Mmmmm, Beer.....

We spent a little time drinking our beer last weekend, introducing some lucky entrepreneurs to our craft, and then drank some more of our beer while people we didn't share our beer with looked on.  A satisfying experience.

Seriously, though, Tom, Jay and I met with a local restaurateur who's interested in developing a "house" brew that can be his consistent tap.  We brought along a growler full of our Double IPA that had just gotten off the 4 week primary / 4 week dry hopped secondary / 3 weeks in a keg cycle - dude, this is the bomb!  Hopped, fruity (cascade hops), beautiful color and very clear.  Needless to say, they were impressed.  We still feel the Sonnenwende (Kolsch) would be a better "light hybrid" beer that would pair well with his menu, but we've got a little equipment upgrading to do before we can start banging out 15 gallons a week so there's still time to push them in that direction.

Recent 10 gallon batch of Sonnenwende aerating before fermentation

 The hops are growing beautifully - we've had a spell of very wet, unseasonably cool, weather through the first half of June.  This might set us up with some powdery mildew, but for now the plants look good and are growing fast.  Bob has been busy adding more rows for the 160 plants he and Joyce (Ma) just picked up in Rochester!  So, we'll have 190 hills in the ground by the end of June - with propagation next year we should be up to 500 next spring.

Growing fast!

After reading an article in the Northeast Hop Alliance newsletter about a bigger farm out near Rochester (Whipple Brothers) investing in a pelletizer I reached out to them to let them know we'd probably be showing up at their door a few weeks after harvest this year!

Let us know if you want to stop by and check out the yard - it's a sight to see!  If you're lucky we might let you sample a little Limestone Creek Brew!