The Champagne of Blogs

My lovely wife picked up Barbecue Secrets Deluxe by Ron Shewchuk for me at the library a while back, and I haven’t been able to put it down since. This has caused a number of problems, including the fact that I can’t read about making BBQ without this weird Pavlovian trickle of drool running down my chin. The solution is to chew on jerky while reading, I’ve found.

Shewchuk is apparently a hot dog of the competitive BBQ world (what kind of awesome job is THAT?), but more importantly, he writes with the kind of infectious glee that makes you want to stay up all night nursing a brisket to perfection. And so I’ve been dreaming about what the 2009 BBQ season will bring. (more…)

Editor’s note: we’re still sorting out all the content from our Bay Area beer trip – it’s taken a bit longer than we thought, but it’s coming. Again, we’ll put together a centralized list of all our stops, in chronological order, when we’re all through.

We got into Ashland a little late on the first night of our beer trip, mostly due to an unplanned stop in Eugene for a sit-down dinner (I thought we’d fast food it). After checking into 4 rooms at the Bard’s Inn, it was already 11:30, but we rushed over to Standing Stone Brewing anyway, since it was the first real stop of our trip. I’d e-mailed the brewery ahead of time (that’s how I got the hotel recommendation), but Thursday looked to be a pretty sleepy night in Ashland, and I wasn’t sure they’d still be open.

In fact, they were just about to lock the front door when 8 thirsty guys from Portland showed up. As our ringleader, I asked if we could sneak one beer in, and Adam, brewer, bartender, and all around nice guy, said yes.

We had the entire place to ourselves, but Adam poured us a round and answered questions for at least a half-hour. Talk ranged from their brewery size (tiny but impressively well-built, beautiful, really) to their energy saving efforts (solar panels on the roof, capturing heat from the brewing process), all while making us feel welcome and unrushed as we drank our excellent beers.

I had the Double IPA, which was a great way to start the trip – it’s a true West-coast style IPA, with tons of hop bitterness backed up by a healthy dose of alcohol and a nice floral character on the aroma. But don’t let me tell you about it: listen to Adam. He’s the Brewer (and a stand-up guy).

Growing hops for the first time last year turned out better than expected: I actually had a decent crop and was able to brew a beer with it. And frankly, if I’d known then what I know now about growing hops at home, I probably could’ve made a much hoppier brew. (update: See the fresh hop ale recipe and homegrown hops photos.)

So here’s a few tips I’ll take with me into Year Two of growing hops at home:

1. Keep watering the hops. I grew mine in a raised bed, and it can get a little dry. Don’t soak ‘em, but keep it moist. Especially in the first year.
2. Don’t be stingy with the compost. Again, especially in that first year where you’re trying to get that little hops rhyzome to bloom. I used mushroom compost, and added a few handfuls to enrich the soil when I planted, and then once during the early summer. I think this year I might add compost a little earlier and a shade later.
3. Keep the bugs at bay. This was the biggest limiter I had with the hops in Year One. A little bug soap goes a long way when you start noticing little crawly critters on your beloved hops.

All in all, I can’t see why any homebrewer with a little patch of sunlight wouldn’t try growing hops themselves. It’s ridiculously easy and incredibly satisfying to toss your own homegrown hops into a batch.

Trying out Sellwood’s Muddy Rudder. Lovely old wood décor. Feels very throw-back with old model boats and a bus or trolley sign from a few decades ago. Comfy benches and nautical knick-knacks mix easily with a decent beer and wine selection. The menu, however, isn’t the working-class pub fare we hoped for. Rather, it’s just on the wrong side of hippy and frou-frou. Still, we’ll be back again, because this place just feels right.