The Bauernhaus

Two-Wheeled Tractors Continued: The Agria 6000

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 20:04:00 +0000

A couple of years ago I posted about a little Holder H7, which was turning out really handy for small jobs around the garden and orchard, and even harvesting. But I always wanted to get an Agria, a brand so synonymous with two-wheeled tractors here, they are often just called an Agria (like vacuum cleaners being called hoovers). That happened last year. I found an Agria 6000, Germany’s favourite Agria model, on eBay and it looked well-restored. We agreed what I considered a fair price. At the time.

It’s a lovely machine. Based on the motor, it was probably built in the 60s, though they were building the 6000 well into the 70s, but with ILO motors. It has a 2-stroke, 150cc 6.5 HP (4.8kW) motor, and three forward gears. Sadly no reverse on this particular one.

The trailer was definitely well-restored, with totally new panels replacing the wood. It kind of lacks character, perhaps, compared to the original designs, but it’s practical and will last long.

And while the man started it before I bought it, it was only once I started using it that I realised something wasn’t quite right. On pulling the started, it was firing too early, causing kickback that nearly pulled your arm out of the socket. Quite painful. It was noisy, running irregularly, and we couldn’t get it to idle nicely.

Turns out the chap had probably disassembled it, and didn’t set the flywheel correctly. It took a bit of work (including making a small replacement part ourselves, to replace a sheered wedge on the drive shaft), and lots of trials, till at least that aspect was solved.

It was also leaking a lot of oil out the exhaust port, but that was easy to fix by simply tightening the exhaust. But the motor was also quite oily, and compression wasn’t the best, so replacement gaskets solved that too. I was beginning to wonder if the guy’s “restoration” was simply new paint”.

But it still wasn’t running great. I had taken the carburettor apart several times, and knew it was clean. It didn’t like starting with ease, and after 15 minutes driving, it would sometime stall out. It took a fair bit of research (and reading the smallest details stamped on the parts themselves) to find out that the carburettor was fitted with the wrong idling jet for this model of motor. I managed to find a replacement jet, and suddenly it was purring. Nice idling, not stalling after a long downhill run. Just grand, apart from being very smoky for the first 5 minutes of use.

Never leave home without a sparkplug spanner

It’s a pretty good workhorse, and you can get lots of accessories for it, like single share plough, a tiller, a snow plough and a beam mower. The latter became a topic of interest this year, as the sheep that had been keeping the orchard grass in check till now have moved on to newer pastures, meaning mowing became a bit more urgent for us. I had restored a monster beam mower a couple of years ago (also pictured in that Holder H7 post above), and thought I could use that, but the clutch went, and replacing it was simply not economical. But I had another for the Holder H7, and gave that a try. But it was dismal, and quite strenuous to use. So, I have decided I don’t want a beam mower for the Agria, though occasional use could be handy in some situations.

After weeks researching various kinds and makes of mower, and learning more about hydrostatic drives than I probably needed, I finally ordered a new workhorse, which I hope will be here tomorrow. This could be an ode to the Agria, but I think it'll definitely be out for the harvest, and some fun.

Attic conversion, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 12:01:00 +0000

If anyone thinks I spent most of the summer drinking cider and eating burgers in our yard, well, you'd be almost completely right. But I did make some good progress in the attic since the last update, until it it too unbearably hot to be doing physical work up there.

The OSB cladding I had started then is almost complete, and some of the basic wiring for sockets is done. Now it's time to finish that up, so I can start to put the plasterboard up. There are some design decisions still to be made, in terms of the use of the rooms and positioning of lighting, but my goal will now be to get at least one side complete in the first six months of this year.

There, I've said it!

For a quick view of the current state, here's a little video tour from last Saturday.

Another orchard extension

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 18:33:00 +0000

Last year we tripled the site of our orchard, from 1000 to 3000 square metres (3/4 of an acre in old money). At that time, there was a plot of similar size beside our own that a friend was trying to buy, but this year he decided against it, and asked if we were interested. After a bit of consideration, I said no, but a few weeks ago, while walking through our own orchard, I strolled though the plot for sale and began to have second thoughts.

This new plot has not been looked after for quite some time. The trees are often too close together, and in summer, the canopy is almost unbroken even between rows. Very overgrown, and what I kept describing as like something out of Middle Earth. My original negative decision was based on the amount of work our existing orchard already needs. Although it was better cared for, I still have a lot of cutting to do to rejuvenate, or open up most of the trees, and the thoughts of taking on another 90 or 100 trees was a bit overwhelming. Until I strolled through...

The man selling it got my number from my friend, and called me to ask if I was interested, and I told him we'd think about it over the weekend. Which I did, to a rather extreme level. My poor wife was sick of me running through scenarios, and pointed out that we wouldn't have to do anything if we owned it. There's no commercial pressure, just a hobby, and to be honest, part of the appeal was to try and preserve this as an orchard, as it borders onto tillage, and other sections of the overall orchard have been felled and sown with crops instead (see the treeless strips in the aerial image below).

So, the decision was made. We agreed a fair price, and today the legal contracts were signed, so we are now formally the owners. This now doubles our overall orchard size to over 6000 square metres (1.5 acres), which is rather daunting as a hobby!

Green areas are what we've owned till now. Today we added the red area.

The orchard itself has six rows of threes, four of which are continuations of one of our existing plots. The varieties of trees are pretty must the same, as they were all planted at the same time, in 1958. Varieties that were popular then, like Glockenapfel, Boskoop, Jonathan, Jonagold, Goldparmäne, Brettacher, Cox's Orange Pippin, and several others that I have not yet identified, but which are really interesting in terms of flavour profile.

Originally, the ends of every row had cherry trees, which our current plot is missing, so we will gain, I think, 5 very large cherry trees. Inside the cherry trees, each row then had a few pear trees, and this is repeated a thee ends of the rows we are purchasing. Mostly they seem to be conference, mirroring the ends of the current rows, but there are a few other varieties, like Bürgermeisterbirne/Köstliche aus Charneux, and I hope some perry pear trees and more Williams Christ.

We will have our work cut out, and probably need to take some drastic measure to open the plot up, for the sake of the trees. Personally, I'd also like to get in a full row of classic English and French cider apples, but let's see how it all develops. I'm probably nuts...

Milestone: sandstone framing done

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 15:02:00 +0000

The facade, around the 1930's, we think.

