Watcha Drinkin?

In this month's Watcha Drinkin...I indulged in the Ommegang Abbey Ale. Truly a delicious beer from an impressive brewery. Check them out at: www.ommegang.com

"Ommegang, our first brew, was inspired by the centuries-old brewing practices of the Belgian Trappist monks. This burgundian brew gives off a variety of aromas, including plum and cinnamon, and packs in flavors such as caramel, toffee, and licorice. At 8.5% abv, it is known to cause spontaneous meditation."

One of those days...

So yeah, I turned 30 this year. Most people would be discouraged, but I couldn't be happier. I am still young and I got a party at a Brew Pub as well as a really sweet cake.

I would like to thank Curt from Thomas Hooker Brewery, as well as the Cambridge House Brew Pub for an awesome event. Be sure to check them both out...great places and great beer. Definitely try Hooker's Nor'Easter Brew...It is spectacular!

The Harvest

Here are the pictures I promised from the first year's harvest. I know it was small, but I have high hopes for next year!

Happy New Year!

Well, its been a crazy 2008...new job, 1st Child (Nicholas is now 4 months old and doing very well), the launch of Home Brewing Perspectives, a new hobby (I finally have all the equipment I need to start brewing...), and I'm not even 100% sure of what else...it has been a blur. Needless to say, I'm ready to take it down a notch and enjoy 2009.

As a wise man once said.."I must confess, I could use some rest, I can't run at this pace very long..." if you know where this quote comes from, you are definitely my kind of person and we should probably share a beer sometime.

As the first order of business for 2009: Doug and I are finally making good on our promise...the Podcast will re-launch this month, with a more "manageable" recording schedule.

My plans for this year as far as hops goes could be changing, with the possibility of me moving...I'll try to transplant the rhizomes, but it will be a scary task in the midst of a New England winter. The Brewer's Gold that I planted in my father's garden should come back stronger with the possibility of a better yield.

I'll have to re-think my planting if I am in the new house once I get to inspect the property more closely and do some soil tests.

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009...I'm sure we will be in touch

so the story goes something like this...

I will keep the blog posting relatively short. Doug and I are getting together shorty to record another episode of Home Brewing Perspectives. We are both really psyched to get the show rolling again.

My Cascade Hops never seemed to recover from the animal attack. Once the possum dug up my rhizomes, they never seemed to recover. I only got small vines (maybe 3 feet tall) and obviously no harvest.

I was luckier with the Brewer's Gold that I planted in my father's garden. We got solid growth, 5 vines at least 8 feet tall. The harvest was small (probably about 20 cones total), but I am completely confident that they will be coming back next year stronger with a larger harvest...pictures and more details to come.

Let me know how your harvest was this year. I hope most of you were luckier than I was this year!

Back in the Swing of Things...

So I think this is a valid excuse for falling off the face of the earth. Apologies to all the followers of this blog. Something crazy happens when you have your first child and everything else takes a back seat. Nicholas was born on 8/21/08...from the day of his birth he has consumed every waking minute of my "free" time. Hobbies didn't even cross my mind. He is now 2 months old and I finally feel like I have some time on my hands. I am back in work, and have a whole lot of catching up to do with a lot of people.

My tragic hop update is coming soon!

Missing in Action

Wow, it has been some time since my last post. It seems to me that I have been full of unfulfilled promises regarding this blog...but honestly there are times when life gets crazy and something has to hit the back-burner. Unfortunately the blog is what suffered. I am happy to report that things are getting under control (for now), but my wife and I only have 2 1/2 weeks until the birth of our first child so I don't necessarily expect things to get easier anytime soon. SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR SO! Doug and I will get back on track soon. Enough of that though...as for the hops.

The 2 rhizomes that were attacked by the possum are apparently dead. This is very unfortunate since the vines on these 2 rhizomes were the largest. The good news is the "forgotten" rhizomes which were left in pots on my porch are growing like crazy. I am in the process of building a new trellis to support them. Whats funny to me is that these 2 rhizomes were not "cared" for in any of the so called necessary methods. It just goes to show, sometimes plants just need a lot of sunlight, water, and to be left alone! Pictures to follow once trellis construction is done!