September Brew Plans

I'll brew my pumpkin beer with these winter squash.

 Mary had stayed out at Hawksbill Cabin for the week, and I was able to head out early to join her on Friday for the long Labor Day weekend.  It was the first time we were in town on a Friday Night this summer, so we planned to go to the little musical event in downtown Luray.  We'd been invited by a friend to stop by his house to enjoy the show from his front porch.

Turns out, his house is on one of the original 19 lots that comprised the town of Luray, and he is in the midst of restoring it to acknowledge that history.  It's quite a project and both Mary and I were interested in the details.

Turns out he also grew hops this year, starting with four Cascade rhizomes from neighbor Dan.  He grew a full pound of dried hops, and was generous enough to give me three ounces.  I'm looking forward to brewing with these!

These are the hops our friend grew from first year rhizomes!

Now, it is also pumpkin beer season, with loads of different brews showing up on shelves all over the country.  I've had some good ones already and have a stash going of a few nationally known craft beers, such as Starr Hill's Boxcarr Pumpkin Porter and Southern Tier's Pumking, but I also want to brew one or two myself.  So I went to the farmers market in Luray on Saturday morning with the goal of picking out something I could use in beer, and I settled on these winter squash that I got from Public House Produce.

I bought enough to give me 10 pounds to start with - that should be enough for two batches.  I'm hoping to do an ale and a porter - and to get both bottled in time for Thanksgiving.  I'll keep you posted.