Back at the end of 2010, when we bought our house (wow... I have to let that sink in for a moment... 8 years!), the front door was a really ugly aluminium thing from the 70s or 80s, probably. At that time, they had taken out a section of the original wall, rebuilt it with clay blocks to straighten it and fitted the brown aluminium door. They had discarded the original sandstone frames visible in the black and white photo above, and put some tiling around the door frame. It was probably the height of modernity at the time, but by the time we got it, the door was not sealing properly, thereby letting in a cold breeze, and of course, the tiling was really ugly and dated, not fitting with the age of the house at all. We decided to leave the door in until the major works were finished, as we didn't want a shiny new door getting damaged when bring materials in and out.

2011, the "modern" framing around the original door.

In December, 2016, pretty much all of the heavy internal works had been completed, and we finally got a new front door, a little more in keeping with the house, and which made a huge difference to the heating. No more draft, no more ice on the inside of the door in deepest winter.

December 2016, the new door was fitted.

At the time, I'd cut out an L-form profile around the door to accommodate a sandstone surround, which would bring it back to the original style. I made sketches, with dimensions, to make it easy for prospective stonemasons. During 2017, we had other things on our mind, but had made tentative queries seeking pricing from a few stonemasons in the area, but most were happy just doing gravestones (a steady supply of undemanding customers, I guess), and made ridiculous offers.

How it has looked since December 2016.

In early 2018, the Mayor suggested a stonemason that they had used, and who specialised in restoration of old buildings, Melchior Naturstein. Really nice work. I mean, they normally do medieval church and castle renovations! By summer we'd met the boss, and he gave us a price that didn't induce cardiac arrest, and we ordered.

I guess they are pretty busy with much larger projects, so it too a while before they had time to fit us in, but today was the day they came to fit the surrounds. The profile was modelled on the second original door frame, which is still in situ (see below), and we wanted a proper step in front of the door, for which we had no template, so trusted them to decide on a block step profile that would fit.

The secondary entrance, with original sandstone frame.

And the result? I'm blown away. I didn't want to do this, as I thought it wouldn't be worth it, and I wanted it just plastered and finished. But my wife really thought it'd be good. She was completely right, and it was worth the wait

The front of the house looks complete! It's not quite done though. In spring the lower half will be painted, and the door on the far left needs a new outer stall door, like that on the far right (both former cow stalls). But for now, it just makes the facade look so much better. Really happy.

Apple Harvest and Cider 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 19:43:00 +0000

2018 was a strange year for our apples. The spring started warm and dry, and like all across Europe, the summer was a scorcher, and very dry indeed, shortening the season on many crops. "Notreif", or emergency ripe, one of my farmer friends said. And apples were of course affected. Varieties that we would normally be harvesting in mid-October were dropping en masse from early September, and the quality of the drops was not great, presumably a reason the trees decided to shed them so early. Nevertheless, it was indeed a bumper year for fruit, with most trees straining under the weight of the apples.

This was also the first year harvesting from the second orchard plot we purchased around this time last year. With about three times the amount of trees we had before, we didn't really have to care about the early drops, most of which we ended up discarding, as they would not keep. But we had plenty that we properly harvested using the tried and tested tarp-and-shake method.

This year we pressed over several weekends, including pressing for friends and neighbours. In total, I think we pressed about 2.5 tonnes of fruit, using the same mill and presses as last year. This time, however, as we had a greater choice in varieties to choose from, we also pressed some single varieties, to get a feel for them. If they work alone, fine, if not, I'll either bland them or get them distilled.

As well as our apples, this year I was also offered quince by a local chap. I expected a few sackloads, but it ended up being just over 300kg, which we pressed yesterday. Quince schnapps is quite popular here, so i reckoned that's what we'd do with them. But the juice is really tasty, with a decent acidity, a slight bitterness, and lots of sugars and perfumy, fowery flavours. If it still tastes good after fermenting, I'll set some aside for ageing as a kind of quince wine.

It's a difficult fruit to process, being rather hard and quite dry. But with a fine milling, the juice is released, though from about 280kg of fruit, we got 120 litres of juice, so about 42% efficiency. Other methods might be to use a steam juicer, but we couldn't have done that in any great quantity, but we might experiment with a 5 litre batch to compare.

For ourselves, we currently have the following in fermenters:

60L Gloster
60L Goldparmäne (King of the Pippins or Reine de Reinettes)
60L Jonagold
60L Conference pears (actually to be distilled, but if it tastes nice, may keep it)
160L blend of several varieties, that has since been transferred to an oak barrel.
240L mixed varieties that is destined to be distilled in the next couple of months.
120L quince (also pressed for distilling, but the juice tastes so good, I may keep 60l as a wine/"quince cider", or for blending.

Pressing is not finished quite yet, as we have apples in storage (tumping, I learned is the correct term) that will be pressed for a keeved batch next weekend. Last year i made 50 litres of keeved cier as an experiment, and while i didn't think I got a full keeve, it fermented long and slow in our coldest cellar, and stopped with a final gravity of 1.012, so still has quite a nice sweetness to it. I'll report more fully on this year's batch, which i will increase to 120 litres.

So quite a busy and early harvest and pressing season this year, which has further distracted me from finishing the attic conversion, but I'll try to get back to that in the coming weeks, so I can start the tree pruning with a good conscience. Speaking of which, the orchard will expand again later this year, doubling our plot to 6000 square metres (about 1.5 acres). But that'll be a post in its own right!

Attic conversion, part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 05:21:00 +0000

The attic has been a thorn in my side for a few years now, and it's something that I return to, do a chunk of work on, and forget for half a year, until guilt sets in again. This month, I'm returning to it, and am determined to make major progress. But I noticed that I have not posted about any of the activities over the past couple of years, so a little retrospective is in order.

Back in 2012, it looked like this:

At that point, the roof had been redone, and I think we'd even cleaned off the oak beams, but it was not a priority location.

At some stage, I'd ripped all the old 1950s floor boards out (someone had kindly written the year underneath), with the intention of levelling the floor, but it wasn't till September 2017 I completed the floor under-construction, and got boards down so it is easy to walk around. Fast forward to last year:

And that it how it has sat for nine months. Nine! There's still an awful to to do, but my plan is to get one side (there are basically two rooms) done, so we can clear space and move storage items up here. But ultimately, we want a guest room and something like an office/hobby room for my wife, so she doesn't have to be clearing her stuff away.

