Trel•lis. Noun.

A frame or structure of latticework; lattice.
A framework of this kind used as a support for growing vines or plants.
A frustrating necessity of growing hops.

The third definition is really hitting home. Fortunately we’re not the only ones dealing with this problem. And there are many potential solutions. Trouble is, we haven’t yet found one […]

I realize this post has already lost a lot of its thunder, since this picture was taken a week ago. But GEEZ. Check out our hops! They’re growing like gangbusters, even after Joel tried to “water them” himself:

Our hops are doing a LOT better this year, especially if you consider that they weren’t even in the ground until May last year. We transplanted them over at Jeff’s house earlier this spring, and I don’t know if he’s feeding them speed or X or something, but they’re really shooting out of the ground. […]

Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t completely kill our hops last year. They’ve peeked their bitter little heads above the surface of their new home along Jeff’s driveway. And Jeff, the nurturer that he is, has been diligent in providing the little buggers with plenty of water. He’d give them extra sunlight if he could. […]

We’re going to give this whole “growing hops thing” another go. Unruffled by our meager/nonexistent harvest last year, we have transplanted our hop plants to Jeff’s yard. Now they’re out of the pots, off of the volleyball court, and in the ground. We also fertilized with some composting spent grains which probably won’t make much […]

Tomorrow is arts-and-crafts day at Jeff’s house! Joel will be building out a fermentation chamber for our new conical fermenters. The chamber will involve an insulated box that ducts cold air from our freezer, similar to the one built here by the Duo Team.
And while Joel is doing his best to not kill himself, I […]

Joel’s connecting flight to Atlanta was delayed last night, so we had another productive brewing session without him meddling in the “grown-up affairs.” We brewed another batch of our Swashchuckler IPA in anticipation of the March 15 party (mark your calenders – invitations coming soon). I feel good about this batch. For one, we were […]