Hobby Thread - June 21, 2025 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin. It must have been thirsty because it came up with home brewing and winemaking. Credit to Stateless for the topic request. We did a beer theme in September 2024, but that wasn't focused on homebrewing and didn't include winemaking.

[Top photo: Ginormous wine presses at Kloster Eberbach, Rhine River, Hessen, Germany. There are a dozen, although none operational now.]

The Cistercian monks of Eberbach wrote on their wine press in 1801: "Wine delights the heart of man." (Psalm 104:15)

Eberbach Monastery was founded in 1136 and was one of Germany's largest wineries for centuries. The monastery was secularized in 1803 by the Duke of Nassau. After secularization, Kloster Eberbach served "profane" purposes: women's prison, "lunatic asylum," cattle stables and agricultural tenant farm

The facility and surrounding lands have been under control of the State of Hesse since 1945. The monastery's wine cellar dates back to 1706 and contains some of the most valuable wines in the world.

We recommend a visit. In the name of research.

***

TRex appreciates those that conjure beverages with a magical mix of ingredients and fermentation. TRex has a small brain and short arms which means TRex is not been blessed with talents of making beer or wine. However, out of respect to those who have invested their knowledge, experience and labor into such endeavors, TRex believes it would be rude to abstain from sampling the results from time to time. TRex is polite like that.

Are there amateur brewmasters and winemakers among the Horde? Please share. If you have shared your story previously, refresh our memory.

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Passing down knowledge: "Could be wrong or right, I dunno. But comes out good every year."

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Do you need a big expensive winery to make wine? Big machines, shiny tanks, rows of barrels, a bottling line and a nice tasting room? Wineries are sometime in the category of "having a small fortune by starting with a large one." Maybe start small first.

How much does making wine at home cost?

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Wine presses are simple machines and you can build a small one yourself. Learn how here:

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Once you make all that wine and put it in bottles, you'll need a wine storage solution. There are lots of videos with wine rack builds on the interwebs. This was the most simple and easy to follow guide for the most simple and functional wine rack I could find.

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Not specific to making wine at home and also not specific to grapes, but the science of rootstocks and grafting is a horticultural rabbit hole.

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There are a bazillion websites and youtube videos on making beer at home. Making drinkable beer takes far less time than making wine. One of the challenges with online videos is that hosts often take knowledge for granted or have trouble putting themselves in the position of newbies when they explain. TRex isn't qualified to judge, but these seemed reasonable options for starters:

The Easiest Way to Make Beer

How to brew beer at home - FULL process from start to finish

HOME BREWING 101: How to Brew Beer at Home [The Beginner's Guide]

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Beer school - learn more about hops:

Five hops created the craft beer revolution: Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic. This is a feature-length documentary, so fair warning if you push play.

Does hops count as a vegetable? They are green which helps their cause.

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Does anyone grow hops at home?

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Theme request

Next week we are going to talk lighthouses. We're going to talk about trips to see them, lore and stories involving them, pictures taken of them, paintings of them, and sculptures of them.

If you have thoughts or artistic submissions that can help the cause, please send to the official Hobby Thread email address below. The Hobby Thread always likes to feature Horde Hobbying, so don't be shy.

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Lego airport builds:

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What are you hobbying these days?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Your participation does not need to limited to the theme. All hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants, as always, are optional.

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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We talked nostalgic toys. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

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Notable comments from last week:

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Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

***

Thanks much to scampydog for the thread launch while TRex is busy with NoVa MoMe shenanigans. Because of said shenanigans, TRex will likely be less visible in the comments today. If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, hijack the thread for your hobbying as you see fit. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hmmm. For a non-drinker, not much to talk about today. Have fun.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at June 21, 2025 05:32 PM (0eaVi)

2 IYKYK

Moonshine rules
Wine drools

Sister in law's boyfriend did both, and by far, the 'shine was a better drink. The wine was... "off."

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 21, 2025 05:34 PM (Q4IgG)

3 Does anyone grow hops at home?
---------------
I know the owners of Luxy 13 hops. They grow them locally - nearby. Interesting how they harvest, both human and machinery.

