Wow you can't beat a backyard view like that! We were all super jealous of your homestead there in Palisade. Don't be surprised if my daughter shows up there someday with a suitcase asking where she can sleep.

I'm glad the mead was a positive experience - and definitely appreciate your help and advice as I'm experimenting with this "hobby". I can't wait to try the bottles you sent back with me, but I did promise my buddy that I'd wait until our calendar's aligned so we could enjoy together.

Side note about sweet mead - we did stop by at Meadery of the Rockies on our way through, and I picked up a couple things. The only one I've tried so far that was a bit unique was the "Honey Shere" desert mead. As far as I can tell, it's honey wine that was finished, had a significant amount of additional honey to it, and then also had distilled grape spirits added - ends up almost 20% ABV. It's extremely thick (literally dripping in the glass), and potent - but if you're looking for a little after dinner dessert, it was very good.

On a related note, I've been trying to coordinate a small group to get together to experiment with some apple juice we recently acquired - around 50 gallons of it. I have not been able to get everyone together at the same time, but a few of us did get together on Saturday (apparently, which was also "national homebrew day") and managed to get started. There are now about 10 buckets fermenting underway in the basement, with more to come.

A bit of bubbles for hypnotic enjoyment. If I had room, I'd ferment in my office so I could hear the bubbles plop all day long...