How are the hops growing?

I have to say, it seems like everything, but, my hops are growing as expected here in Southeastern PA. I let the backyard plants go this year and while they are growing well, I really didn't trim them back to force flower growth.

Hops in Birdsboro at Gavin's aren't doing that well either. Either the dry weather or some potassium and/or nitrogen deficiencies are taking their toll. Most of these second year plants didn't reach the top of the trellis.

The plants that did grow well seemed to be the ones with better root systems. This leads me to believe that the lack of water during the early days of growth were the culprit.

Not really surprising, neither the backyard plants nor the Birdsboro plants were well tended to this year. Too many distractions! Having said all that we'll get hops this year, just not much more than last year.

The beginning of short posts...

I wouldn't say I've had long posts here at Beer Bits 2...er nonconFERMist, but, they are about to get shorter. I'm hoping this gets me posting everyday again :-)

Collaboration: Help me, help you, make beer.

Yep, I'm sittin' here thinking about those days when I used to brew months ago. Yes, "used to brew". I've been "in a lull" as a friend of mine put it. Been focusing on other stuff I susppose.

Do you want to help me get started again? Maybe we can help each other. Is there something new your've been wanting to brew, but something is holding you back? Have you been searching the internet for somebody who's already brewed it?

I could be that person. Leave a comment with a suggestion for my next brew. I'll log everything here on this site for everybody to follow along.

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Summer Brewing Tips: Keep my fermenting beer cool!

Brewing in the summer can be a bit tricky due to the heat. Consider where you are storing your beer during fermentation. Brewing temps for Ale are typically between 60 and 75°F depending on the yeast. Here are some things to think about.

• Basements are a great place to ferment beer. They should stay cool all year around due to constant ground temperatures, between 50 and 60°F (I think) depending on your latitude. I think our basement hovers around 65°F.
• Other parts of the house might work too? If you keep any room cooler than 75°F you're in luck. My house temperature fluctuates based on the weather. Sometimes the airconditioner is on and sometimes it isn't.
• Brew a beer that likes a warmer fermentation. On an earlier post somebody mentioned a Hefeweizen. I haven't tried it, but, it makes sense. I would imagine a Saison would work too.
• Sit your carboy/fermenter in a water bath with a wet t-shirt or towel wrapped around your carboy to take advantage of evaporative cooling.
• Make a fermentation chamber with a fridge/freezer or chest freezer and a temperature controller.
• Brew more in the winter ;-)
• I've heard that starting a saison cooler and letting it rise over a period of a week will produce a good flavor profile. Not sure how you would do this. Seems like you would need more control, not less. Maybe water bath with t-shirt or towel (ice if necessary) and then remove from bath and let it warm up. Would probably warm up in a matter of hours though.

That's all I can think of right now. Anybody else have some ideas? They say it hit over 100°F today here in Southeastern PA.

Any NonconFERMists out there that have found a good yeast to use when it gets hot?