Brewery Tour: Clear Creek Brewing of Buffalo Wyoming

It should go without saying that the Harringtons loved food and traveling in South Korea. Yet, as we recently stated here at THT, the couple is thrilled to be back in a land where going out to dinner sometimes includes incredible BBQ and Bread Pudding. Additionally, the amount of joy the couple has experienced in being able to track down fine craft beers...that joy is also quite immense.

Following their holiday celebrations in Worland, the couple hit the road and made their way through Ten Sleep Canyon en route to Deadwood, South Dakota where the next leg of their holiday celebrations would take place. However, having a desire to re-enter the world of craft brews and perhaps gain some insight to the business potential of such an operation, the couple was eager to get through the canyon and stop off at Wyoming's newest brewery, opened in September of 2012, Clear Creek Brewing Company in Buffalo, Wyoming.

An Apple a Day

When the Laramie Farmer's Market came to an end late in September, the Harringtons bought a case of apples with high hopes of creating a completely from scratch Hard Apple Cider. After three weeks, the apples had sat around long enough and Melissa had discovered a clever use for the apple cores and apple peels which would otherwise be discarded. So it was, on a calm October Evening, the couple set about peeling, coring and juicing apples all with the goal of creating home made hard cider and home made apple cider vinegar.

Mike has done plenty of apple cider batches before, however the completely from scratch batch was a lot of work and didn't yield nearly as much hard cider as simply using 100% Apple Juice from the grocery store. Nonetheless, the experiment gave the man an opportunity to experiment with allowing wild yeasts to do their thing and also see and taste the difference of hard cider from store-bought juice versus fresh apple juice.

As for the Apple Cider Vinegar, Melissa simply followed this recipe from Hip Girls Home and learned that a) home made cider is an incredibly easy endeavor, b) the hardest part is patience and c) once it's finished, it's the most delicious thing EVER! (well, maybe not ever, but it's definitely a hit in the Harrington household.

Since returning from Korea, the Harringtons began drinking an Apple Cider Vinegar Elixir which contains about 2 Tbsp. ACV, 2 Tbsp. Apple Juice, Water, cinnamon and honey to taste. The purpose of this drink, as explained by upstairs neighbor and friend SaraJane is that it: prevents acne, helps regulate blood sugar (meaning you don't starve between breakfast and lunch), regulates movements of the bowels and helps ward off various germs and bacteria. Having enjoyed such an elixir with store-bought ACV, the Harrington duo has now transitioned to taking a shot of home-made vinegar every morning because it's just that good and, honestly, beneficial in the ways it claims to be.

If you've got apples and time, ACV is a project you should definitely consider taking on!