Recent content by Cwrw666

Can't say I can ever remember tasting a commercially available beer and thinking `Wow!' On the other hand I'm just coming to the end of a Greg Hughes Milk Stout and that was my first impression right through to the last bottle.

Been making country wines for something like 40 years and never degassed a single one of them. Started making kit wines, Beverdale and Cali Conoiseur for the last year. The instructions all say degass, but I never bothered and they're all fine to drink from bottling time. So why bother. Just...

Except in unusually warm weather I always brew in our airing cupboard. Got a couple in there now - an 1864 Lovibond XB pale ale (Pattinson), just finishing off and a 1909 Maclays 63/- oatmeal stout (Durden park) just started. Temperature control - well the door is about 9 inches open and it's...

Used to live in Alton - remember the old Phoenix brewery depot. Left there in 1987.

You don't need a hydrometer to brew beer as a thousand years of brewing history will confirm. All I use mine for is to give me a rough idea of %ABV but TBH I'll drink the same amount whether it's 4% or 7%.

Me and the Mrs had to drive down to Haverfordwest on Tuesday for the drive through test. Day 3 today and still waiting for the results. Have to say I could have done without the 40 mile round trip - totally wiped me out. Only got some of the symptoms but the Mrs is a care worker - started...

You can get them but they seem to cost a fortune.

I always just drop my hydrometer in my FV but have to say if it wasn't for the coloured bands on the scale I wouldn't have a clue what it reads. Bless my varifocals - equally blind and distorted vision at all ranges...

I'll second that. Use something like EKG for bittering hops and a goodly amount of your wild hops as a flameout addition. That way you'll get a good idea of their flavour and the exact AA levels won't matter. Personally I'd just use pale malt. Basically a smash but with wild hops at the end.

Not where I live but there again I'm 3 miles from the nearest village - Crymych (don't go if you don't like worthington creamflow...) There are some decent pubs around but you do have to drive, which is ok as I don't drink that much, except at home of course. My `local' is Tafarn Sinc which is a...

I'm in North Pembs. Me & Mrs Cwrw are both English and get on fine with the locals who are all Welsh speaking. Actually the Mrs has learned to speak Welsh good enough so that she can use it at work (she's a domicilliary care worker). Both our kids are totally fluent too as they went through the...

Cool, a 21st century answer to the piece of paper and a pencil. But does it allow you to cover the blank spaces with doodles at the same time?

I froze all my hops fresh for a couple of years. Just chuck em in the wort frozen. Worked ok but I prefer the flavour of dried hops.

We call the noon-time meal lunch and the 5 o'clock meal tea irrespective of what we're eating. There again, lunch is often the first meal of the day so technically it's actually breakfast (the only meal of the day it's impossible to skip!) I was brought up with breakfast, dinner, tea and supper...

The standard recipe I've been using for around 40 years is - 3-4Lb of fruit per gallon, pour on boiling water, let it stand for a week (by which time it's fizzing away anyway) then strain, add sugar and a wine yeast. that's it. Had some jolly fine wines using this method. Favourites have been...