Morning! It’s Tom here. Many of you may know that I have a background in biology, but you might not be aware of how my scientific interests and my love of brewing beers and other beverages have, for many years, reinforced each other. I have been brewing for much of my life: from my first…
Read MoreA recent search among Tom’s brewing supplies discovered a bottle whose contents suggested mystery. We opened it, and it turned out that the bottle did not contain questionable mead at all, but was rather a Landlord clone, of at least two years vintage. It was clear as a bell and tasted delicious – evidently one…
Read MoreA White Christmas! And time, once again, to ascend mead mountain. Does doing this more than once make it a ritual or tradition? Whatever it is, the excitement of uncovering a bottle of home-brewed mead, buried at the top of a mountain, really never goes away. This bottle had a full twelve months to mature…
Read MoreThere has been much brewing activity here this weekend — and I am very excited to report that the latest breakfast-themed dark ale involves the last minute addition of. . . a cup of yorkshire tea! (milk free, of course). Anyway, here by request, is the recipe for last week’s brew — the tried and…
Read More. . with yeast . . . . . . malt . . . . . . water . . . . . . hops . . . and, um . . . one of my old stockings. The stocking is good for dry-hopping. This particular recipe of Tom’s is one of my all-time favourites…
Read MoreFelix is here. It has been a fruit-full weekend. Yesterday morning there was knitting to be done and treats to be found at the farmer’s market. And then we made the most of a sunny afternoon and had a great walk along the Clyde from New Lanark. The lush woodland around the falls is utterly…
Read MoreLast summer, when we were walking on Jura, we buried some home-brewed mead above the gulf of corryvreckan. Yesterday we retraced our steps, and returned to find it. I heart Jura. Seven miles and a very enjoyable walk later, we climbed up a cliffside on the remote and empty north-west of the island and wondered…
Read More(Newcastle Central) Tom and I were talking about station bars the other day and discovered that as teenagers, living many miles apart in Stretford and Rochdale, we both liked to hang around the one at Manchester Victoria. This had, before it fell victim to nailed-down chairs and the homogenising effects of Travellers Fayre (shudder), a…
Read More(Felix in Duttons). I am busy. I do not find long working days particularly good for either body or soul. During periods of insane activity, one must always find a little time to spend in the restorative presence of friends, and it was great to meet up with Felix the other day. We spent a…
Read More(dawn on mead mountain) To say this was the most exciting Christmas morning I’ve had since I was around six years old is no exaggeration. We arose at first light and walked all the way across Edinburgh — to ascend Mead Mountain. The streets were quiet, the air was still, and the whole city felt…
Read MoreWell, it turns out I am really rather ill. So ill that I am unable to do much of anything at all, and certainly not travel down to The Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate which I’ve been looking forward to for months. This is incredibly galling. But I am focusing on getting well. And…
Read MoreToday, a small batch of strawberry and elderflower mead and a rather larger one of Belgian tripel beer were ready for bottling. Usually, my involvement with the brewing process is marginal, and limited to two activities: 1) sticking caps on bottles and 2) happily imbibing the end result. But as the resident brewmaster general can’t…
Read MoreBunnahabhain. Monday morning. I’m a woman that likes whisky. Now, I know I don’t need to explain this to you. I know that you may like whisky too. And I’m sure that if you do like it, if you have any sort of taste or enthusiasm for any type of usquebah, that you will probably…
Read MoreA few weeks ago, Mr B made mead. Now, I am suspicious of mead. My only experience of it is a riotous new year some years ago at Belle’s. Having run out of booze in the early hours, we raided the prop supplies of Mr B’s younger brother, who at that time liked to spend…
Read MoreMonday evening brewing for a messy Tuesday. Mr B has devised a beer that should (if it works!) taste like one of my favourite ales, Cairngorm Brewery’s Trade Winds. Calculations . . . . . . mash temperature . . . . . . blending the hop tea (with secret ingredient) . . . .…
Read MoreThe postie has been bringing me a right bag of treats lately. Here’s a selection. Big thanks to Lara, Felix, Jesse, Annushka, and Philippa! The top pic shows some absolutely delicious Oxford Kitchen Yarn’s sock yarn in the plum colourway. The colour (which is not quite true in the photo) has a precise and very…
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KDD & Co 