Posted by: scampydog at June 21, 2025 05:36 PM (41CYW)

4 Coincidence but I just finished my painting of our wine vineyard about 30 minutes ago. Not in time for this hobby post unfortunately.

Posted by: polynikes at June 21, 2025 05:37 PM (VofaG)

5 Welcome Hobbiests
Certainly drink but never made any

Posted by: Skip at June 21, 2025 05:37 PM (+qU29)

6 I'm at LibertyCon, which is part of science fiction Fandom, a hobby all it's own.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at June 21, 2025 05:37 PM (/7+bO)

7 Brewed a batch in my 20's at home. Best advertising slogan I could come up with to convince my friends to try a bottle was, "It's not that bad."

Posted by: scampydog at June 21, 2025 05:39 PM (41CYW)

8 OT: some odd things can happen if you hit the wrong buttons on this website.

So, it was a monastery, then they immediately started doing handy shit with it as soon as they got their hands on it? Why is the liberal mindset always the dame?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 21, 2025 05:39 PM (zZu0s)

9 Dame=same

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 21, 2025 05:40 PM (zZu0s)

10 Thanks for posting Doggo!

For those wondering, the NoVA MoMe has been no fun at all. Nope. Not at all.

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 05:41 PM (bNCdy)

11 "It's not that bad."
Posted by: scampydog at June 21, 2025 05:39 PM (41CYW)

It's not Natural Light.

I won't have a tranny as my spokesmen any time soon.

If I could afford a busty blonde and/or brunette, they would be serving you.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 21, 2025 05:41 PM (zZu0s)

12 10 Thanks for posting Doggo!

For those wondering, the NoVA MoMe has been no fun at all. Nope. Not at all.
Posted by: TRex
----------
Ha. See you in the Club later this evening. Have fun, Dino.

Posted by: scampydog at June 21, 2025 05:44 PM (41CYW)

13 It was fun getting a fresh beer from a friend, tasting their creation, and chatting about it. Now, with craft breweries everywhere, the DIY vibe feels quieter. A shame really.

Posted by: HappyFun at June 21, 2025 05:44 PM (+Wlld)

14 Back in the 90's I brewed my own beer. Typically from mail-order outfits that supplied "kits" with all the ingredients except water. They were advertised as certain "styles" such as a wheat, or stout, or whatever.

Hit and miss.

Clean-up was a bitch.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 21, 2025 05:45 PM (Q4IgG)

15 I am tempted to experiment and make prison pruno.

Posted by: polynikes at June 21, 2025 05:46 PM (VofaG)

16 When visiting a brew pub, is "Wow, this is pretty hoppy!" code for "So bitter it tastes like shit!"?

Since I don't have a man bun, I feel like I'm not welcome.

Posted by: Tonypete at June 21, 2025 05:49 PM (cYBz/)

17 Boozing is a hobby.

Posted by: toby928 at June 21, 2025 05:52 PM (jc0TO)

18 Have a small miniature Napoleonic war game going, solo of course. After that will pack up the game board.

Posted by: Skip at June 21, 2025 05:52 PM (+qU29)

19 IYKYK

Moonshine rules
Wine drools
Posted by: Martini Farmer

That reminds me - I have some blackberry moonshine in the freezer patiently waiting for me. Not that big distillery garbage, the real thing: no label. Wow, is it good.

And, keto friendly - Bonus!!

Posted by: Tonypete at June 21, 2025 05:52 PM (cYBz/)

20 We had a beer tasting at church a few years ago because one of our members was a beer distributor. We had, I think, six different beers, each with a different food. It was amazing how different tasting beers go with different food.

Posted by: toby928 at June 21, 2025 05:55 PM (jc0TO)

21 > When visiting a brew pub, is "Wow, this is pretty hoppy!" code for "So bitter it tastes like shit!"?
----------
Juice infused beer, ales, which seem popular and are pretty high ABV (like 9 - 12%) seem popular. The Voodoo Ranger brand has an impressive catalog of weird tasting Ales.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 21, 2025 05:55 PM (Q4IgG)

22 I come from a long line of grape stompers. There is a picture I wish I had. It is of my mother and three of my aunts all stomping grapes in a large wooden vat.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 05:55 PM (ZIggv)

23 >>When visiting a brew pub, is "Wow, this is pretty hoppy!" code for "So bitter it tastes like shit!"?

