A Starting Point

Hello Everyone

Happy Leap Day to you all. Today is a day to be excited about. We are all currently working on preparations for our first Competition Season. This will be our first opportunity to have our beers judged to see how they stack up against other brews from around the North West. There are several competitions that we are looking to enter into. The AleChemist Challenge, Sasquatch Brewfest and a Heart of the Valley Homebrewers competition through Calapooia Brewing.

The first competition is the AleChemist Challenge through Corvallis Brewing Supply. The recipe this year is for a Biere de Garde which is a traditional Farmhouse ale from Northern France. Typically these beers were brewed in early spring and then aged until the warmer summer months. Today is a very fitting day to be brewing this beer. We awoke to snow on the ground and it has continued throughout the day. I was thinking about how the early Brewers in France would be feeling when they created these beers. It seems to me that they would be thinking ahead to the summer. Longing for the warmth and cheer of the sun once it returned from it's southerly wanderings. This being the last day in February with several months remaining until we see the sun again I too am daydreaming of the days of warmth.

The beer that I have chosen to brew is called The Garde-ian. It is a strong Blonde that I am hoping will come in around 7.5-8% ABV. It should have a sweet, malt dominated flavor with just a hint of Magnum hops to balance it out. The Garde-ian will be aged on French Oak chips while in the secondary to bring out a barrel-aged character in the final product. I am planning on bottling the entire batch and cellaring them all until mid-summer or so. I look forward to carefully guarding these beers so they may develop into their full potential.

I will be entering The Garde-ian into all three competitions and we will be brewing several more batches of different styles soon to enter as well. We will keep you updated on the upcoming brews and the competition results as we get them. Don't be discouraged, the sun will return soon enough. Until then enjoy a pint and see what you can find..

Peace
Travis