Happy Trails Tavern

08/09/2026

Sunday fun day brew day
A productive Sunday brew day. Super happy with how everything went. Hit all my numbers. Backed down on the lime from last time since it was a little overpowering. This time around, loving the color and the light lime aroma on it. May add crystallized lime after fermentation if it needs more lime. I was out of clarity ferm, hoping it will clear up after fermentation and with a little lagering time.

08/01/2026

Brew at the Zoo today! Come down and sample some great beers while getting to hang out with some animal! Great way to spend a Saturday!

07/13/2026

Whelp, learned another important lesson when it comes to kettling sours. Always read the active ingredients and double check the facts. After +48 hours of attempting to kettle sour with almost no pH movement, decided to give it a second go and repitch the Good Belly a second time. Still no movement with pH but did show some signs of activity. Couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Thank you Ron Forster for sending over some interesting information.
Good Belly changed its active probiotic strain from the classic Lactobacillus Plantarum (which does a great job chewing through a the wort and producing lactic acid) to Bacillus Subtilis DE111 (which is a spore forming bacteria and does not work in the same way and does not produce lactic acid).
After 4 days of sitting on the kettle at around 98F. Threw in the towel on this beer. Dumped it today out of frustration.
Will try to kettle sour again in the near future just needed a break from on this one. Better luck next time.

07/10/2026

Midnight Brew session yesterday (or this morning depending on how you look at it 🤪).

Brewing up a delightfully refreshing gose with black limes, sea salt and coriander. Looking for an easy drinking summer time beer as we gear up for Brew in the Zoo on August 1.

Now we play the waiting game. Kettle sours match to the beat of their own drum.

06/29/2026

Yeast Experiment with the homebrew club. Let’s see how this plays out. Middlesex Malters Group

06/21/2026

Something Blue Before I Do. 💙🫐💙🫐💙🫐

This is a special beer for a special lady. Brewing a Blueberry wheat beer for my cousin’s bridal shower in August. I’ll be adding the blueberries in the secondary but beautiful looking wheat beer that finished on the mark for all my numbers. Looking forward to celebrating with the bride to be soon! 👰🏼‍♀️💙💍🫐⛪️

05/13/2026

Another group delivery date and location have been added to the schedule. May 28th at Counter Weight Brewing Company in Cheshire. Pickup time will be from 6 to 8:30. Place your orders at www.homebrewconnection.com or contact me through Facebook/email/phone. If ordering through the website, use the "Group Delivery" option under shipping at checkout and add the pickup location in the notes. Orders must be placed by noon on the 28th to guarantee they make it on this delivery.
Also…just 24 hours left for placing orders for the Dead Language Beer Project location delivery happening tomorrow, May 14th. Pickup times for that delivery are 6-9.
Cheers.

05/13/2026

05/13/2026

A little late getting the trellis up this year due to vacation. Hops were getting quite unruly. Happy to finally get them climbing instead of fighting

04/26/2026

Great day yesterday at Brewers Ball Home Brew Festival. Wonderful home brews and fabulous patrons! Cheers! Congrats to all the winners!