Friday, April 18, 2008

Being as poor as a church mouse, I've become rather good at making things for myself. I bake my own bread, I grow my own seasonal veg, I brew my own beer, and my kitchen is constructed entirely of bits that friends had going spare. In many ways, Mrs Cheeseford and I are, to all intents and purposes, Tom and Barbara Good. My proudest achievement so far has been installing a Belfast sink that had been rescued from a friend's garden and then creating a worktop and surround using surplus oak from another friend's very expensive installation.

The Belfast sink proved its worth today when I began the first batch of beer since it was put in place. It replaced a nasty brown plastic sink, the shallowness of which meant I couldn't top up the fermenting vessel directly from the tap. In contrast, the new sink took the vessel without a murmur, saving me the bother of relaying the water to the bucket using a large jug. Anyone wondering why I didn't use a hose will be unaware of the sterilisation that has to be performed on all brewing equipment - tedious, but necessary if you don't want your brew to taste and smell of old socks.

Anyway, in a week or so, this lot (36 pints' worth of Woodforde's excellent Nelson's Revenge, using a kit purchased from Mr Alexander Carr's rather wonderful Market Place Wine Shop in Halesworth - 01986872563) will be ready for bottling, and I'll report back on the ale's progress.

5 comments:

joeyzaza said...

In a week or so? That's not very "Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door". Just leave it a day and, if necessary, enliven it with a dash of fairy liquid.

Louis Barfe said...

"And now, pissed from Lowestoft". Your absence was noted the other night. I dug out the Tom Scott original 'Starkers and Krutch' theme for you too.

Sylva said...

Your expertise on rescuing wayward home brewing experiments may be required at this self-sufficientish household in the near future. I think we have a Quatermass Situation in the airing cupboard aka crab apple wine, due to be ready (for what?) very soon.

Louis Barfe said...

Crab-apple wine? I'm hallucinating at the thought of it. I'll be happy to advise, but I think it's just a case of bottling on and laying down. Reminds me of the Monty Python line "This isn't so much a wine for drinking as a wine for laying down. And avoiding."

Sylva said...

He-who-added-the-sugar-and-water says the wine has another three months to go yet. Hey-ho, if it's undrinkable I'm sure we can successfully avoid it, if needs be.