wherespete
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- Joined
- Oct 12, 2012
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Afternoon everyone,
I'm Pete from Herts and I've been brewing for nearly five years.
Well, that's not strictly true. I started in Feb 2008 with a Milestone Old Home Wrecker using kit bought from the Happy Brewer in Bedford.
Much to my amazement it turned out very well, as did my second brew - Woodeford Wherry a few months later. Even my friends said it tasted like the bottles you get from the supermarket and although they were being positive and supportive to me, it was, dare I say it myself, surprisingly good stuff.
Then came the Milestone Imperial Pale Ale which wasn't quite as good, I think I got too many bubbles in the last few bottles so they didn't secondary ferment as well.
Another Milestone Old Home Wrecker took me back to form, then I had the summer off before brewing Milestone Dasher The Flasher for Xmas 2009. That went quite well although it wasn't as good as my earlier brews.
But in Feb 2010 I tried another Woodforde Wherry and it was a disaster. Far too much loose sediment in the bottles meant that I could only pour half a bottle before the cloud set in, and the 250ml that did get out clear filled a pint glass due to the froth building up from it. It put me off home-brewing and I didn't try any more after that.
But I recently managed to wrest permission from Domestic Management to get a new shed - although she's made me clear out the old one rather than transfer it completely to the new one in the mess it originally was - and there hiding at the back were six bottles of the horrible Woodforde Wherry, by now two and a half years old. I tried one, sipping carefully, and it tasted rather nice. Of the six bottles, two were foul, two were okay but nothing to write home about, one was quite good and one was excellent.
So I've got the bug back and am going to buy a kit to brew for Xmas and see what happens. I don't really know what I'm doing - and yes I know that kits are meant to be fool-proof - especially in the feeding the secondary fermentation bit. I've used DME in the past but other brewers I've spoken to say they use sugar.
So here I am, looking to learn some new tips and see if I can get back to brewing more regularly than every three months.
Cheers,
Pete
I'm Pete from Herts and I've been brewing for nearly five years.
Well, that's not strictly true. I started in Feb 2008 with a Milestone Old Home Wrecker using kit bought from the Happy Brewer in Bedford.
Much to my amazement it turned out very well, as did my second brew - Woodeford Wherry a few months later. Even my friends said it tasted like the bottles you get from the supermarket and although they were being positive and supportive to me, it was, dare I say it myself, surprisingly good stuff.
Then came the Milestone Imperial Pale Ale which wasn't quite as good, I think I got too many bubbles in the last few bottles so they didn't secondary ferment as well.
Another Milestone Old Home Wrecker took me back to form, then I had the summer off before brewing Milestone Dasher The Flasher for Xmas 2009. That went quite well although it wasn't as good as my earlier brews.
But in Feb 2010 I tried another Woodforde Wherry and it was a disaster. Far too much loose sediment in the bottles meant that I could only pour half a bottle before the cloud set in, and the 250ml that did get out clear filled a pint glass due to the froth building up from it. It put me off home-brewing and I didn't try any more after that.
But I recently managed to wrest permission from Domestic Management to get a new shed - although she's made me clear out the old one rather than transfer it completely to the new one in the mess it originally was - and there hiding at the back were six bottles of the horrible Woodforde Wherry, by now two and a half years old. I tried one, sipping carefully, and it tasted rather nice. Of the six bottles, two were foul, two were okay but nothing to write home about, one was quite good and one was excellent.
So I've got the bug back and am going to buy a kit to brew for Xmas and see what happens. I don't really know what I'm doing - and yes I know that kits are meant to be fool-proof - especially in the feeding the secondary fermentation bit. I've used DME in the past but other brewers I've spoken to say they use sugar.
So here I am, looking to learn some new tips and see if I can get back to brewing more regularly than every three months.
Cheers,
Pete
Good to see the bug spreading 
