There are still a few places unloading their blueberries.

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I just read my day's emails and it seems the fridge trailers will be pulled out tomorrow.

The last of the berries sold last week and were picked up on Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure when they were going to be picked up and so I had to pay rent on the trailers until I could cancel on Tuesday. They're not cheap.

The berries all sell.

I can sell every berry to the cannery. They pay the least - as a general rule. (I'll write some more about that in a moment. I'm drinking a wee bit.)

But, as I said, they don't pay very well. The goal is to sell the cannery as few berries as we can. The cannary's goal is to buy all our berries at the lowest price they can pay.

I also prefer to sell my berries to people and not nearly-faceless corporations. The cannery company gives zero fucks and they just smash the berries to shit and cram 'em into cans, which they sell to people who produce commercial blueberry products or sell as canned blueberries. Yup... You can buy blueberries in cans.

But, call it my immaturity, I prefer to sell them to people who not just pay more - but will actually be happy with the attention and care we give our crop. In fact, anyone who's local to that area can just come pick blueberries in our fields and, so long as they're for personal use, I'm not even going to charge them.

Blueberries are little bites of pure delicious. They make people smile. I'd rather the blueberries go to someone who smiles than go to someone who shows up in a truck and pisses and moans about the long drive back.

When I say the cannery pays the least, that's not strictly accurate. There are two companies that buy our berries and get a price lower than the cannery. One makes delicious products with Maine wild blueberries - and gives me a ton of their result. The other one is pretty new, as in we just picked them up last year. I give them a discount because they make delicious blueberry wine and they give me some of the wine.

(If anyone knows the legal issues well, I'd be interested in mailing them out to a few of you as holiday gifts. I'm not actually sure how legal it is for me to send alcohol without actually doing some formal ID check - and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to be a part of that.)

Anyhow, the last things remaining are just finishing up pulling any string left over (berries are 'raked' in rows) and putting hay on the field.

Seeing as I'm here...

There are eight fields. Each year, four of those fields are harvested. After the harvest, the fields are covered in hay. This is called 'haying the field' but that just confuses people. Really, we're putting hay on the field.

The hay sits on the field all winter.

Then, spring comes - and we set the fields ablaze - which is every bit as awesome as you might imagine. That's right... We set the mountain on fire. We don't even go to jail for it!

That year, the fields that were burnt will not produce berries. We alternate the fields, so each field is harvested every two years.

Why do we burn the fields? It kills any animal or fungus pests that are in the ground. Blueberry plants survive it just fine. They regrow quickly and the field has fully recovered by the following year. Burning the fields also kills (m)any unwanted plants - such as tree saplings. It basically stops Mother Nature from reclaiming the fields as her own.

But, the blueberry harvest is mostly finished and now you know a bit more about blueberry farming!

Seriously, burning the fields is awesome. You gotta stay sober for it but it's hard work and a good reason to celebrate afterwards. You run around with giant "Indian Pumps" on your back. First, you burn a firebreak and then you just set that fucker on fire. It's done in the spring, while there's still snow in the woods (usually) and the ground is too wet (usually) to be a major problem, but sometimes whole mountains have gone up in flames - burning many acres. So far, that's not been something I've experienced.

Note: I don't usually actually control the burn process personally. The guy I bought these fields from is quite an expert at it and it's a potential forest fire. So, I just happily run around with the pump on my back. It's a good workout and the view is spectacular.

Alright, so now you know a wee bit more about blueberries. They're delicious!

Obvious disclosure: I have a direct financial interest in the Wild Maine Blueberry industry.