Rhode Island has a ton of micro brews. Don't know why but they are everywhere. Fortunately, there is a really good one a few miles from my house.

Started by a couple who inherited the family farm. They were growing hops for many of the local brewers and decided to jump in themselves. I'm over the crazy hops filled IPA but they make a really good lager that I just happened to be drinking right now.

Posted by: JackStraw at June 21, 2025 05:56 PM (viF8m)

24 Something like 30% of the population is bitter blind. I wonder what beer tastes like to them?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at June 21, 2025 06:00 PM (YUL+W)

25 My older brother used to make beer. My parents made wine, back in the 70s. (I don't care much for either beverage)

I grew hops for a couple years, to give to bro. Yes, Cascade and Centennial! There was a 3rd, but can't think of the name. Bought the roots online from a place in Oregon.

Centennial was especially vigorous!

Posted by: JQ at June 21, 2025 06:02 PM (rdVOm)

26 This guy I used to work with did moonshine. Like all the time. Sold it on the side for about $20 a quart. The proofs went from about 100 to over 125. The subtle corn taste in it was really nice. Not overly sweet, just.... there.

Kept a quart in the "garage fridge" for years.

Not so much now-a-days. Sad.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 21, 2025 06:03 PM (Q4IgG)

27 29 years ago worked with a home brewer. His club was the Maltose Falcons (Maltese Falcon reference). After attending a beer tasting contest with other clubs, I called them Comatose Falcons, the judges were hammered.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at June 21, 2025 06:05 PM (25aq3)

28 We had a family friend in England who home brewed. One night, he heard a POW! and ran into the small utility room where he kept his bottled home brew. He turns on the light, and to his horror, sees the family cat in the center of the room, beer and foam and glass everywhere and the cat covered in it. The cat was frozen, one front leg up, only blinking. He gingerly picks up the cat expecting the worse. Not a scratch on it. He literally dug shards of glass out of the plaster. The cat had one less life after that incident. And it never went into that room again.

Posted by: JML at June 21, 2025 06:05 PM (1UudH)

29 Lighthouses... funny you should pick that for next week, TRex!

The second week of June we went driving up the Oregon coast to see new sights and I was hoping for some dramatic shots of the coastline as grist for a new painting. Unfortunately, as it was on the coast, most of the time we saw nothing but fog. Although I was tempted to stop at every scenic viewpoint and photograph the fog at each one. “Look, here's Arch Rock. And here’s House Point. And there’s the famous lighthouse you see on all the postcards… “ Eventually the fog started to burn off and we actually did see the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Despite not seeing much of the coast, it was kinda fun, as we had no idea where we’d go next or what we’d see. Or not see. Except plenty of tsunami hazard warning signs. Into the tsunami hazard zone, out of the tsunami hazard zone, until it felt like the tsunami was a gang that was going to leap out and ambush us. Those tsunamis are sneaky, all right, and Oregon kept warning us about them and their hangouts. Which was basically every low spot and river/creek mouth all along the coastline.

I did start a new painting but had to settle for Crater Lake.

Posted by: tankascribe at June 21, 2025 06:05 PM (NtoJk)

30 I don't drink enough to make wine making or beer brewing worth the effort. But the subject, especially from an historical and agricultural aspect, is interesting. So many rabbit holes to follow: health, safety from bad drinking water, commerce going back millennia, improving farming methods, cultural matters, etc. And while it could lead to major industrial efforts, it could be done on the frontier or in small holdings.

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 06:08 PM (yTvNw)

31 My husband did the home-brewing thing with a friend for a while. I don't drink beer (or much of anything, really) so never sampled any. All I know if that it takes a fair bit of equipment, and the water used can really influence the taste. DH claims that what he turned out was potable, but as we're not big drinkers he stopped doing it after a while as there's only so much mediocre beer that one can inflict upon friends.