To give a little more perspective, here's a short video. I'm hoping this post will keep me embarrassed enough to follow through, so I have some real progress to show in the coming few weeks!

Adventures in Distilling (Part 1?)

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 22:09:00 +0000

Germany is pretty well known for its love of rules and regulations, and the area of making alcohol in the home is no exception. Home brewing only became legal in December 1985, but even so, homebrewers are required to register with the tax authorities, but can brew up to 200L per year without needing to pay tax. But there are some areas where long tradition has meant fairly lax rules (from the perspective of an Irishman), particularly when it comes to distilling. Ok, you can’t really do much at home, though as of this year, you can buy a 2L capacity still without the requirement to register it with the tax authorities, but that’s just for playing with.

No, the real meat is the tradition of nearly every village in the south having its own Abfindungsbrennerei, a type of small distillery where farmers could bring their leftover cider, or mashes made of berries, pears, quince – whatever fruit they had to shove in a barrel – and get it legally distilled. Sadly, this kind of distillery is certainly on the wane, and this decline will likely accelerate after changes in state monopoly laws relating to distilling (basically, the state bought alcohol for industrial use from the distillers, but that ended this year) and I know of two in nearby villages that have closed since we moved into the area. But we still have one in our village, now in its third generation. And from what Horst says, he could be the last, as his son has no interest in taking it over.

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of being able to assist in distilling my own schnapps, something I had been looking forward to doing since I had my first apple mash distilled this time last year, but was not able to be there. That time, I delivered 120L of apple mash and received 21L of 43% ABV apple brandy to play with. This year, I broadened the variety, with 60L cider, 60L of cherry plum mash, and 75L of pulped grapes. I was eager to see how these would work out.

Horst’s still has been altered several times over the years. Originally, the copper was encased in brickwork that contained the firing chamber, and was, I guess, a simple alembic still. In 1975, his father-in-law took updated the still so it was free standing, and incorporated a stainless steel water bath that surrounded the copper, so it would not be in direct contact with the flames. But he still had to distill each batch a couple of times, at least, to get a good product out. In 2004, Horst took over and further modified the still to convert it into a column still, so he could do a batch in one go, and also distill continuously. But it remains wood-fired, with the heat controlled by a flue, so it all feels properly artisanal, in the best sense of the word.

Horst’s methods have been handed down, so there’s not a lot of science in it, just practical experience. But those who have been getting their spirits distilled by him over the years always say he does it well, and I certainly had no complaints last year.

We started with the cider. This was the remains from some experiments, all thrown into a barrel to get up to 60L, and was about 7% ABV going in. We retired to the adjoining kitchen for coffee and cake while it heated up, but as he’d done a batch for a neighbour previously, it was really fast in getting up steam. It was enthralling, peering through the little portholes of the so-called analyser, watching the vapour condense and trickle down again, before being taken up and over to the rectifier, where it was finally cooled and condensed, trickling out in a steady stream into a bucket. I knew enough about heads and tails, and had assumed there’d be some complicated tests to know at what point to discard the first runnings, or to stop collecting the hearts, the stuff you really want. But no, we did it by smell, taste, and even sight. The initial liquid smelled like UHU glue, and was milky, later turning crystal clear, with a rich, sweet aroma, before drying out. On the other end, an alcholometer was used to constantly measure the ABV of the spirit coming out, and collection was stopped when the ABV dropped to 45%. After this, the rest was collected till it ran to 10%, and discarded. Rinse and repeat for the others.

I ended up with the following results:

From 60L 7% cider, I got 4.5L spirit at 65% ABV. Pretty ok.
From 60L cherry plum mash, I got 5L new make at 66% ABV. Better than expected!
From 75L grapes, I got 5L at 62%. Actually, this was a disappointment, but I knew the original gravity of the grapes was a bit pants.

Each of these will be diluted down to 40 or 43%, so I guess I’ll have between 7 and 8 litre of each variety. If I want, we can also chill filter, but I am undecided on that as yet. I hadn’t realised he had filtered my apple brandy last year! I may try some wood aging again, but probably less wood than last year, and for the grape spirit, I had planned on making some compound gin. But then, I had expected to get more out of them.

But how much does all this cost? Everyone has a right to have up to 50L of pure alcohol distilled per year, which is a lot! Of course, you pay tax on it, but the Abfindungsbrennerei system is based on an approximation of how much alcohol you would get from 100L of mash. The word Abfindung can mean a settlement payment, of sorts, so in effect, you “settle” with the tax authorities based on typical volumes of alcohol per fruit type. If you get more than expected, then it’s a bonus, If you get less, it’s tough luck. But usually, the rates are well below what you would realistically expect to get. When you register with a distillery, you state the fruit type, and the volume, and this is declared to the tax authorities, who send you a bill, and the date and time when your batch will be distilled.

For example, for apples, the tax tables say a result of 3.6 litres of alcohol per 100L of cider. Clearly this is really low, as with a 7% cider, in theory you could be getting up to 7 litres. Of course, take away heads and tails, but it would still be more than 3.6. But this is what the tax is calculated on, so for my example above, I paid 22 Euro tax on what should end up being about 7 litres of finished spirit.

Horst is retired, but the distilling was only ever a seasonal thing, besides his normal job. Nevertheless, he has regulars coming to him each year, with maybe 1000L of cider to get distilled. He himself was doing up to 2000L a year, but as the state no longer takes it, it is hardly worth his while. With the costs of getting 2000L of juice pressed (€500!), plus the tax, then the rates he'd get selling his spirits to larger commercial producers, it's no wonder smaller distillers are closing. I've offered to press for him this year, for free. It'd be by hand, but I think with three presses (my two, and he has one I could restore for him) working in parallel, we'd do it easily in a day.

I have to admit, I'm now preoccupied with distilling, and thinking how we could improve the process a bit, but I have to wait till next year. Who knows, maybe when Horst doesn't want to do it any more, maybe I can keep the tradition going, so another village distillery won't be lost.

New orchard plans

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 21:11:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, a lady popped by the house to ask if we were interested in buying a piece of orchard, just a 10 metres from the plot we bought in 2014. Four rows of trees that I'd been admiring, as they were well kept, and many labelled with the variety. Two rows had been in her family for many years, and the other two they purchased a few years ago. It was with heavy heart they decided to sell, but felt it was too much work as they had other projects to look after, something I could understand!

