2017 In Review
A few days ago 2017 came to an end, so it is time for a look back at the year that was.
The Good: I completed a long-planned move to a better blogging platform and a dedicated website, along with adding some social media feeds. The move went well, and in my opinion, the new digs are much nicer than the old one. While this doesn’t affect you, the reader, the behind-the-scenes management is much better now than it was on the old platform.
2017 also saw my blog surpass 500,000 visitors, while my YouTube channel drew its 2,500th subscriber and 175,000th video view. Not bad for a DIY media empire that started off as an on-line brewing log!
I also brewed a few good beers this year…but only 15; well down from my historical average of 20-25/year. A big part of that lower productivity was my families move to a small farm over the summer – an event which has offered up some new brewing opportunities which I swear I will blog about soon…
The Bad: My plans to increase my video output – namely, starting a new series of short videos on brewing science – has failed. The video series has been a success, but video production is down for the third straight year. Making this even worse, I have – literally – 4 videos in progress; all but one which were started in 2016! What I need is some free time…which seems to be the very last thing that I have.
The Ugly: As a result of my move, I had to give away all of my hop plants. And I think I may currently have the plague…but that’s not a beer-related issue.
Quick Stats:
- Most popular post of 2017: Using PCR to Identify Contamination in Beer (Parts 1 and Parts 2 – tied)
- Most commented post of 2017: To Vrai or Not To Vrai – Another White Labs Controversy?
- Most popular video of 2017: Making Agar Plates.
- Top Viewing Countries of 2017: United States, United Kingdom, Finland, Brazil, Canada
- Top Traffic Sources of 2016: Youtube, Facebook, Milk the Funk Wiki
My Favourite Blogs of 2017
(in no particular order)
Upcoming in 2018
I have big, Big, BIG plans for the upcoming year! A new farm means a new hop yard, new opportunities to grow some interesting adjuncts, and changes to my brew-rig, and new wild yeast captures (already in progress – more in a later post). And, eventually, those videos will get edited, so look for new videos some time in 2018!