Posted by: tankascribe at June 21, 2025 06:09 PM (NtoJk)

32 Heh. Calgary is having a blizzard right now. Good day to be in Spokane.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at June 21, 2025 06:13 PM (OJL75)

33 For those wondering, the NoVA MoMe has been no fun at all. Nope. Not at all.
Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 05:41 PM (bNCdy)
------

Right?! The people who organized it really let standards slip this year.

Posted by: bluebell at June 21, 2025 06:16 PM (7ursr)

34 1 Hmmm. For a non-drinker, not much to talk about today. Have fun.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at June 21, 2025 05:32 PM
***
Know anything about lighthouses?

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 06:17 PM (IQ6Gq)

35 I've "home brewed" kombucha and kvas. Kvas is a Russian drink made with black bread; it's halfway between soda and beer. It's hard to find kvas unless you're in a city with a Russian grocery store, but I guess you could order it from Amazon.

Posted by: PabloD at June 21, 2025 06:18 PM (HIjL3)

36 Many years ago attended an Italian wedding and reception. They had jugs and jugs of homemade wine at the reception. Wow. That was potent stuff. I've never been so drunk.

Posted by: Tuna at June 21, 2025 06:19 PM (lJ0H4)

37 And pruno makers are in jail because?

15 I am tempted to experiment and make prison pruno.
Posted by: polynikes at June 21, 2025 05:46 PM (VofaG

They belong there after numerous tries by the county, state and feds to get rid of them. So go ahead with prison tats and sex too. Edgy!

Posted by: Hokey Pokey at June 21, 2025 06:21 PM (QSrLX)

38 Not really a beer guy but when I do drink beer, I want it to be tasty, refreshing and non-challenging, overly hopped beers tend to make for a beer that's a struggle to enjoy.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 21, 2025 06:21 PM (XV/Pl)

39 The ruse won't work. The best NoVa MoMe ever is more like it.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 06:23 PM (ZIggv)

40 39 The ruse won't work. The best NoVa MoMe ever is more like it.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 06:23 PM
***
Would have been more fun if you were there stomping grapes!

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 06:24 PM (IQ6Gq)

41 Thank you.

I'm honored.

And drinking. Sadly, not home brewed.

Posted by: Stateless.. 35I% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 21, 2025 06:25 PM (jvJvP)

42 Brewed a number of ales with a couple friends back in the 90's. Back then there were small businesses that sold roasted malt, or if you wanted to skip that step, malt extract. The darker the malt, the heftier the end product. Most impressive was a Belgian ale made with yeast harvested from a bottle of Chimay.

As mentioned above, it is a messy endeavor, especially if you are making your own mash. I was single at the time, so my kitchen was the designated brewery. Next challenge is sterilizing everything to keep the skunk out. After about three/four weeks we got together for bottling, which was made quick work by the assembly line method we devised.

I'd compare any of our ales favorably to Bud/Coors/Miller. Definitely worth the time and effort..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at June 21, 2025 06:28 PM (bA75n)

43 In the book "Convict Conditioning 2", Coach Wade described how prisoners would make booze in jail.

Sounded vile. But apparently one batch could get a lot of people wasted, if you could stomach it.

Posted by: Stateless.. 35I% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 21, 2025 06:28 PM (jvJvP)

44 In our younger days a good friend brewed beer and porters as a casual hobby. The results were pretty tasty but it was too time consuming to stay with it. (Work, kids, home owning, commuting, and other hobbies do take a toll on free time.)

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 06:29 PM (yTvNw)

45 Cistercian monks of Eberbach > Priests of the Temples of Syrinx

I brewed beer many many years ago. I still remember the time when about 15 or so bottles popped their caps from too much carbonation, in the carpeted closet of my rented room.