We had to chew it over, but decided we'd go for it, if for nothing else, to ensure that the apple trees stayed as they are, and not be felled and the ground incorporated into the adjoining tillage. We've agreed a fair price and are currently waiting for the legal parts to make it official.

On our current plot, we have the following apple varieties:

Goldparmäne (Reine des reinettes / King of the Pippens)
Cox Orange
Belle de Boskoop (both the normal and red mutation)
Klarapfel (White Transparent)
Glockenapfel
Jonathan
A couple others we do not know yet.

The new plot has all of the above, other than Jonathan, plus the following, that we know of:

Neckartaler (possibly also called Rheinischer Winterrambur)
Brettacher
Rubinette (one of the few "modern" varieties there)
Plus others unknown right now

The new plot has 54 trees (apple and pear), and our existing plot 30, with gaps across the two plots that leave generous space for another 20 new trees, which we will purchase for planting early in 2018. We've been researching German heritage apple varieties, of which there are a great many types, but also trying to make selections that would also be good for cider, in the Irish or British sense, rather than German.

So far, our list includes the following:

Börtlinger Weinapfel
Gravensteiner
Hauxapfel
Öhringer Blutstreifling
Rheinischer Bohnapfel
Schöner von Nordhausen
Zuccalmaglios Renette

We'll be adding some pear, cherry and plum trees to that list also, as the cherry plums behind our house are very old, and we'd like to ensure a supply in years to come.

I'd like to order some classic British cider apples from the UK. It's difficult to find suppliers that will ship to Germany, despite getting tips via Twitter from those in the know, and it seems that Orange Pippin Fruit Trees is one of the few that easily ship to mainland Europe, albeit with a limited selection of true cider apple varieties. So far, I think I'd like to order the following as half-standards:

Dabinett
Harry Master's Jersey
Ashmead's Kernel (as it sounds tasty)

Let's see where we end up.

Cider pressing 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 19:06:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, the new mill and press got their first use. The harvest was a bit crap this year, after the late frosts, but we were lucky enough to gather about 330kg, enough to fill the wooden cask again, and maybe finally try keeving 60 litres.

The new mill is a real timesaver, compared to last year's manual efforts. Just keep it running, and feed it apples! The mechanism is really impressive, and it's easy to clean, as expected. The new press is also amazing! 250kg fit no problem, and from that, we got 150L of juice, so 60% extraction.

If you'd like to see the gear in action, have a look at the video below.

It's fermenting away now, and I'll leave it another while before transferring it to the oak cask. This weekend, I'll do a small pressing for the keev.

The electric apple mill

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Last year, some readers may remember (could they ever forget?) that I had acquired a fruit mill and press from a friend’s parents, in a nearby village. They had been in a barn that was flooded badly in May 2016, when the region was badly hit with torrential rain. I cleaned up and restored what needed restoring, and put them to good use making cider.

But there was another mill in the barn, that was squatter-looking, had no hand crank, so needed a motor. I left it there. But earlier this year, they contacted me to say they had to empty the barn, as it was now sold, so anything that was still in it would be dumped. Needless to say, I went back and bought it for the princely sum of 20 Euro.

The remains of he floodwaters

It's red!

After an initial clean (my son got a chance to play with the pressure washer), to get the crusted mud off it, I left it over spring and summer, and only recently decided to pick up this little project, between building tasks. An added impetus to this, was the fact a neighbour, and fellow Stammtisch member, gave me an old electric motor, complete with cable and switches that he kindly mounted on a board for me (thanks Rüdiger!).

Although basically cleaned, the gears and axles were still pretty gummed up with a combination of crusted old oil, and silt from the flooding. It was time to take the whole thing apart and clean the individual pieces.

No more mud, but very creaky.

Crusted old oil covered most of the moving parts.

The wooden stand got another clean with the pressure washer, and then some TLC with Murphy’s Oil Soap. The original colours seemed brighter, and with the layers of grime removed, any patches showing natural wood looked warmer.

I tried several methods to clean the gunk off the gears. I’d read hot citric acid was good, but it was not as effective as brake cleaner in getting the really bet-on crud off the parts.

No more old oil residue.

Lastly, any part that would be touching the fruit got a fresh coat of Kelterlack, the traditional resin-based paint for exactly that purpose. There were remains in the hopper and the milling parts and chute, so they got a light sanding and a new coat.

Reassembling was a piece of cake, and it was satisfying that everything could move with ease after the deep clean. Every moving part has a lubrication point, ranging from a simple hole or hollow on the smaller parts, through a mini cup with spring-loaded lid for one of the gear wheels, right through to oil baths, with a ring around the main axles, that would draw oil up and keep the axles lubed as they rotated. All very simple, all very effective.

The only thing missing was how to get it all moving. I had been asking around about motors the past year, and in the past couple of months, was given two. One from a chap who got a new circular saw, so didn’t need his anymore, and another ancient one from a neighbour, which I deemed more suitable, as it ran slower, and with a smaller drive wheel. Rüdiger, the neighbour, also happens to be an electrician (retired last month), so he mounted everything on a board, with switches and cables, and delivered it. In return, I brought 50 litres of cider to his retirement party, so I think we were both happy!

He also gave me some old leather drive belts, and a loan of a tool for fitting end a kind of catch at the end, such that a pin could be used to hold them together, and make a loop. No idea what they are called! But the photos should clarify.

The belts were pretty dry and not so flexible, so they got a wash and an oil, so they were a bit more supple. They were ideal for the main drive belt, which needed 60mm, but another belt was needed to link the main drive axle to the axle the powers the pushing mechanism. This needed to be max 40mm, but due to the nature of the 60mm belts, and the fact they were shorter lengths stitched together, I couldn’t simply cut a centimetre off each side. I ended up buying a 2m length of 35mm belt, which cost 30 Euro, but it was worth it. I cut to length, fitted the clamps, and cut a section of a nail to use as a min to join the ends. It fitted perfectly.

First tests showed that it all worked very well, but to my mind, too fast. Normally, these would probably have been powered via a transmission, a bank of various-sized wheels on an axle, itself powered by a motor, so you could choose what wheel to attach the mill to, to get the right speed. We actually have one in the barn, fixed to the wall, but it is rusted fast.

