Skip to main content

Brew up










Last January for farmer J's birthday I brought him a home brewing kit, firstly because in his dreams he wants a micro brewery and secondly there is only one type of British beer, Spitfire sold at the supermarket and a little expensive it is.  Yes there are many Belgium and French beers but there alcohol content is far higher (and they are not quiet like an English beer on a Sunday, apparently) plus brewing your own works out far cheaper although don't take into account the number of bottles of beer needed to be drunk in order to be able to reuse them!

In order to make the beer it has to be kept at a constant temperature while it is fermenting so its had to wait a while as only the past fortnight has it been keeping at 19 degrees in the bathroom, the heater was on for a few days when temperature got down a bit and a beery smell started to take over the bathroom but today it was bottled.

Lots of washing, sterilising, rinsing and draining bottles later and waiting for the beer to settle as it was moved it has now been bottled, sugar added, sealed and put down in the cave as needs to be left for a fortnight. Just in case it should have a elderflower champagne incident (exploding in the bottle) the fifty bottles are sitting in a plastic crate waiting.

There's still another kit to make, however no more beer needs to be brought as bottles, tops and crown capper machine (it puts the metal tops on the bottles) have already been purchased!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2ENJ093 - FRANKLIN

Eight years ago today Franklin came into our family, a rescue dog from the SPA in Rodez we drove to see if they had a dog to re home. He had been there a month after being left tied to a bin in the town centre, chosen because he didn't bark, he came to us to say hello and was completely different from the dog we had lost days before Christmas. 120 Euros he cost, a young boy still a pup, very thin but with a look of take me home please. A collar put round his neck, forms completed, cheque handed over and a kiss from the manager and he was ours. Five minutes down the road in the car he threw up. Five minutes in the house and he had weed up the settee and collected an assortment of treasures including socks, toilet roll inner tubes, tissues and soft toys all placed in a pile under the table and garded. He ate at an amazing speed, fearing he would loose it to our other dogs. Then he started to bark, he has a fine bark on him. He barks for his tea, when a visitor arrives, the
2 comments
Read more

Parisot lake

As it is a holiday today here in France (Bastille Day) we took the afternoon off an popped over to Parisot lake for a walk with Sorrel. It has all changed, since the lake was emptied and cleaned up this year you can now swim in it, as well as inflatable toys to play on, a life guard, bikes to hire, a new fenced in play area for small people and a total spruce up. But there is a price we were charged! 3 euros an adult, which I guess is OK if you are using the facilities but Sorrel didn't fancy a dip. The cafe is still open but that would of been too much for Sorrel to cope with being so close to people and music so we opted for a bench to sit on in the shade before walking around the lake. Sorrel opted for being Billy no mates and laying by herself, if be it for a short period of time before bikes and people went by. We are now waiting for the free firework celebrations over the chateau tonight - if we can stay up that late.😃
4 comments
Read more

Lavender

One plant that does grow well around the gites and garden and that I don't seem to be able to kill is lavender. In the summer the bushes are swarming with bees, hummingbird moths, butterflies and other flying insects, lot of holiday photos have been taken by keen photographers, some setting up chairs and waiting for ages with big cameras and lenses waiting for the right moment and right insect to land. It does give a lovely show and smell as well, its picked and placed in vases in the gites by guests. Its very tactile and difficult to pass without a rub of a flower that's if you like the smell. I think its very much like marmite you either love it or hate it, a smell of memories of grans and old aunts who use to get given Yardley's old lavender smellies for presents. I like the smell but it can be quiet overpowering, especially when this year I have finally been able to save the dried flowers. Previous years other things have got in the way and its bee
1 comment
Read more