Posted by: Dr. Fausti - I WAS The Science at June 21, 2025 06:31 PM (8hxDK)

46 Do they only allow women to stomp the grapes?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at June 21, 2025 06:31 PM (63Dwl)

47 "Wine delights the heart of man." (Psalm 104:15)
-----

Some folks like whiskey, whiskey's mighty fine
Some folks like moonshine, Lord, they drink it all the time
My daddy taught me, he said, "Son, only way to keep your head in line
Drinkin' that wine wine, wine
Keep your head stoned all the time

Look at them luscious little bottles, sittin' up on the shelf
Red green and yellow, Lord, they are somethin' else, hmmm
They mesmerize me, the way they sparkle and shine
Drinkin' that wine wine, wine
Keep your head stoned all the time

One snort of Ruby Port really ring the bell
Then a glass of Muscatel sets my head up well
Then this sweetest bottle of cheapest sherry wine
I say goodbye to my mind

Posted by: The Youngbloods at June 21, 2025 06:32 PM (XeU6L)

48 Wish you had been there, Ben Had!

Posted by: bluebell at June 21, 2025 06:33 PM (79pEw)

49 bluebell, I so wish I had been there too. Don't give up on me.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 06:36 PM (ZIggv)

50 49 bluebell, I so wish I had been there too. Don't give up on me.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 06:36 PM
***
Can confirm that a lot of people are looking forward to Texas!

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 06:39 PM (IQ6Gq)

51 Know anything about lighthouses?
Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 06:17 PM (IQ6Gq)

Completely in the dark. Sorry.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at June 21, 2025 06:41 PM (0eaVi)

52 Me and ex brewed beer and made wine in Saudi Arabia. Some of it turned out pretty good.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory, red heifer owner at June 21, 2025 06:42 PM (dR6yv)

53 Having a coconut imperial stout from 3 Floyds as I read this. 15% ABV, so only one.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at June 21, 2025 06:44 PM (ITkJX)

54 I make beer - not as a hobby, but as a way to make a living for now.
Work for a major brewing company, celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of their top brands this year.

The equipment and processes used for commercial brewing is actually pretty amazing. Seeing 1700 12oz cans per minute being filled / capped is impressive

Posted by: PMRich at June 21, 2025 06:49 PM (Pe+uV)

55 This isn't an open thread?

Posted by: Boss Moss at June 21, 2025 06:49 PM (tuLbh)

56 38 Not really a beer guy but when I do drink beer, I want it to be tasty, refreshing and non-challenging, overly hopped beers tend to make for a beer that's a struggle to enjoy.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at June 21, 2025 06:21 PM (XV/Pl)

This has been my struggle lately, and I am a beer guy. When we brewed, we used hops to balance out the malt. I think we used Cascade and maybe Hallertau (which we later discovered I had an allergy to).

Someone at one point declared that hops can provide a "buzz", and the next thing you know, small brewers were denuding entire hop vineyards to brew a few cases of eye-watering swill and declaring it great stuff. Then they started charging six-pack prices for a single bottle. The shame of it is they pushed out some pretty good upstart brewers: Oregon, Pete's (Wicked Ale), and eventually even Fritz Maytag's storied Anchor..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at June 21, 2025 06:51 PM (bA75n)

57 Ever hear about the group of Nuns whose convent needed more repairs than they could afford? ... Their solution was to make and sell a variety of brews, with "Ale Mary" ending up as their best seller.

Posted by: Kathy at June 21, 2025 06:52 PM (qpw89)

58 55 This isn't an open thread?

Posted by: Boss Moss at June 21, 2025 06:49 PM
***
Open to any hobbies you'd like to discuss. Not open to politics, current events or religious debates.

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 06:52 PM (IQ6Gq)

59 Seeing 1700 12oz cans per minute being filled / capped is impressive
Posted by: PMRic
_______

That immediately evoked the Laverne and Shirley opening in my mind.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at June 21, 2025 06:53 PM (ITkJX)

60 OK.

Posted by: Boss Moss at June 21, 2025 06:53 PM (tuLbh)

61 And now for our beer song

https://tinyurl.com/2x4wmedx

Known to have written copies of the basic storyline at least as far back as 1568

Posted by: PMRich at June 21, 2025 07:01 PM (Pe+uV)

62
Seeing 1700 12oz cans per minute being filled / capped is impressive
Posted by: PMRich

My eyes don't work that fast.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at June 21, 2025 07:01 PM (63Dwl)

63 That top photo makes me think of one of the sets in Mel Brooks' movie History of the World, Part 1. The scene with Torquemada.

