Start up

There have been some aspects of this project that Brian and I have not been able to do on our own.  It's not that we couldn't buy a book on the subject or Google the topic to find helpful tips.  It's just that the tools required were too big. Intercounty Electric came out today and installed a double throw box that will allow us to shut off all power to our house and barn for easily and safely hooking up a generator.  We also had an ancient electric pole that was in the way of our view out the West…

They say that our eyes are the window to our soul.  The BARn windows are part of the soul of this project. We found our big windows online, a fitting tribute to the large holes in the upper ends of the barn where hay was ferried from end to end by horses according to old time tradition.  When I found those windows online, we felt truly inspired. Originally, at ground level the barn had four windows on the North side and two windows on the South side, tiny panes framed by wood.  The glass from those windows and even the…

We really couldn't have asked for better weather this October.  When it comes to a building project, we've had dry, mild days.  And despite the August heat wave, the fall color isn't too bad either.                 We have some grass growing where the trenches were dug to run water and furnace lines. The bottles have been restored to the hackberry stump by the greenhouse. And the BARn is almost completely enclosed.             The two holes next to the upstairs doors here will be large windows.  A giant deck…

This is McCall.  She's one of the girlfirends that lives at Piney River Brewing Company.  McCall is a locavore. Actually, all of the cows, calves and Papi, the bull, at PRBC are locavores.  We manage our pastures so that they have native grasses, clover and fescue to eat for most of the year.  And when they eat hay, it comes from just a few fields over. We take pride in the food our girls eat, and if we eat one of their calves, we are proud of the locally grown, grass-raised beef that graces our table.  And since we started…

In October, we celebrate the 200 year tradition that was born in Munich on October 12, 1810 with the marriage of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese.  The five-day public celebration became what we celebrate today as Oktoberfest. Around the Durham household, October means several things.  If you're a 14-year old Dalmatian, you spend those Indian summer days running around outside and crashing on your pallet indoors. If you're a 5-year old, you spend part of October playing your heart out in soccer.     And 200 years after the first Oktoberfest, the future home of Oktoberfest in Bucyrus, MO received…

There will not be any pigeons harmed in making the BARn, but they will be relocated.  I believe that the pigeon colony that roosts nightly in the barn senses they will lose their habitat soon.  When we walk around the barn in the evening, they circle overhead crying their displeasure at our intrusion. All the pigeon poop has been scraped out of the barn loft.  These days the pigeons only perch in the rafters at night; there's way too much action going on in the barn during the day. This week, the concrete was completed.  After Brian did a little…

Today's blog post begins with Harvey from River Rock Redi-Mix, now semi-famous and very important in his role in building the BARn at PRBC. In addition to providing much needed concrete, Harvey helped Brian load rebar for the floor out at the concrete plant.  When he delivered the concrete he was very friendly and helpful.  Thanks Harvey! The South side of the BARn will be the main entrance, the stairs to the tap room, the grist room,the office and storage.  We got Harvey's mud, and tonight...drum roll please...we have completed the concrete floor in the BARn. And Reuben was there…

Construction projects just take time.  Sometimes, the construction progress seems to inch along, especially when multiple parties have to coordinate their efforts.  There's nothing slow about a concrete pour, though. Getting ready for it was long and tedious.  First, we removed the manure.  Then Brian dug pretty close to China to increase the headroom in the bottom of the barn.  That led to jackhammering.  Earlier this week Brian added gravel back into the barn floor, and it was prepared for the concrete pour. When a giant truck with tumbler full of concrete that's getting hotter by the minute shows up…

I rounded the bend on our road this evening about 12 hours from the time I left this morning and saw this! Reuben and Sam flat got with it today!   (Not that they don't on most days, but this, the barren barn side, looks pretty impressive.) After Sam and Reuben had a week off to work on another project, and Brian had a week off to fish in a tournament (no, I didn't take the week off...I stained the other window, picked up rocks, etc.), Sam and Reuben returned this week and finished up the roof and the boards…

This Labor Day weekend included some serious labor from the PRBC partners. We completed our application for the TTB (Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau).  The information collected for the application is monumental and daunting.   The TTB application should be submitted when the brewery is 95 days from completion.  When the TTB application is approved, we will have Uncle Sam’s seal of approval to produce and sell beer on a commercial level. The TTB is concerned with collecting their taxes on their beer, and completing the application required meticulous collections of paperwork that took a lot of time.  When our TTB…