Comments on: Brewing: better than meditation

By: stu

stu — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:34 +0000

wish i could brew like that. far too busy for games what with all the tweeting & online texas holdem

By: paul garrard

paul garrard — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:58:27 +0000

I used to find the smell alone was worth brewing for. sadly I no longer have the space to brew but find cooking does the job instead. a great way to relax as you say

By: leigh

leigh — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:29:19 +0000

I read in brewing downtime, keeping one eye on the boiler. Great opporunity to steal some ‘me time’. I’ll also invite a mate over, and we find it hard to spend the time talking about anything other than beer. (well, apart from Leeds United). CLeaning as you go is a must!

By: Barry M

Barry M — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:45:02 +0000

I tend to invite people over for brew days, so it often turns into a social occasion too. But now and again, when my wife and son are away visiting family, I’ll do a solo brew day. That’s kinda nice (although I could live without the clean-up operation after )

By: Velky Al

Velky Al — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:38:58 +0000

I used a past its sell by date vial of Burton Ale yeast in my Copper Head Best Bitter disaster, so you’ll probably find the Nottingham does the business.

Brewing is therapy, even though I do extract with speciality grains – I just love the whole process, from formulating the recipe, steeping the grains and getting the boil going, watching the Yeastie Boys doing their thing in the carboy. The only bit I don’t like is waiting for the conditioning in the bottle to be complete, so I brew again the day after bottling.

I am slowly getting a nano-production line going, currently have my imperial stout conditioning, Christmas Abbey Ale fermenting, next up will be my Thanksgiving Barleywine which will age for a year, then December is time to make my smoked chocolate porter, which has a big Fuggle hop presence.

By: Ally

Ally — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:31:38 +0000

It’s totally therapeutic– even the way it smells counts as aromatherapy! Haha.

I like to knit in the in-between times.

By: Bailey

Bailey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:34:55 +0000

I guess you’d call it a ‘strong ale’. It’s kind of amber in colour, with Fuggles and East Kent Goldings, and (this is where we’ll get savaged for our terrible technique…) chucked in a just-past-its-sell-by-date tube of Burton Ale Yeast *and* a sachet of dried Nottingham yeast, to be on the safe side. It’s come out at c.6% abv.

By: Ed

Ed — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:32:54 +0000

What did you make?

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:32:01 +0000

What a great way of looking at it. I love the hope that’s there in the last line, plus the sense of achievement. Homebrewing is cool.