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 07:02 PM (yTvNw)

64 A recommendation for those who find themselves in Germany (specifically, Bavaria) in the near future.

Check out Kloster Reutberg in Upper Bavaria. It's a monastery that makes varied (and wonderful) beers. If you're a beer drinker, you'll find something to enjoy. And, the food is pretty good as well, but secondary. The monastery has been in operation since the mid 1600's, and they never stopped brewing since its inception. Out in the country, up on a hill, it's hard to miss if you are in the area around Sachsenkamm. I, very much, enjoyed their Ägidius-Trunk which is unfiltered...so flavorful.

Good stuff.

Posted by: Orson at June 21, 2025 07:02 PM (dIske)

65 I come from a family of drinkers on both sides, only non drinkers was Mama and Granny. Also there were moonshiners on both sides. My first drink was beer at age four given to me by Mama's older brother, and her younger brother was my drinking buddy in the early 70s until he stroked out at age fifty. I've been drinking all my life until January 1, 2025, mostly whisky. I still miss it. I just don't drink it.

Posted by: Eromero at June 21, 2025 07:03 PM (LHPAg)

66 That immediately evoked the Laverne and Shirley opening in my mind.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba

When I got the job, and found I had to go to Milwaukee for company onboarding - everybody in my wife’s family started with the theme song

Posted by: PMRich at June 21, 2025 07:04 PM (Pe+uV)

67 My father-in-law was an assistant moonshiner in his youth. He fed wood to the fire, IIRC.

Posted by: toby928 at June 21, 2025 07:04 PM (jc0TO)

68 German fellow took us to a beer place in Bavaria a few years ago that we enjoyed. He told us a story about it also; it was a monastery that brewed beer sometime in the last 1000 years (1400? 1500?). Story went that the reputation for their special dark beer was so good the pope wanted to try some. They could not refuse him, being monks, but were worried perhaps that too much attention would get them in trouble (something about how they were only permitted to make such amount of beer, and they were going beyond that).

They sent the beer over the alps. luckily for them by the time it had made it to the pope, it had become not very good at all, and so the pope thought they were full of crap and continued to ignore what they were doing.

Posted by: H at June 21, 2025 07:05 PM (2gjbv)

69 Onboarding?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at June 21, 2025 07:07 PM (63Dwl)

70 57 Ever hear about the group of Nuns whose convent needed more repairs than they could afford? ... Their solution was to make and sell a variety of brews, with "Ale Mary" ending up as their best seller.
Posted by: Kathy at June 21, 2025 06:52 PM (qpw89)

I heard of a bar in Fells Point called Ale Mary's. Probably not related. I do recall a couple of brewpubs in that area. Sissons made a great red ale. Just outside Fells point and the Inner Harbor was the Baltimore Brewing Company. Had my first taste of elk there, nicely paired with a marzen. I think both of those places are gone now..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at June 21, 2025 07:07 PM (bA75n)

71 64 Check out Kloster Reutberg in Upper Bavaria. It's a monastery that makes varied (and wonderful) beers.

Posted by: Orson at June 21, 2025 07:02 PM
***
Great recommendation. Thank you. Kloster Andechs is another one in Bavaria, about an hour drive further west.

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 07:08 PM (IQ6Gq)

72 The day's topic led me off looking into Filipino 'tuba', palm wine, and distallation. Wiki article noted tuba often distilled into lambanog and laksoy and were inaccurately called vino de coco. These got popular in Mexico through Spanish trade, but then prohibited.

Wiki noted, "The prohibition of vino de coco and the introduced distillation technologies from the Philippines led to the development of mezcal and tequila by the indigenous peoples of Mexico."