The alternative was to swap out the drive wheel on the mill for a larger one, and this is what we did. Good friend and brew-buddy Frank had one lying around, and his son milled a collar, to adapt it to the slightly smaller axle of the mill, so it fit like a glove. We gave it a test last night, and while it is definitely slower, I can't help thinking that the pushing mechanism is still a little too fast. We've a plan B, but we'll test the mill as it is first. Stand by for some video footage in the next week or two!

Insulating the last cellar

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 16:00:00 +0000

We moved into the house in February 2015, after about four years of heavy renovation work, but due to exhaustion, there was one cellar left uninsulated: the one under our living room. Our first winter in the house was relatively mild, so it wasn't so bad. But the winter of 2016/17 was bitterly cold, and we really noticed that the floor of the living room was much colder, and the cold crept in. Unfortunately, due to shoulder problems at the time, I could in no way do any overhead work, so we sealed up the cellar door to reduce the ingress of cold air, and lived with it.

This year, with the arm again movable, I decided enough was enough, and it needed to be done before the really cold weather comes again. After considering several options, from Rockwool to Styrofoam, I decided on a method that had relatively minimal effort, but also probably the most effective, using cellulose-based insulation, like our roof.

To do this effectively, the cellar ceiling had to be as airtight from underneath as possible, essentially creating a big bag, stuck to the walls, that would be later filled with isofloc. To start this, I plastered the top 15cm of the walls to ensure a smooth surface around the perimeter. An apron of breathable damp-proof membrane was glued around the perimeter, using a special sealant. This would form the sides of the "bag".

Once dried, a framework of 4x6cm timbers was then suspended from the oak beams, to a depth of about 12cm below the ceiling. This time, I used Justierschrauben (adjustment screws), which negated the need for planing blocks of wood to precise thicknesses to achieve the desired height, which is what I did in the other cellar, and under most of the floors, so I was glad to avoid that again!

The membrane was then attached to this frame, and the apron folded up and all seams taped closed, to form a single, sealed unit, and laths screwed to the initial framework, to provide support and something to attach the final ceiling finish to (not yet decided).

This alone already made a difference in the living room, as air couldn't move so easily up into the living room.

I'd taken a half day today, after agreeing with a local carpenter earlier this week that he'd come at one o'clock with a machine to blow the cellulose insulation into the void. He turned up at 1:30 to say he didn't have enough material, and asked if we could do it in a week. This has pissed me off, as he said he had enough material, clearly didn't check, and could have gotten it even today from a nearby supplier. We reckon he's busy on another site, but I would prefer honesty. So much for German efficiency, again! I guess I got a long lunch break out of it.

Maybe next year we'll do something more with this room. The plan is to move my beer and cider cellar into here, as I need more room for barrels and fermenters, and maybe a table for when friends come around.

Anyway, let's see how it looks in a week's time.

2017 Catch-up

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Apple harvest time is upon us again, but before I get to posting about a new apple mill renovation project, I thought I should give a brief update of what has happened with the house this year. Building had taken a bit of a back seat the first 8 months of the year, but things are picking up again, with projects that had been put on the long finger getting attention again.

But first, back to December 2016! One of the worst things about the house in winter was the old front door. An aluminium and safety glass monstrosity from the 70s or 80s that would not seal right, and had ice crusts on the inside during the coldest winter nights. Towards the end of 2016 we'd finally ordered a door, so in December I took an angle grinder to the door ope, to cut a space for a future sandstone frame. The original was dumped when they rebuilt this section of the wall, presumably when the existing door was installed, so we felt it would be nice to reinstate a frame.

With the dirty work done, the new door was installed. It immediately made a difference to the climate inthe hall, being well insulated and closing properly, not to mention to the look and feel of the front of the house. Certainly more in keeping withthe style of the house. The colour matches the outer frames around the windows, so despite not being initially too sure about ordering that colour, we're very happy with it.

In January, we had some lovely snow, but also severe storms.

A view of the back of house.

It wasn't till a couple of days after the biggest storm, while walking over to our local, that I noticed the barn roof looked different. Walking around the other side, I saw a large chunk of roof missing. Inside the extent didn't look too bad, but those are asbestos corrugated sheets, and i wasn't happy having to deal with that at this stage. Sometime soon, I want to re-roof the stall part of the barn, and prepare it for solar panels, but that's another story.

Luckily, a good friend is in the trade, with the right kind of equipment, so the following day we bought material and patched up the hole with new cement-based sheets. Ugly, but necessary, and a little dear for a temporary fix.

Nearly done

The next big thing was the second vaulted cellar. I had done the walls and ceiling in May 2016 (May!), but had not been able to continue the floor due to shoulder problems in the autumn. In March this year, I was able to kick this off again, with the removal of 4 tonnes of heavy clay, to bring the floor level down a bit. As with the beer cellar, the idea here was to build up a layer of pebbles to promote drainage (this cellar is considerably damper tan the other), topped with crushed stone and a final brick layer.

The stages can be seen in the photos below, including painting with a silicate paint, but that's as far as it got, as i have not been able to source reasonably-priced old bricks. We may do something else if I don't find any soon. This cellar is intended to be used as a food store, and should be ideal for storage of spuds, carrots and the like, once I build a new door.

In between all of this were some more hobby-related tasks, mostly relating to alcohol production.
I acquired a Cabernet Sauvignon Barrique early in the year, directly from the Schneider winery, so I made a stand for it then brewed 200 litres of Imperial Brown Ale to age in it. It's now serving, and was worth the effort!

In late summer I then had my first foray into making fruit wine, after a neighbour asked if I would like to use his father's redcurrants. Sadly, his dad is no longer able to do it, so I was only too happy to help continue the tradition with them. We used a berry mill and the cutest press I've ever seen, both built by his father and uncle. We now have 54 litres in the cellar, finished fermenting, so I'll have to bottle soon.

I forgot to mention the apple brandy I got distilled in January, but I may come back to that in another post. But as the Schnapps buzz has me, I mashed up 60kg of our cherry plums, so am hoping this will make a nice schnapps in January!

And that's a quick roundup of the positive highlights of the past 10 months. Stand by for the attic conversion, cellar insulation and another apple mill restoration.

Cider 2016 update (and a bit of 2015)

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 20:57:00 +0000

Winter has seemed very long this year, and with my shoulder still not quite right, I've been doing very little around the house and garden. I begin physio next week, but it will still take some months before I'm back to normal, or so I've been told.

With that slight handicap, there was still plenty I could do cider-wise, and I guess there's been a lot going on since the last blog post, where the pressing process was shown.

