With some free time this morning on our day off , we drove out to our organic farm and planted some fruit trees and organic seed potatoes , in the next few days we will return to plant the remaining seeds for this years organic vegetable crop . 

Hi Everybody , Albannach is holding an informal Hanami party on the bank of the Shinano river this coming Sunday from 12pm . If you are free come along , bring an instrument if you have one and the party is BYO so just bring along whatever you want to eat and drink . Pictured below is the map of the location and some chap in a kilt next to the cherry blossoms that was taken last weekend. 

Just put on a new keg this evening - Black Isle Scotch Ale ABV 6.2 % , Here is what the crew at Black Isle Brewery have to say about it
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Believed to have originated from Edinburgh in the 1800s, the brewing of Scotch ales is now more of a focus for the US craft brewers than for those in its homeland. This beer, however, is a distillation of all that is good in Scotland. A liquid fruit cake with a malty foundation and a rich spice finish, this will fill your palate and astound you for minutes as you unlock the multi-layers of flavour.
A blinding pairing with roast lamb and equally good with a dram of Glenmorangie Lasanta.

 I would like to say a big thanks to everybody who came along to the Brazilian session last night . it was great fun and there are some very talented Brazilian musicians in Niigata . This is the 3rd time we have hosted the session so keep an eye out on the blog to see when the next one will be. 

Down on the farm - Today it was a fantastic spring day with a high of 22 deg , unheard of in early April in Niigata , so we drove out to our community organic farm and prepared 5 plots for some trees that we have just bought. The trees that will will plant are - Bilberry , Blackberry, cooking Apples . We have put some organic fertilizer in the ground so come the middle of April we will plant them along with this years new organic vegetables !​