E.S.B.

Starting off my 2015 brewing season in March, I maxed out the grain bill with 28# again, only this time I made certain to achieve a full 10-gallon batch of ale.  I used  one ounce of Summit hops, two ounces of Liberty hops, and 12 ounces of fresh frozen hops from one of my wild harvests last Autumn, along the bike path enroute to Carbondale.  This ale came out  to 6.5% a.b.v., with a rich hops flavor, but not as bitter as an IPA might be.  This batch began my expansion into kegging, with the acquisition of several 2.5-gallon kegs, of which two stack neatly inside the new refrigerator I bought and installed under the stairs.  This makes for a ready supply of perfectly carbonated beer, especially for parties and special events, like a weekend camping trip with some hunting pals, who gave me some delicious Elk steaks in gratitude for sharing this ESB.
I captured this honeybee photo, up close and personal, with an Olloclip macro lens attached to my iPhone 4S.  She was so excited to taste the first Apricot nectar of the season, she paid my close lens no mind at all.
Cheers!
MT

Batch #144 ~ BIG DOG Strong Ale

Having learned that the maximum amount of grain I can fit into my brewing system, using 10-gallon food grade Rubbermaid Coolers, is 28 pounds of grain, I sought to brew a stronger beer. Reducing the water a bit, so that I end up with around 8 gallons of beer instead of 10, brings us to a relatively high 7.75% alcohol for this Strong Ale. My wife Jan found a T-shirt with this image of a Black Lab appearing to attempt to claim a fallen tree, as if its owner could throw it for a game of fetch. Seemed like the perfect image for this beer. Cheers! MT

Batch #143 ~ Backyard Hops Pale Ale

The OTHER wild hops I have used before, located in a different part of the valley, was the source for a bit of rhizome (root) I transplanted a few years ago, to my back yard.  It took a couple of Summers to get established in a shady part of my garden, but this year I saw that it was starting off strong.  I gave it an old sunflower stalk to climb on, which it used to nearly reach a branch of Maude, my apricot tree.  With just a wee boost from me, it finally reached the branch, and quickly spread itself out on this high, sunny perch.  This Winter, when I'm giving Maude an annual pruning, I'll fashion this area of branches toward becoming an annual solar collector frame for the hops, for which I'll drop a rope.
I didn't harvest enough hops from this vine alone to make a 10-gallon fresh hops ale, so I floated some dried Columbus and Amarillo hops first, and stirred in the Backyard hops for just the last 10 minutes of the boil, just enough to make its flavor perch on top of your palate.
Finally, have a peek at the label to find the latest human engineering marvel, the Rosetta spacecraft and its comet lander, Philae.  Rock on, European Space Agency!
Salute!
MT

Batch #142 ~ Fresh Hops Pale Ale

This may become an annual tradition for me, an early morning, late Summer bike ride with backpack or panniers, accompanied by someone dear, to my not-so-secret wild-hops vine.  By the time the sun is up, we have harvested a few pounds of fresh hops flowers, packed them up and we're riding home, without having seen a single person.  By mid-morning, with a cup of hot coffee at my side, the grain mash is underway, and by noon, several bags of fresh hops have been layered into the boiling brew, giving it a composition of beginning flavors, for the yeast to color over time.
I don't know what variety my wild yeast is, but I do know it is low on the alpha-acid scale.  It has a mild bitterness, but an intense floral character.  Using heavy amounts of this hops ~ alone ~ in a 7% pale ale, results in a flavour palate more like shoving your face in a bridal bouquet, than having your cheeks caved in with the bitterness of an IPA.
It lives in a semi wild place, along a riverbank, fairly far from the ranch where it probably originated, during the settler era, a century ago.  Rhizomes wander over time, and my harvesting habit will surely begin to chase this flower further along the riverbank, away from me, the ale predator.

Cheers!
MT