I didn't get to try out keeving, but I somehow ended up with a few different variations on a basic cider, which makes things fun. The basic dry cider, like I made last year, was fermented in two 60 litre barrels, and I recently split that up into 30L barrels, which makes it handier for experimenting with dry hopping and such. Three of the barrels on the board in the photo below contain dry cider. Another portion has been put into a carboy, mixed with cherry plum juice (also from our own trees), and is now having a second fermentation, so lets hope the plum flavour remains!

The large barrel on the left now contains about 50L of what I am calling Grapple Cider, which sounds rather unappetising, but simply refers to the fact it is made with 50% apples and 50% grapes. Our neighbour had a lot and gave them all to us, so we put them to good use. On taking a sample when racking it into this barrel, I was very pleased indeed. Tasting notes will follow later in the year, but suffice to say, I want to make his one again!

The 30L barrel on the right contains a kind of accident, or at least, a cider that was not planned. On Halloween, we held a small harvest festival, of sorts, with plenty of food, beer and cider, but also pressed 100kg of apples for fun. We had intended to pasteurize it there and then, but I ended up sulphiting it, and leaving it sitting for a while. 30L I used to top up the oak barrel (more in a moment), and the rest I left sitting in the cellar, ignored till it started blubbering a few weeks later. Happily, it was a nice, clean fermentation, as wild yeasts took over, and it tastes pretty good. The gravity is a little higher than the others, but I expect it's not quite finished, as that part of the cellar got down to 6°C a few weeks ago.

And finally, my pride and joy, one of the oak cider casks I picked up in Spring last year. This is filled with between 125 and 130 litres of dry cider.

Compared to the others, this looks quite soupy (this could really be on trend with an iceman pour, looking like a NEIPA!), but I imagine, given the shape and volume of the cask, there's quite a layer of sediment near the tap, but let's see how it looks in a couple months.

So far, that means harvest 2016 has yielded the following (and we only used about half the apples!)

130L oak-aged dry cider
80L dry cider
10L cherry plum and apple cider
50L grape and apple cider
25L spontaneously-fermented cider

But harvest 2015 is the harvest that is still giving!

I still have a couple kegs dry cider, and half a keg of dry-hopped cider from 2015, but that's not the best thing...

In 2015 I made 120 litres of "Maische", or wash, to make schnapps. I mixed 60 litres of pressed juice with 60 litres of pulped apples and set it fermenting. I then spoke to the local distiller in March 2016, but I had missed the window of opportunity, meaning I had these two barrels, full of pulp, sitting in the cellar for a year. I hadn't opened them once, and when they were finally opened, and Mr. Thomaier stuck his finger in for a taste, I was relieved that he proclaimed it good. A couple of weeks later, the paperwork for taxation was done, and I received 21 litres of my own apple schnapps. I like to imagine that having the wash mature for a year makes it a superior spirit, as it certainly tastes very good!

Of course, making your own stuff gives plenty of scope to experiment, and the first one was one I had planned for a year: ageing on apple wood. I had kept some branches from pruning the trees in early 2015 (one is on the cellar ceiling, you may have noticed), and these were duly cut into short lengths, split, stripped of bark and toasted in the over fora couple of hours, before cooling and placing in 5.5 litres of schnapps. Within a day the colour had changed, and after a week, it was tested, with approval. I'll leave it a few more weeks before deciding whether to continue or bottle it.

Plans are afoot for some apple-based liqueurs, but the spirit straight is a fairly smooth-sipping, enjoyable experience. No downing shots with this!

The vinegar-making I will come back to another time, but so far, it's been a success.

Cider time: the press in action

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 22:00:00 +0000

I'm falling behind in updates, but that's simply down to being too busy. But my son and I both made videos of the press in action over the past few weeks.

I now have 310 litres of cider fermenting. 120 of which are in one of the oak casks, and 50 litres which were made with a mix of apples and grapes, which were given to me by a neighbour. I have one more pressing session to do, to try out keeving with 60 litres, and maybe some more milling, to make 100L mash for making schnapps. However, I think I'll need help, as my shoulder is in a bad state, so hand-cranking that mill will not be good for it.

But on to the videos!

First, from my 11-year-old son, his second effort at making a video, which I tink he did a really good job on. I must post the one he made of the harvesting!

And then my slightly dryer version, a week later.

People love stopping to watch this going on, and I've heard so many tales now from old people, about how there used to be a giant hydraulic press in our barn, which was used by the community. I'd be happy to reinstate such a tradition, once I get a motor for the mill!

The old fruit press, part 3 - finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 21:00:00 +0000

It didn't need too much work to finish the last pieces this evening. But finally putting it all together was very rewarding. Looking forward to trying it out now!

The old fruit press, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 19:54:00 +0000

Part two of the old fruit press restoration, for your viewing pleasure.

It's been great fun so far!

The old fruit press, part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 07:04:00 +0000

This goes straight to video!

A bit later than planned, as this was recorded on Sunday.

Another project: An old fruit mill and press

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 18:44:00 +0000

So a couple of weeks ago, i decided I would really like to have a press, so I could have more control over my cider making, at least for small batches. I saved a search on eBay small ads, so anything popping up with 50km of us would show up. But then, last Saturday, I got a message from a friend asking if I would like a press, as they had one in a barn they're going to sell. It was fate!

The next morning, we went over for a look, to find there wasn't just a fine old press, but a couple of old fruit mills too. Now, I had already been looking for a staiunless steel electric model, perhaps even buying one together with a neighbour to share the expense, so i wasn't too interested in the dirty old mill. However, that very day, we were off to a festival, to man a stand pressing apples for juice to sell. And what kind of mill did they have? The c´very same kind. Well, it was a booth for the local museum, after all. So, that was decided, It worked brilliantly, looked the biz, and if it's been used for decades, it must be good. I'd take it.

Fast forward to yesterday (Thursday) evening, and we borrowed a friend and his trailer, and off we went to Allfeld to pick up the press and a mill, with a large barrel thrown in fora few homebrews.

The press and mill were layered in mud, as back in May, there were serious floods in our region, and Allfeld was one of the worst hit villages. Large parts of street were washed away, and the barn where the mill was, was right on the banks of the Schefflenz, so was filled to about 1.7 metres of water, with all the mud it carried. We escaped lightly here in Schefflenz. So, it was hard to see the true condition of the mill and press. Today was time to get out the high pressure washer,and blast the dirt off. Have a look at the video to see the mill in action, and in various stages of dismantling.

