Nocino<\/a>. My latest batches of nocino are going well.\u00a0 I continue to shake each from time to time.\u00a0 They’ll be ready for straining\/filtering in a few weeks.\u00a0 The three batches are identical except the for “steeping” liquid:\u00a0 One grappa, one brandy, and one using plain old red wine.\u00a0 They all smell very interesting and I look forward to tasting the differences between them and between previous batches using more neutral spirits.\u00a0 I also continue to search for specific references in Period for the use of green walnuts.<\/p>\n Brewing.<\/strong> I have not gotten around to a project that I really want to work on.\u00a0 My friend Casey and I have discussed developing recipes and procedures for making all-grain one-gallon batches of beer using readily available equipment.\u00a0 My hope is that by outlining these recipes and procedures we can entice more people to try brewing.\u00a0 Consequently, we want to have virtually fool-proof recipes and procedures.\u00a0 Still a lot of work to do on this.\u00a0 I also made a deal with my lady, Simone (Solange) to teach her mead-making in return for me learning to French braid her hair.\u00a0 As soon as we get home for our recent trip to NY we will embark on those projects. I’m sure that she will end up being a better mead-maker than I am a braider.\u00a0 I really suck at that!<\/p>\n Studies in Yeast<\/a>. A few new studies have been published that relate to my interest in the transition from ale to lager yeasts in 15\/16th century Europe. The evidence continues to mount that the S. eubayanus<\/em> strain of yeast is the most likely candidate that hybridized S. cerevisiae<\/em> to produce the lager yeasts. I hope to summarize that research here soon.<\/p>\n Hops as sedative\/hypnotics.\u00a0<\/strong>This is an area that I’ve had interest in for some time. One of the observations from 18th and 19th century hop fields was that hop pickers tended to show high rates of sleepiness.\u00a0 It turns out that much earlier writings of Medieval and pre-Medieval physicians recommended hops as a sedative\/hypnotic as well as an anti-anxiety agent.\u00a0 I’m currently working on identifying those references and linking them to the modern research on hops that connect the activity of specific neurotransmitters to these purported effects.\u00a0 More to come on this one!<\/p>\n Well, I think that about sums up the status of my major projects. Writing this makes me more aware to how much work I have to do to meet my goals.\u00a0 I guess I better get busy!!! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"self-nocked](\"http:\/\/www.socpsy.com\/casks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/IMG_3581-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Period Archery<\/a>. This update is easy.\u00a0 I will be making more self-nocked arrows with horn inserts prior to King’s Companie of Archers event in September.\u00a0 I learned a lot making my first set of these types of arrows and I will use those experiences to produce a set that is more aesthetically pleasing.<\/p>\n![\"Garden](\"http:\/\/www.socpsy.com\/casks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/garden_ale-225x300.jpg\")
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