Let the scratch brewing begin

Scratch brewing season! We started the season off last weekend planting our Cascade hops, Black Lace Elderberry, Juniper, Raspberries, Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, Moonshine Yarrow. All ingredients for our scratch brewing experimental beers for brewing this spring and summer. We got lucky this year and saved some money by finding the plant sale at the senior center, talk about a good deal! Who could turn down those old folks in their Lions Club vests! 

Here are how some of these plants are used in brewing:

Juniper: Can be propagated from seeds, but germination may take up to two years. Cuttings are a more reliable method. To harvest pick the berries starting in the second year (Bummer none this year) after they turn color; the needles can be picked throughout the season. Brewing: Foliage and berries have be en used to flavor traditional ales and gin in the Netherlands for centuries. Use fresh berries 1-2 tablespoons late in the boil for a ginlike flavor, use the leaves 1-4 ounces to the secondary fermenter to give a bittersweet aroma. 

Elder: We bought the blacklace elderberry plant. Harvest: Harvest flowers when they are open, berries when fully riped. Brewing: Use 2 ounces of the flowers for dry hopping. Use 1-6 pounds of berries to add a sweet, honeylike flavor to fruit beer. WARNING: Flowers and berries are edible the bark and leaves are poisonous and shouldn't be eaten!!

Lemon Balm: Harvest: Cut the leaves just before plants flower. Use fresh or dry immediately after harvest. Brewing: Use 1/2 an ounce of the fresh leaves late in the boil to add a strong lemon scent and flavor. 

Yarrow: Harvest: Pick the leaves and flowers soon after the plants come into bloom. Brewing: Used to bitter 1/2 ounce of fresh leaves or blossoms early in the boil for a mild bittering. 

Source: The Homebrewer's Garden & The Drunken Botanist 

We also planted the hops. Which took a full day of clearing blackberry bushes and digging holes. We used a large bamboo pole and hemp twine for our trellis. This year we planted eight Cascade rhizomes from Hops Direct.   

Building the hop trellis

Tommy also started the season off with a scratch brew of Dandelion Bitter Ale. This ale is a bright brown-orange and cloudy, with a sour piquancy unlike that of hops. Yield 5 gallons. 

Stewing the Dandelions

Dandelion Bitter Ale-

Grain Bill:

5.00 lbs. Maris Otter

0.75 lbs. Bairds Crystal 60*L

0.50 lbs. Dingemans Aromatic Malt 17-21*L

1.00 lbs. Briess Victory Malt 28*L

Adjuncts:

2.00 lbs. Dandelions (flowers, stalks, leaves, and roots); soaked multiple times & cleaned well

1.00 oz. Kent hops (15 minutes prior to flameout)

2.00 oz. homegrown hops (2 minutes prior to flameout)

Mash the grains from above at 153 degrees for one hour.  Boil the dandelions for 45 minutes then remove the large matter.  Fifteen minutes before flameout, add the Kent hops (I used store-bought pellets).  Two minutes before flameout, add the homegrown hops (I used this past season's hops, so they were a little tamed from before).

This year it was a Dandelion Bitter instead of Dandelion Cream Ale.  It was also all-grain brewed (using Brew-In-A-Bag, aka BIAB), so the efficiency took a slight hit, but the OG was at 1.045 or so.

Finding a clean place to pick the Dandelions is the hard part

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Cranberry Walnut Bread is my favorite and when we moved to Seattle two years ago I went on a long hunt to find the cities best. To my sheer surprise I couldn't find any in Seattle! Finally after asking the hundred (well like 4th) bakery in town and they told me to "google it" I decided it was time to make my own.

Here is my simple easy no fuss Cranberry Walnut Bread Recipe:

Makes enough to share!

You will need:

• 2 cups warm water, not hot 
• One packet of Yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5-ish cups flour, all-purpose or wheat
• 1 Cup of Cranberries (more or less depending on you)
• 1 Cup of Walnuts (more or less depending on you) I like to get the cranberries and walnuts from the bulk section it is cheaper this way.

To Do:

1. Mix the yeast into the water.
2. Combine the salt with two cups flour.
3. Add the flour and salt to the water, stirring.
4. Add the rest of the flour and continue to stir until the dough holds together and is not wet.
5. Add the cranberries and walnuts
6. Place the dough onto a clean, floured surface and knead. If you need to add more flour do so you want it to more sticky than dry. 
7. Knead until you can hold the dough up to the light and stretch a portion of it and you can see light through it before it breaks. App. 10 minutes
8. Shape the bread into two or three Italian-shaped loaves or several mini-loaves. Do this by pressing the dough flat and folding it into thirds, or by rolling it up. Put the ugly seamed side down and tuck under the ends. Place the loaves on a lightly greased pan. 
9. Set on top of the fridge or other out of the way place, the oven is too hot and will kill the yeast.
10. Let rise until about doubled in size. App. 45 minutes 
11. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. 
12. Slash the top of the loaves several times diagonally, and place a small pan of water on the bottom rack. This makes the crust nice and soft. This is optional however so if you want to keep it simple don't mess with it. 
13. Put the dough in the oven. 
14. Bake 12 to 20 minutes or more, depending on the size of your loaves and pans.
15. Tap the bread; if it sounds hollow, it’s done or take an instant read thermometer. If the temp reads 190 to 210, it’s done.
16. Remove let cool a little and enjoy!