Two-wheel tractors

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:48:00 +0000

No, not a tractor that's been sawn in half, but a walk-behind tractor suitable for small-holders, being capable of ploughing, tilling, mowing, or even hitching a trailer behind and driving around. All of the above appeal to me, for looking after our orchard, and eventually setting up a vegetable garden in a year or two.

Have a look at the video for a quick intro!

Bathroom panelling finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 11:32:00 +0000

We moved in just over 17 months ago, and every day, I've looked at the paneling I made in the bathroom, and thought, "I must finish that".

The problem was not the material, as I've had that at least that long, but the fact one board was too short, so I hd to lengthen it. Without a table saw, I could not cut precise enough to butt-join two pieces without a gap showing, so it was only recently that I got help from a friend to get a suitable cut.

Once cut, the two pieces were joined with a biscuit joiner, and a strip was glued underneath, to give the impression of a thicker board, much like I did with the window sills, so long ago.

The front was then planed and sanded, to make that join as seamless as possible.

The wall behind the sink is pretty uneven, so some careful marking, then cutting with a jigsaw got as near a perfect fit as I could manage.

To take the hard edge off it, i used a hand router to put a 3mm radius curve on the top edge, so it matches the window sills, and to take the weighty look off it a bit, I used a more decorative cutter on the bottom edge, which mirrors that of the bottom skirting. Then the whole thing was given 4 coats of varnish and glued in place.

Job done!

Next for the bathroom will be to rig some system to hang a mirror and extra storage from.

Vaulted cellar 2, part 3: plastering done

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Tue, 17 May 2016 13:19:00 +0000

A quick video-only update this time. After all the fun with the barrels (which are still holding water, you'll be pleased to know), I got back to the cellar and finished the plastering off. Now to sort out the floor.

Barrels stands and first fill.

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Mon, 02 May 2016 19:41:00 +0000

These barrels have become something of a fixation over the past week, as I wanted to get them into a state fit for long term storage, it several senses of the word. First, I needed to build stands to store them on, and preferably be able to move them around once filled, as I don't have a fixed home for them just yet. Luckily, materials are usually not a problem, as I don't like throwing our old timber, as long as they are not worm-eaten at least.

For the first one, I used some old 10x12cm roof beams to make a very simple construction, but perhaps unnecessarily complicated when it came to carving our the curve of the barrel.

The whole thing was easily put together with 12 large screws, so it ain't going to fall apart any time soon.

But chopping out the curve across a 10cm wide block was not as precise as I would have liked. It took several rounds of adjustment, and going a bit deeper, till I got a nice, even fit and support all round.

And the barrel fits well. The only possible issue is that as the barrels are oval, the centre of gravity is quite high, so there is a tipping point, if it tilts too far in one direction. I figured then when filled, it will weigh the guts of 180kg, so should be resistant to moving too much, but some day, I'll line the curves with rubber, to give extra resistance.

For the second one, I went with a slightly simpler design in terms of work, at least, though the construction was a little more complicated. In this case, I used 3cm thick oak boards that came from the old cow stalls, and the 10x12 roof beams.

I carefully measured the curve of the barrel, using a spirit level, a try square and a ruler, and marked this on the board. I then set the angle of the barrel base on a jigsaw and simply cut it out. There were some minor adjustments to be made, again with the jigsaw, but this was much quicker than hacking stuff out with a semi-blunt chisel. With a bit of rudimentary joint work, the pieces were ready to assemble, but they just needed a bit of cleaning.

Cue one of my favourite tools, the Makita brush sander, without which, the old beams in the house would not be so pretty. It's a great tool for cleaning wood, without removing too much material, as can be seen in the before and after shots below.

And it was done. A little help with a mallet, and the pieces are tight and stable, and it feels like the deeper curves hold the barrel better.

All that was missing were the wheels, which were duly purchased and fitted the next day. Each can support 60kg, so I thought that should be ok.

The next step, which I couldn't wait for, was to seal the doors and fill the barrels with a solution of Potassium Metabisulphite and Citric Acid. Sounds dangerous...

When I got the barrels, there was a greasy substance all over the doors that I later figured was a paraffin-based sealant called, appropriately enough, Fasstürdichte, or barrel door sealant. I bought a new block of this online, along with the campden and citric acid, which are both used in wine-making, so it was a one-stop shop. The doors themselves were in fairly good condition, with the exception of the little cover blocks, that served to act as a lid for the brass T-piece that goes through the door, allowing a nut to pull the door into the hole, thus giving a tight seal. The blocks were a bit tired-looking, and the brass pieces dull, with a little green in places, so I gave them all a good going over. Although I was tempted to make new blocks from pieced of oak I have in store, I was unsure if this would be introducing something "foreign" to the barrels, so stayed with what they came with.

First, a light sanding spruced the blocks up.

The insides of the doors also got a light sanding, to remove the old sealant too, and ensure an even surface before screwing the cover blocks on again.

The brass T-pieces also got a bit of a polishing with fine sandpaper, so they looked almost new...

almost...

The next morning, after getting the wheels and attaching them, it was time to close the doors. I hadn't googled about how to do this, so based the process completely on what I had seen when taking the things apart.

First, I cheated a little and used a section of silicone hose to act as a seal between the brass threaded rod and the door itself. One was a little loose in the hole, so this worked well, and I felt it was better than using insulation tape, which was previously wrapped around the rod.

Then is was out with the Fasstürdichte, like a lump of bog butter.

I was pretty generous, using a scraper to fill the recess for the T-piece, then tightening the bolt to pull it tight, so that the sealant was well bedded, and squeezed out around the piece.

And then filled the remaining space. I forgot to take a photo of the stage after, but basically, the wooden caps were screwed over this, to prevent the T-piece being pushed back into the barrel. I used stainless steel screws, which I felt were better than the corroded brass screws previously used.

So far, so good, I felt. The door openings then got a smear of sealant around the inside edge, as I reasoned that as the door pushes into the opening from the inside, it would push the sealant out, and give a good seal.

And then it was time to fill. I hammered home wooden bungs that came with the barrels, using a little sealant as an insurance measure. I then half filled each barrel, then mixed a solution of 2g potassium metabisulpite and 1g citric acid per litre, as per instructions, poured that into each barrel and finally filled the barrels to the brim. The seals held perfectly.