I just read my day's emails and it seems the fridge trailers will be pulled out tomorrow. The last of the berries sold last week and were picked up on Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure when they were going to be picked up and so I had to pay rent on the trailers until I could cancel on Tuesday. They're not cheap. The berries all sell. I can sell every berry to the cannery. They pay the least - as a general rule. (I'll write some more about that in a moment. I'm drinking a wee bit.) But, as I said, they don't pay very well. The goal is to sell the cannery as few berries as we can. The cannary's goal is to buy all our berries at the lowest price they can pay. I also prefer to sell my berries to people and not nearly-faceless corporations. The cannery company gives zero fucks and they just smash the berries to shit and cram 'em into cans, which they sell to people who produce commercial blueberry products or sell as canned blueberries. Yup... You can buy blueberries in cans. But, call it my immaturity, I prefer to sell them to people who not just pay more - but will actually be happy with the attention and care we give our crop. In fact, anyone who's local to that area can just come pick blueberries in our fields and, so long as they're for personal use, I'm not even going to charge them. Blueberries are little bites of pure delicious. They make people smile. I'd rather the blueberries go to someone who smiles than go to someone who shows up in a truck and pisses and moans about the long drive back. When I say the cannery pays the least, that's not strictly accurate. There are two companies that buy our berries and get a price lower than the cannery. One makes delicious products with Maine wild blueberries - and gives me a ton of their result. The other one is pretty new, as in we just picked them up last year. I give them a discount because they make delicious blueberry wine and they give me some of the wine. (If anyone knows the legal issues well, I'd be interested in mailing them out to a few of you as holiday gifts. I'm not actually sure how legal it is for me to send alcohol without actually doing some formal ID check - and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to be a part of that.) Anyhow, the last things remaining are just finishing up pulling any string left over (berries are 'raked' in rows) and putting hay on the field. Seeing as I'm here... There are eight fields. Each year, four of those fields are harvested. After the harvest, the fields are covered in hay. This is called 'haying the field' but that just confuses people. Really, we're putting hay on the field. The hay sits on the field all winter. Then, spring comes - and we set the fields ablaze - which is every bit as awesome as you might imagine. That's right... We set the mountain on fire. We don't even go to jail for it! That year, the fields that were burnt will not produce berries. We alternate the fields, so each field is harvested every two years. Why do we burn the fields? It kills any animal or fungus pests that are in the ground. Blueberry plants survive it just fine. They regrow quickly and the field has fully recovered by the following year. Burning the fields also kills (m)any unwanted plants - such as tree saplings. It basically stops Mother Nature from reclaiming the fields as her own. But, the blueberry harvest is mostly finished and now you know a bit more about blueberry farming! Seriously, burning the fields is awesome. You gotta stay sober for it but it's hard work and a good reason to celebrate afterwards. You run around with giant "Indian Pumps" on your back. First, you burn a firebreak and then you just set that fucker on fire. It's done in the spring, while there's still snow in the woods (usually) and the ground is too wet (usually) to be a major problem, but sometimes whole mountains have gone up in flames - burning many acres. So far, that's not been something I've experienced. Note: I don't *usually* actually control the burn process personally. The guy I bought these fields from is quite an expert at it and it's a potential forest fire. So, I just happily run around with the pump on my back. It's a good workout and the view is spectacular. Alright, so now you know a wee bit more about blueberries. They're delicious! Obvious disclosure: I have a direct financial interest in the Wild Maine Blueberry industry.

[–] • 1 pt

just buy a kit from Northern Brewer, a simple one like a wheat or a red or pale ale, and brew a batch

then if it sucks all the equipment is still in the same condition, and give it away

[–] • 0 pt

That sounds reasonable. I can get the ingredient kits (and I think it came with one or two, but I'm not sure if they're still good - as I've had it in my basement for six years) at the local brewery supply store. Home brewing is not what I'd call 'big' here, but there's enough of it to support at least one store in Farmington, about an hour away.

I can follow simple directions - but I will probably end up wanting to know more about the chemical process and the actual physics involved. Which seems like a lot of work for what I expect to be shitty beer.

What made you want to brew beer? You said 'on occasion.' How frequently do you brew beer? It doesn't appear to be too much work, but does the result make the effort seem worthwhile?

Sort of sorry for all the questions, but beer brewing just seems like something I should know how to do - and don't.

if the kits are malt extract (vs. allgrain, which is harder and I doubt they'd have included in the equipment kit), it's all still good, maybe even the yeast if it's dry yeast (check the expiration on the little packet)

Talk to the folks at that store and yeah, you can get as much into the process as you want.

It's not too much work, really it's two mornings 2-4 weeks apart (one to brew, one to bottle). Learning to control the mess is probably the only pain in the ass. I don't do it often, not because it's not worth the time or because the beers are not good, but because I get sick of having 5 gallons of the same beer waiting to be consumed. Giving the beer away (have people give you cappable bottles from their storebought beer) is a good strategy.

And like you, I have many little half-finished projects demanding time. Which is why I do none of them and sit on poal.

Hmm...

Well, it's too bad you're not closer! We could drink store-bought beer and watch the kit to see if it's ever gonna start beer production on its own.

This will be my last question - for this hour. I promise!

If, and that's a big if, I do actually get to this project - would you maybe help participate in a 'brewing' sub?

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