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at June 21, 2025 07:08 PM (/lPRQ)

73 Looking forward to the thread about lighthouses. JackStraw should get involved. And now I have a new challenge: attempting to draw one. My tries at those dancing mice from a few weeks ago didn't result in anything that will ever be seen outside the confines of the sketchbook. (The world is safer that way. Trust me on this.) But it was fun trying the various poses and mouse expressions. And a lighthouse would give me a chance to use some of the techniques from that drawing class I mentioned.

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 07:10 PM (yTvNw)

74 69 Onboarding?
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr

Just what I’ve always called that first week of:

This is our company history, our values and how this line of business works.

Kind of handy for a guy whose only reference to beer prior to being hired was consumption

Posted by: PMRich at June 21, 2025 07:10 PM (Pe+uV)

75 My family has been in around the Napa Valley wine business for 80 years. A cousin owned a vineyard in Rutherford, Mondavi's were family friends. Family worked at Louis Martini and Sutter Home wineries

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 07:10 PM (ZIggv)

76 68 They sent the beer over the alps. luckily for them by the time it had made it to the pope, it had become not very good at all, and so the pope thought they were full of crap and continued to ignore what they were doing.

Posted by: H at June 21, 2025 07:05 PM
***
Never heard that one. Wonder if the monks ensured it would spoil when they sent it. Malicious compliance.

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 07:11 PM (IQ6Gq)

77 My contribution the the family wine business is my consumption.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 07:11 PM (ZIggv)

78 >>Looking forward to the thread about lighthouses. JackStraw should get involved.

A few weeks ago on the Cafe thread, ace posted one from your old stomping ground, JTB. Castle Hill Lighthouse.

Posted by: JackStraw at June 21, 2025 07:16 PM (viF8m)

79 I toured the Miller brewery a long time ago. The place is HUGE and the tour was fascinating. At the end we got to sample some brews being developed. I don't think many made it to full production but they were all good or at least interesting.

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 07:19 PM (yTvNw)

80 I homebrewed for a few years. Made some good beer, some less good.

Brewing is the perfect hobby. I started with a $50 starter kit my sister gave me for Christmas. It was everything necessary to make beer. An afternoon every other week, and I had beer. Cajun cooker and an old beer keg made a great boil kettle, which tripled my batch size.

The perfect hobby part is that there is no end to the tools and toys you can make or buy to improve your setup. Brewing is like cooking - there are lots of factors to change and control to get a broad range of results. And after you do the work, you get beer.

Posted by: Penultimatum at June 21, 2025 07:19 PM (1QSX/)

81 When I was 12 or 13 I tried making wine from grapes that grew on our property. Of course it was a disaster.

Posted by: AshevilleRobert at June 21, 2025 07:20 PM (Hw6WF)

82 73 My tries at those dancing mice from a few weeks ago didn't result in anything that will ever be seen outside the confines of the sketchbook.

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 07:10 PM
***
Easier to draw lighthouse expressions than dancing mouse expressions. But glad you're drawing!

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 07:22 PM (IQ6Gq)

83 My father-in-law was an assistant moonshiner in his youth. He fed wood to the fire, IIRC.
Posted by: toby928
_______

I thought riding shotgun was also among the assistant's duties.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at June 21, 2025 07:22 PM (ITkJX)

84 77 My contribution the the family wine business is my consumption.
Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 07:11 PM (ZIggv)

Quality assurance is an important, and often thankless, step in the process. Your family should celebrate your contribution.

My grandfather had a wine press and I have a vague early childhood memory of my father helping him wheelbarrow them to the cellar where he pressed them. Family lore held that one of the barrels sprung a leak and gramps eventually sold the press. I remember the barrels, but they must have been sold off at some point, too..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at June 21, 2025 07:23 PM (bA75n)

85 78 ... "A few weeks ago on the Cafe thread, ace posted one from your old stomping ground, JTB. Castle Hill Lighthouse."

Dang. I must have missed that thread. I do miss Ocean Drive now and then. It was a great place to view the Milky Way reflected in the water when it was calm. Some good surf casting off the rocks as well.

