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Barry M

@barmas.bsky.social

1.1K followers 430 following 3.8K posts

Maker of Kertelreiter cider & perry. Planter of orchards. Pear freak, wannabe pomologist, cider historian, homebrewer, former beer blogger. Editor at Cider Review. ACA Certified Pommelier. Irish in Germany. Owned by a border collie.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 7h

“A Steampunk Mr. Tayto” is the best comment I’ve seen on it. 😆

‘A steampunk Mr Tayto’: why Irish critics hate Netflix’s House of Guinness

While US and UK reviewers have praised the series, in Ireland it has faced a barrage of withering put-downs

www.theguardian.com

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 9h

But she’s pretty happy looking for mice in the fields now

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 9h

Someone didn’t want to get out of bed for a walk this morning.

A border collie lying outstretched very comfortable in our bed

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 23h

They are so pretty. When they get a bit more blush on them, they are probably one of my favourite perry pears in terms of prettiness. A lovely trout like speckling when they get colour on them. And a pack of punch, quite a bit of tannin but gorgeous flavours.

A speckled Luxemburger Mostbirne. Yellow, with reddish dots.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 23h

These Luxemburger Mostbirnen look good though. A component of our Levitation harvest blend perry, I’d love to press the em as a single variety too.

Lots of fallen pairs around the foot of another large tree, about 50% looks like they are keepers

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 23h

This kinda shit. 😄
Too late for these Gelbmöstler though.

Lots of brown rotten pears lying on the ground. A handful look good.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 23h

And if that doesn’t sound like much fruit to pick, bear in mind this is picked off the ground by hand under huge old trees, discarding the bad fruit while doing so, which can sometimes be 10x what you keep, and the trees are spread over a wide area. It’s backbreaking shitty work.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 23h

My wife often says the cidery is mine, as I do all the work. But I also tell people that if it wasn’t for my wife, I wouldn’t make half as much perry as I do, because she is an absolute harvesting machine. Over the last two days she has collected at least 500kg of pears alone. Levitation 2025 is go.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

Meanwhile, work continues.

A drone shot of our barn roof, the the back side 2/3 covered in second hand tiles.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

Was hard getting out of bed this morning, just wanted to roll over and sleep a bit more, but what a lovely autumn morning it was for an early walk.

A pre-sunrise view of the centre of the village, the church spar on the right, a small meadow with alpacas in the foreground, and in the background the hills behind with a light covering of mist

A view of the last house before exiting the village, looking along the Kertel Valley in the direction of the coming sunrise, the distance hazy in a light mist

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

Proper name probably Tipperary Pippin. Not finding much on a quick search, other than a farm in Clonmel grows them, which would make sense. But maybe I can find out more from some contacts back in my native country.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

Meanwhile, my wife is out picking pears all day. She got an amazing selection which I have now sorted, stacked onto pallets and put into the cow stalls until I can process them. Time for a Feierabendbier.

An Oberösterreicher Weinbirne. It’s green.

A few fruit crates with various types of pears lit up by a torch

A Kieffer’s Hybrid Lear. It’s yellow.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

it got dark pretty quick, but we moved all 12 pallets into a perfect position for them. Of course Frank couldn’t stop for a beer because the tractor probably wouldn’t start again.

The front loader moving a pallet of roof tiles across our meadow

The job finished. The barn and pallets lit up by the headlights of the tractor.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

The pallets of second hand tiles were all lying at that end of the barn, so they asked if I could move them to the other end to speed up work tomorrow. My friend came over with his front loader, but something went wrong & it wouldn’t start so hilariously we jumpstarted it with my small
tractor. 😂

Two John Deere’s, one a medium size professional tractor with a front loader, the other a small garden tractor with the hood open to access the battery

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

Long day. Roofers made good progress, half one side covered again, and the fascia boards and metalwork done on one end. Tomorrow they‘ll finish this side.
Took the opportunity to get proper photos of the amazing woodwork that is the barn superstructure. A rail on the top for an old hay lift/crane.

The back side of the barn, the roof half re-covered.

Looking up inside the barn before the tiles were being put back on. Lots of beams and struts.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 1d

2 + 3 perfectly normal, but 1 makes you a deviant 😄 Am curious though!

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 2d

Oberösterreicher Weinbirne. Cleared and mowed under this tree last Friday, so nice usable fruit down, ready to collect.

A pear tree standing at the end of a hedge row, a grassy track leading off into a wooded area on the right. The grass under the tree is lit with the bright green spots of newly fallen pears.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 2d

Anu chose the high road. I was gonna say heading into the clouds, but we’re already there this morning.

Fork in a country Road, one leads down a so one leads upper slope curving around into the unknown.

We have arrived at the unknown, standing at a curve in the upper road looking down into the valley below, but it is shrouded in mist

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 2d

It’s hard being one of the dozens of people online who don’t live in the US, eh? 😄

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 2d

a close up of a man with a mustache

Alt: a close up of a man with a mustache who bursts out laughing, it’s the newspaper guy from Spider-Man and I can’t remember his name.

media.tenor.com

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, it’s a pretty big barn. 12m high at the apexWas originally fairly small, but was expanded in the 1920s and 1930s. That explains some of the weird layouts at the upper levels. It’s about time it got a new roof 😆

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 2d

At least there’s a lot of light in the barn now.

Photo taken from inside the barn looking up towards the roof. One half is now free of roof tiles, so we can see the wonderful wooden structure of the barn in a new light.

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 3d

Despite the shitty weather this morning, the roofers have made a good start. Now with people for scale, it’s a big roof surface.
The plan was to start removing tiles from the top, but the old laths are not safe, so installing the new ones as they go. Safety first.

One side of our barn roof, most of the old tiles removed, and new laths installed

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 3d

Gorgeous

Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 3d

The Jalapeños I got this year don’t have much heat at all, so I popped a couple habaneros in too. But yeah, it will end up like a mild Tabasco sauce, will check acidity, maybe add a little vinegar to stabilise before bottling.