There was only a couple of seepage sites, one at a hairline crack above the door, but 24 hours later, this had closed itself off, as the wood expanded, and I was a very happy bunny. Two water-tight, clean barrels, on self-built stands, ready for whatever I want to put in them later this year.

So far, so fantastic, and the rest of the day was spent enjoying the Maibaumaufstellen, right at the end of our street.

But it doesn't end there...

I have zero experience with wooden barrels, and today I learned a small lesson when, at lunchtime, I spotted a puddle outside the barn. The wooden bung on one of the barrels had popped out, probably early in the morning. I think using the sealant on the bungs was a mistake, as it probably acted more like a lubricant when the angle of the bung isn't making it wedge into the hole with pressure from the inside, like the door does. With 135 litres pushing against it, it clearly just slid out. Lesson learned. I've cleaned the hole and bung, and hammered it in tight, but for the longer term, I'm considering fitting a stainless steel tap permanently to the barrel, with a nut on the inside to make sure this won't ever happen when it is filled with booze!

Today, I refilled it, and the bung is quite secure, with no sealant!

It might seem I've put a lot of effort into these two barrels, but I feel that they're worth it. They're probably older than me, and probably in better condition, and I think it'd be a shame to see them turned into some sort of decorative feature, when they can still fulfill the purpose for which they were built. I hope I can do them that honour at least.

But now, they need to wait, and I'll probably return to plastering the second vaulted cellar. Who knows, maybe these two beauties will find a permanent home in there,

Barrels of fun

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 21:13:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, a friend mentioned that his grandmother was getting rid of two old oak barrels previously used for making Most, the local version of apple wine or cider. Rather than seeing them dumped, I made an offer, and finally collected them last Friday evening. They were still filled with Most right up to a few hours before I picked them up, Most that was, I was told, nine years old, and very, very dark.

Pre-clean

I'm not sure how old they are, but I was pleasantly surprised at the condition they were in, and they smelled like an old, tannic wine, rather than vinegar, so a great start. My friend Jonas had thoughtfully rinsed them out, but had kept a jar of the yeasty sludge from the bottom, but I'm not sure I'll be using it.

Capacity-wise, one is marked as 150 litres, and the other as 135. The design is interesting, being oval, or rather elliptical, in section, and each has a large opening on the bottom front. The opening is closed by a piece of wood clearly simply cut from the lid, with a camber, such that when it is tightened, using the brass bolt passing through this "lid", is makes a tight seal. But it was also smeared in a waxy-feeling substance, that I first thought was silicone, but turned out to be a paraffin-based sealant, specifically designed for this kind of use. The lid also has a hole for a spigot, but I think I'll be buying new ones.

The next day I got a loan of an industrial-sized steam generator/pressure cleaner. Having the pressure set low, and the temp at 110 degrees, I went over the interior a few times, and am satisfied they are well clean. This also cleared off the waxy layer around the opening, though I had to do a bit of scraping on the lids themselves, to get back down to the wood.

One thing that did give me pause, though, was the speckles of greenish stuff that I first feared was mold on the bottom of both barrels. They didn't come off, and in fact were kind of glassy. I finally realised it was probably residue from burning sulphur strips, of which I inherited a few wrapped in a 1992 newspaper page. They're the same colour as the speckles.

Sulphur residue? Pre-clean.

The big brass bolt that passes though the lid means there is a hole though it, and it seems the way this was closed was to cake the recess for the bolt on the inner side with the sealing wax, and to cap this with a piece of oak. Sadly, whatever was used to secure this piece of wood is gone, so I'll need to sort that out, maybe using stainless steel screws. The pieces of wood are also a little manky, but I'll see how they clean up with a bit of sanding and steaming,

Wax seal over the brass bolt.

Right now, the barrels are sitting in the barn, empty, which I'm sure is not the best for them. I put out a call for advice on Twitter, and got lots of great advice, including from a cooper, who suggested filling with water at more than 80°C and a pint of salt 24 to 48 hours before using again, but given my situation, this is impractical. I would find it very difficult to heat 285 litres of water, and as I won't be using them for some time, I need a way to keep them acetobacter-free and moist for some months. Several people pointed me to articles, and indeed, I also bought Michael Tonsmeire's book on making American Sour Beers, which also advocates using a potassium metabisulphite and Citric Acid solution for long-term storage, which is what I will probably do. I treat my cider with potassium metabisulphite anyway, so I'd be happy with that. The only worry I might have is whether this might leach character from the barrels, so I am open to advice still.

But what will I do with them? I could of course fill them with cider come autumn, or maybe use that as a wash to get distilled for apple brandy, and it might add some character. But as a brewer, the idea of aging beer in them of course appeals. I'd love a whisky cask, but beggars can't be choosers. Some people have said you can never use a cider barrel for anything other than cider, but I guess they haven't tried sour beers or lambics. I can imagine a tartness from cider might match that well, or maybe a Saison. But with my current brew kit, that means seven brews for the bigger barrel! Might be time for an upgrade so!

Vaulted cellar 2, part 2: repointing

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 07:28:00 +0000

A short and sweet post to give a quick progress check. I'm pleased with how the walls are turning out, considering how grimy they really were, and the fact that I've been cleaning them down by hand, compared to using a sandblaster as I did in the other cellars.

When it's done, I'll write a proper retrospective post, with before and after, to highlight the transformation, but here's the current status, with before and after of the walls. Although the wall on the right looked quite ok, in reality, it was covered ina slick of... I dont know what, and the old mortar was quite crumbly. By scrubbing it all down, it feels much cleaner,and there's more definition on the stones, not to mention fresh, breathable mortar to secure everything. On the back wall, the effect is even clearer, in this frequently wet spot.

And just repointing the bottom half of the wall on the left, as the top half will be plastered over, but even that makes a big difference, as can be seen better in the video.

Vaulted cellar 2, part 1: getting started

noreply@blogger.com (Barry M) — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 09:02:00 +0000

It was over a month ago that I finally started doing something with our second vaulted cellar, and to be honest, not a whole lot hat has happened since I uploaded the video below. Sure, the orignal floor is now out, and I've started cleaning down the walls, but I'll post about that in a couple more weeks, when there's more to show. The plan, of course, is to bring it to a similar standard as the Bierkeller.

For now, here's an intro video.