Episode #092 Installing a Rain Chain.

I solved the sagging rain gutter problem by installing a rain chain. This is a concept from ancient Japan that became popular in North America during the Victorian and Craftsman eras. The concept is that rather than a downspout to carry the water from the gutter to the ground, you simply have a length of chain and the water will naturally follow the chain to the ground. This helps with excess splashing and erosion.

First, I had to find the lowest spot of the rain gutter. This was easy since it was already full of water. Then I used a 1" step drill bit to drill a hole in the bottom of the gutter large enough for the chain to pass through. Once that was done I anchored the end of the chain to the facia board with a long deck screw and washer to make sure it wouldn’t fall out. Then I simply dropped the chain trough the hole and let it fall to the ground.

Once the chain was installed, I was still concerned with erosion on the ground, so I piled some rocks around the base of the chain in order to disperse the water running down the chain.

Our beer of the day is Shoulders of Giants Imperial IPA. It comes from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie. Even more hops! This beer uses Galaxy, Falconers Flight, and Amarillo, hops to give it an IBU of 86. Be careful though, it comes in at a whopping 10% ABV in a 750ml bottle. Not a session beer.

A special thank you to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob of ccmixter.org for the composition titled "Free Music Free Beer" which is the intro and outro music on this episode.

Free Music & Free Beer by Alex is licensed under a Attribution (3.0). 

Episode #092 Roasting Coffee at Home

I experiment with roasting my own coffee beans. I used a Proctor Silex Popcorn Pumper. It's a very popular hot air popcorn popper. You can still buy them online vis Ebay or Kijiji and you can get them really cheap. A lot cheaper than some fancy imported Italian coffee roating machine. The key is to get the beans up to about 140 to 145 degrees farenheit for about 10 to 15 minutes.

I sourced some green beans from Ashanti Rostery Cafe in Elora and then did some research. I figured out that about 1/3 cup of beans would be enough to roast them and not burn them. If you have too little, the air will blow them out of the popper. To many, and they will not swirl around in the air and the bottom will burn.

When the green beans are heated, the water inside them turns to steam and escapes causing the bean to crack open. This roasting stage is known as "first crack". It actually sounds a bit like popping popcorn. As you continue to roast the beans, the eventually start to break down and the oils start to be released. THis is know as "second crack" and sounds just like the first. This will give you a blonde medium roast. If you want a dark roast, keep the heat on but keep an eye on the beans because you can burn them.
Once they are roasted, pour the beans out onto a tray to let them cool off. Let them sit overnight and grind them fresh the next morning. I auure you one of the most satisfying cups of coffe you will ever have.

Our beer of the day is Shoulders of Giants Imperial IPA. It comes from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie. Even more hops! This beer uses Galaxy, Falconers Flight, and Amarillo, hops to give it an IBU of 86. Be careful though, it comes in at a whopping 10% ABV in a 750ml bottle. Not a session beer.

A special thank you to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob of ccmixter.org for the composition titled "Free Music Free Beer" which is the intro and outro music on this episode.

Free Music & Free Beer by Alex is licensed under a Attribution (3.0). 

Episode #081 Building a new wood shed.

Bruce and I were supposed to build a new woodshed this week but he got called back to the city. How convenient. That left me all alone to get the job done. I enlisted several cheap/free apprentices to help. This was definitely a 24 beer job.

Our beer of the day is Millenium Buzz Hemp Beer from Cool Beer Brewing Company in Toronto, Ontario. This is not what you would expect. Apparently hemp has a similar flavour profile to barley. And don't get all excited because there is no THC. Cool Beer Brewing

A special thank you to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob of ccmixter.org for the composition titled "Free Music Free Beer" which is the intro and outro music on this episode.

Free Music & Free Beer by Alex is licensed under a Attribution (3.0). 

Episode #078 Hot swapping water pumps.

We started out with pump problems again so we made our usual trip into Parry Sound to the Home Depot for a new pump and other assorted parts. OF course we were all decked out in our finest kottage-tek T-shirts from our swag shop and we actually got some attention from a couple of hunnies. Wow! "We be stylin dude".

While we were there I also picked up some 2"quick disconnect couplings. These are intended for gas lines but I'm tired of having to use the big ass monkey wrench whenever we disconnect the pump. These worked like a charm and now we can hot swap a water pump in less than 20 minutes. Once we swapped out the old pump, we took it apart and discovered some pieces of plastic were clogging the jet. We cleared out the debris and we now have a spare pump ready to swap back into service should if and when it is needed.

Our beer of the day this time is Hops & Bolts India Pale Lager from Creemore Springs. Creemore is one of our favorite breweries located just south of Collingwood Ontario. This time they have come up with an interesting twist on the ever so popular IPA.

A special thank you to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob of ccmixter.org for the composition titled "Free Music Free Beer" which is the intro and outro music on this episode.

Free Music & Free Beer by Alex is licensed under a Attribution (3.0). 

Episode #074 Recreating The Bleeding Edge.

Bruce had a good friend named Walter Martindale join us this time for a boys weekend. It turns out Walter is a master knife sharpener. We of course put him to work sharpening every knife in the place. He also brought along a few interesting ones to show us as well. One of them has quickly become my favorite for when I feel like sitting on the deck cutting the cheese. It's known as the "Original Woodman's Pal" from Lee Valley Tool Company.

This ushers in the first entry into our new Kottage Know-how category. We will do some how-to videos about common repairs, tips and processes at the cottage and post them up on the YouTube channel. We will do our best to keep these to short form and under 5 minutes but in true Kottage-tek fashion our first one blows that theory out of the water. It comes in a at whopping 30 minutes so make sure you crack a fresh cold one before pressing play.

Our beer of the day is. Rock Cut Baysville Lager from The Lake Of Bays Brewing Company

A special thank you to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob of ccmixter.org for the composition titled "Free Music Free Beer" which is the intro and outro music on this episode.

Free Music & Free Beer by Alex is licensed under a Attribution (3.0).