Red Barn Brewing, Take 2

It has been far too long since we brewed Night Barn, our delicious nut brown ale. As an ode to the end of summer, we thought it necessary to brew another ale. Though it would have been perfect in the mid-summer's heat, the persistent heat of mid-September will prove an equally perfect setting to sip on our newest creation: a Kölsch style ale with a hint of chamomile. Technically, we won't be able to label it as a Kölsch since we are adding the chamomile, but that's okay. Either way, this should turn out to be one tasty beverage.

As I type, the wort is chilling in the sink eagerly waiting for the yeast to be pitched. I'm not sure if the wort is eager, but I sure am. This recipe didn't quite make the standard 5 gallons, it's more around 3 or 3.5 gallons (darn, only 3.5 gallons), but that's quite alright. More updates will be necessary to keep everyone updated on the status (and flavor) of this one.

Oh, and if you are curious, this ale recipe is one step more "difficult" than the last. Instead of using purely extract, we have elevated our brewing skills to the "grain steeping" level. The beers snobs refer to this as "partial mash". I'm sure if a beer snob is reading this and affirm that it is indeed a partial mash (it truly is one), they're likely resenting being called a beers snob. However, think about it. If you know what a Kölsch is and can appreciate the style of the beer and the potential for awesomeness that chamomile adds: you're a beer snob.

The Great Outdoors (again!)

So long to the days of blogging exclusively about our garden. So long to the monotony of hearing about garden destruction. So long to the days of Greg sometimes writing posts:P

We have entered the time of outdoor blog posts!

Last Friday we finally got down to the river and did some canoeing! I was super excited to get back on the river. I hadn't had a Ledyard Canoe Club membership for the last summer or maybe two, so it is good to have my canoe-renting-powers returned to me. Hopefully before the summer is up there will be an opportunity for camping on the island to make this membership really worth it.

We took out the lovely "O Be Joyful" since my favorite canoe was nowhere to be seen. It was a good choice.



I liked matching the canoe, both in color, and state of joyfulness.

I made Greg do the steering.



I figured it would be a great opportunity to give him some practice, plus I was feeling lazy. First he chased down these ducks for us:



Then he paddled us right near a place where a Great Blue Heron was hiding out. It started squacking and flew out and away from us. I don't think I've ever been so close to one of those guys before. Here was his new hiding spot:



Then I took some pictures of these lily pads. I promise I was helping to canoe at some points during this trip.





Fun times in the canoe!

Ascutney photos!

And the photos!



This is me at the first lookout point. I guess there used to be a quarry on Ascutney? There were remnants of huge cables and chunks of cut rock near the trail at this point.



This is Greg at the summit. Or at least near the summit. This lookout was actually on a little trail off the summit. This is also where we ate our lunch. And I saw a contra person.



The view from our lunching point.



This was taken at the top of the fire tower. Watch out for the straw hat, it'll get you every time.



At the bottom of the Windsor Trail.

Mount Ascutney

Hi Everyone!

Last Saturday Greg and I had a chance to go hiking, which we hadn't done in a long while. The weather was perfect for a hike, so we headed to Mount Ascutney for the afternoon.

We followed the trails recommended by the DOC.

All in all it was a great hike with multiple scenic views! Pictures to come soon!

More Garden Destruction

It happened again. The garden is hopefully growing stronger with all of the difficulties it is encountering.


The peas are getting their tops eaten off.


And other plants are getting uprooted and bearing the scratch marks of some crazy animal.

But luckily,


The tomatoes still exist!!!

Our poor garden

This weekend our garden suffered some destruction. Here is the evidence:



I don't know about you, but it sure looks to me like someone decided to trudge through our garden and stomp on our beets, parsnips, dill, brussels sprouts, and one sunflower.



I don't really want to be the one to falsely accuse anyone of destroying our beautiful garden, but well, let's be honest... I have a sneaky suspicion our bratty little garden-destroying neighborhood kids had something to do with it.

More cooking lately

Greg and I have been doing more cooking lately. Or really, more cooking of new and different things lately. My mom got me two of the Moosewood cookbooks for my birthday, so we have been trying some of the new recipes in there. So far everything has been SO SUPER tasty!



This is a shrimp bisque. The salad was just arugula, tomato, and feta with olive oil + balsamic vinegar for dressing, no fancy recipe there.