Autumn has finally rolled around again, and since I haven't posted in a while, I thought I would share a snapshot of what this hearth is looking like this time of year. In many ways it's a snapshot of my life right now. It's a little busy, and a little messy, but that's how it goes, and lots of good things are always in the works. Cider is fermenting away in three different flavors (plain, ginger, ...
Homebrewing
Homebrewing Elderberry Wine
I have enjoyed plenty of other people's homebrewed elderberry wines, but never made my own, so last weekend we went for it. I had picked dozens of gallons of elderberries in October with a friend, who suggested we pick while we could, freeze the berries, and subsequently brew when we could. I meant to brew that wine many a time throughout the fall, but life was just so darn busy. The final ...
Homebrewing Sparkling Rose Petal Wine
I don't know what it was about this spring, but it was all about the flowers. A friend mentioned to me that she was wanting everything flowery and colorful in her culinary endeavors, and I was right there with her on that. From lavender syrups, to rose petal jelly, to lilac wine, to calendula petals in my salad every day, I just wanted to infuse my life with flowers. After trying out a rose petal ...
Homebrewing French Lilac Wine
In the continuing saga of my wild botanical homebrewing endeavors, I was enjoying the lilac flowers a while back, and decided to brew something with them. I looked through a few lilac cordial recipes before finding this French lilac wine recipe from Leslieland that was exactly what I was looking for: http://leslieland.com/2009/05/lilac-wine/ Her description was impressive, especially following ...
Homebrewing Nettle Beer
Something I have learned along the way in life is that a sense of adventure makes everything more fun. This is true for many things, including homebrewing and wildcrafting. Combine the two and you can end up brewing some pretty wild things while having fun along the way. I have wanted to brew nettle beer for a long time now, and just hadn't felt like I could pick enough quantity for a decent sized ...
Brewing Ginger Spruce Beer
Homebrewing is one of those DIY endeavors that can be a lot of fun, and can also be tricky to fit in when times get busy. I hadn't brewed a beer at home since my all-grain Pumpkin Spice Ale in the fall of 2013, so we were long overdue. Fortunately, we got motivated by a prolific homebrewing friend living up the river who is keeping his fermenting carboys at our place. You come home enough times to ...
Homebrewing Pumpkin Spice Ale
What is there not to love about pumpkins? They are round and orange, they taste sweet and delicious, and they can be made into pumpkin pie. What, then, is there not to love about pumpkin beers? It's like having pumpkin pie in a bottle. With a kick. Some of you may remember my post on my first all grain homebrewing project, Brewing Perseverance. I had tried an anniversary beer from Alaskan ...
The People Went Forth and Made Mead…and it Was Good.
To brew a mead, one must be patient. One must be willing to brew a beverage that can take years to develop and mature. Yes, I said years. Patience has its place in life. Instant gratification also has its place, and that is what homebrewing cider and beer is for. I had been wanting to make a mead for a very long time, so I figured if I could be patient to begin making it ...
Brewing Perseverance
On my birthday this year, I decided to spend the day brewing beer with a friend. What we sought to create was not just any all-grain ale, mind you, but an ale as big and bold as the wild frontier. This was inspired by a life-changing ale experience this past Fall, when I happened upon Alaskan Brewing Company's anniversary ale by the name of Perseverance on tap at a local public ...
Making May Wine: Mountain Rose Herbs Recipe Contest Entry
To ring in and honor the first day of May each year, one my favorite seasonal traditions is making May wine. This easy and tasty beverage is traditionally made in Germany where it is served as a spring tonic for the May Day holiday by infusing dry white wine with dried leaves of the Sweet Woodruff herb (Galium oderatum or Asperula odorata). A perennial spreading herb, native to the forests of ...