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 07:23 PM (yTvNw)

86 Interesting information. Not for me, though, anything stronger than light beer makes me ill.

Kinda hoping for another polynikes painting.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 21, 2025 07:24 PM (CHHv1)

87 Time to say thank you and good night before the next act takes the Ace of Spades stage. Thanks for being here. Looking forward to a marvelous episode next week on lighthouses. Send your submissions to the Hobby Thread emailbox.

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

See you later in Club ONT.

Posted by: TRex at June 21, 2025 07:26 PM (IQ6Gq)

88 I haven't brewed in a few years. I should brew this fall.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at June 21, 2025 07:26 PM (sp5rp)

89 I liked growing the hops plants! They were very attractive.

Instead of growing them straight up, I trained them to spiral up 'pyramids' I'd made using garden stakes. Then, when the cones came on, they looked like Christmas trees. In summer, LOL.

Harvest was easy-- no ladder required.

Posted by: JQ at June 21, 2025 07:27 PM (rdVOm)

90 Here's an old painting of mine.

https://tinyurl.com/y9ah8nfj

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 21, 2025 07:27 PM (CHHv1)

91 TRex, Thanks for another fun thread. And I hope everyone at the MoMe is having a great time.

Posted by: JTB at June 21, 2025 07:29 PM (yTvNw)

92 I make mead (I'm a bee keeper so it's a good fit), Ale and rice wine. The rice wine is really simple. Buy some rice wine yeast balls at the oriental grocer, crush them up, mix with glutonous rice (has to be glutonous) and place in a large mason jar with some gauze between the lid and jar (it's a poor mans airlock), or you can use an airlock. In aboiut a month, the rice congeals into a large clump and some liquid had collected in ghe bottom. Decant the liquid off, filter through guaze or chesecloth. Its in the 17-20% ABV range. Yum Yum.

Posted by: The Walking Dude at June 21, 2025 07:32 PM (4E0Ti)

93 I will say that making limoncello and peachello is so easy and the rewards are many.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 21, 2025 07:34 PM (ZIggv)

94 I never could get hops to grow right in gulf coast Texas, They grow best north of the 35th parallel. I'm about 30 lattitude. I have some rhizomes in the fridge that I will plant this week as a last try.

Posted by: The Walking Dude at June 21, 2025 07:35 PM (4E0Ti)

95 Just remembered: "Newport"

That was the name of my #3 hops.

Posted by: JQ at June 21, 2025 07:43 PM (rdVOm)

96 Never heard that one.
Posted by: TRex

https://tinyurl.com/yetryx89

Here’s a bit more accurate version. Several years/beers and not sure I remembered it correctly.

Posted by: H at June 21, 2025 07:47 PM (2gjbv)

97 My sister gave me a Mr Beer kit for my birthday years ago. A friend saw it, and got one for himself. He beat me to the brewing. His wife told us the brewing process was the worst smell in the world. I was prohibited from doing it in the house. Laundry room would have been perfect, as the garage varied in temp too much.
His batch came out terribly. He apparently didn’t disinfect all of the things, and got some sort of cootie in the brew barrel. It truly was undrinkable, no matter how long you let it age.

Posted by: Gunslinger at June 21, 2025 08:17 PM (7hdjp)

98 My dad and his friend would make wine. The stories I could tell…
Stole a bottle from time to time to sneak away for a buzz…tasted like shit, but accomplished the goal.
His wine storage rack was ingenious. He found a head shop going out of business and bought the poster storage rack. Heavy timber frame, 4X4s, with clay sewer/ water pipe segments about 3k long. Kept temp moderate and you could fill it from both sides. 100s of bottles, but my 17 year-old self thought they all tasted like ass.

Posted by: Gunslinger at June 21, 2025 08:22 PM (7hdjp)

99 When I was a kid, a neighborhood storefront that couldn't keep a tenant for more than a few months had an inspiration: Sell beer-making gear, and have classes twice a week in the evenings. Stayed open for AGES. Phenomenal success. Which proves alcohol is the source of all inspiration, success, and bad marriages.

Posted by: Paul Nowak at June 22, 2025 03:04 AM (YC7Ue)

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