They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Oh, and also some buckwheat. This buckwheat was planted back at the beginning of July. It has been watered regularly and is now 3-4 feet tall. A decision has to be made at this point. Once the flowers are formed, the protein content in the stalks and leaves is at its maximum level. If cut… Continue reading Blackberry Wine, Mead, and Liqueur
When life hands you blackberries... Make booze. Or at least try. With the puree from last week, Mommy made a couple of pints of blackberry vinegar, but there was still a ton leftover. So we made a batch of mead with blackberry (known as melomel). And a batch of blackberry wine. I didn't have quite… Continue reading Blackberry Mead and Blackberry Wine
Save the Date!
December 1, 2025. This was a bit later than I wanted it to be. The cider was set down in primary fermentation on 11/17 and it smelled about perfect last Friday, but on Saturday we were too busy building the fence to attend to it then. By Sunday afternoon it was starting to develop some… Continue reading Hard Cider: Batch 2, Rack 1.
Just another normal Monday at the house/farm/homeschool. Bread is in the oven. The dibbuns made the two smaller ones. Critters are doing their school. Let's check on our science experiment... So, there was a bit of a complication with the last batch of hard cider. After we transferred it to secondary fermentation, a day later… Continue reading Hard Cider, batch two
Yesterday was day 17 of the hard cider experiment. According to the "Brew Book." Which is gleen, in fact, not brue, but it works. I have been keeping meticulous notes in an old school note book. On the way back south after a National Guard day (long story) I stopped by our local home brew… Continue reading Hardening the Cider: Secondary Fermentation.
Our first batch of hard cider has been bubbling merrily away in the closet since Oct 27. Monday, Nov 3, (one week later) I pulled the jug out to have a look at it. The scummy froth on top has dispersed, and the movements of the air lock had slowed considerably. It is now bobbing… Continue reading Hard Cider Update
What do you do when life hands you 100 gallons of cider? You make hard cider, of course. When I told the kids I was making hard cider they asked how you harden cider. So the process is now known as "hardening." The first step is cleaning and sterilizing our equipment. If we have learned… Continue reading Hardening the Cider
